A Geisha

In post-war Japan, sixteen-year-old Eiko seeks out the geisha Miyoharu in the district of Gion, in Kyoto asking her to be a maiko (geisha apprentice). Eiko explains that her mother - who was a geisha and Miyoharu's friend - has just died, her father Sawamoto has failed in business, and her uncle is harassing her. Miyoharu is a warm-hearted woman and accepts to train her. One year later, Eiko's father refuses to be her guarantor and Miyoharu borrows a large amount from the tea-house owner Okimi to buy her kimono and debut in a party. Miyoharu changes Eiko's name to Miyoe and introduces her to clients as her sister. Soon, Miyoharu is charged for the money but neither she nor Miyoe want to have patrons.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Brian McInnis