All language subtitles for Joanna Lumleys Japan - E02 Tokyo - Kyoto

JOANNA LUMLEY: This is Tokyo,
Japan's colossal capital city.

Wow, it's endless.

It's like a perpetual Times Square
or Piccadilly Circus

just multiplied again and again.

Fabulous.

This is a place that
assaults your every sense,

where everything feels
like an unfathomable matrix

of discombobulation.

I can't wait to explore it.

So far, my adventure travelling the
length of Japan from north to south

has revealed a land
of great natural wonder...

Isn't that beautiful?

(CHITTERS)

Hello, monk. Cute.

..and a rich culture
formed over thousands of years.

Look at that!

Now, on the main island of Honshu...

Bam. Whoo.

..I'll be exploring the modern and
sometimes crazy metropolis of Tokyo.

Beautiful creature.
It's just a creature.

I'll explore
an ancient mountain walkway

once trod by shogun and samurai...

"Ring the bell hard against bears".

..before seeing Kyoto in full bloom

and exploring
the secret world of the geisha.

You're wearing your tall shoes.

Yes, I am as tall as you now.
(BOTH LAUGH)

Come with me to Japan.

Yay. (GIGGLING)

To get a better understanding
of this megacity,

I'm taking to the air.

Tokyo has been the centre of power
in Japan for over 400 years.

It has the biggest population
of any urban area on the planet,

and from the air,
the city seems never to end.

It is absolutely awesome up here.

No matter where you look,
Tokyo spreads out underneath you.

Buildings everywhere,

38 million people living
here in this huge city.

The most extraordinary thing is that

practically everything you can see
was built after World War Two.

The city was firebombed.

There was practically
nothing left standing

and so it pulled itself up
by its bootstraps and began to grow.

It's astonishing.

After the American bombing,
the single-minded dedication

of the people that rebuilt
the city from ashes into
the world's second-biggest economy

also created a society
with culture, security,

excellent food
and extraordinary courtesy.

Look at that tower!

Despite its size,
modern-day Tokyo is now a rich city

with barely any poverty,
a low crime rate

and world-class transport system,

and has been voted one of the
most liveable cities in the world.

It's fantastic.

Back to Earth with a bump,

and on the street,
it's clearly apparent that

nearly one-third of the population
of Japan lives in Tokyo.

These facemasks are intriguing.

Almost everyone
seems to be wearing them.

Nobody's really sure if
it's to stop the wearer getting sick

or to stop them
making someone else sick.

Or maybe it's just to
remain anonymous in this crowd.

Or maybe it's just
to hide your emotions.

14 billion people travel
on the Tokyo Metro each year...

..and being Japan,
it's incredibly clean and efficient.

I've come to Asakusa,
the old entertainment district.

These days
it's home to a unique street

that supplies
the city's 80,000 restaurants.

Although, technically,
I'm not in the catering trade,

I'm always drawn
to useful kitchen wear.

I always want housecoats.

I always want to wear
things like this.

I actually... I think I love this.

That's gonna come home with me.

I won't put it on now
because we're filming

and making a programme,
but that's mine.

This is Kappabashi Street.

If you wanted to open a restaurant,
you'd come here,

because you can get
all the chefs' whites here.

You get little skillets.

Oh, my gosh, you've got everything.
You've got whisks, tiny tin bowls.

Oh, look, how beautiful,
a little apron with pockets.

Here you could get all the signs,
all your restaurant signs.

But I've stumbled upon
a fantastic little shop

that helps explain
Japan's bewildering menus.

This is a shop that
supplies Tokyo's restaurants

with the plastic food that
they put in their windows.

Look at this. Plates of meat.
Lobsters, fish and beer.

You'd believe that was ice
but it's actually just plastic.

They are so lifelike.

If you saw that in a window,
you'd almost think

it was freshly-cooked
chicken goujon in breadcrumbs,

lovely slice of lemon,
tomato, fresh as a daisy.

And will last for years
sitting in your window.

Oh, and look at this...

..a sushi clock.

So it's...sort of shrimp past
mackerel or something like that.

(CHUCKLING) I think
that's terribly funny.

It's divine.

Simply being able to
point at a plastic pizza

rather than decipher a menu

is one of those inventive courtesies
they do so well in this country.

Courtesy and good manners
are big in Japan

and are learnt from a very young age,
especially at meal times.

(PIANO PLAYING)

(CHILDREN SINGING)
Arigato. Thank you.

I've been invited to spend lunchtime

with the children
of the Fuji Kindergarten.

(SINGING IN JAPANESE)

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

(MAN SPEAKING JAPANESE)

So, this is school lunches here.

This one has got a very cute
little face in the rice down here.

And this little person has got
just a darling little lunchbox.

Before they started their lunch,
they were sitting patiently around.

Then they sang a song, which was...

"When they wake up, it's lunchtime."

"We've washed our hands, we're ready

and we're happy
and excited to eat our lunch."

Then they thank the teachers,

so an immense amount of courtesy
for, really, quite little people.

For Japan, this is a unique school

that goes beyond teaching
traditional values.

Rather than the normal focus
on discipline and conformity,

here, free thought and movement
are actively encouraged.

With the building's
specially-designed oval roof

creating an endless playground.

The brainchild of all this
is its principal Seikishi Kato.

The children here
have got such free spirit.

What makes this school different

from other primary schools,
baby schools?

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

In a country that was closed to
all outsiders for hundreds of years,

Kato-san is making sure
his students have broad horizons.

Can I sit in on your class?
Of course. Hello.

CHILDREN: Hello.

Speaking English
is being seen increasingly

as an essential life skill in Japan.

What kind of animals
can you see at the zoo?

A turtle. Turtles.

Llama! Llamas, very good.

Do you guys have animals
at your house? No.

Anybody have a pet? A rooster.

You have a rooster
at your house? Yes.

Do you have an animal at your house?
I have two cats.

Ooh.

Boys and girls,
do you like cats? CHILDREN: Yes.

How old are you? CHILDREN: Six.

You can usually tell a six-year-old,

because that's when
their teeth come out.

You've still got no teeth.
Can we all see teeth?

We show our six-year-old teeth,
go like this.

Look at you, darling,
excellent tooth work there.

Yeah.

With progressive schools like this,

it's positive change
at a grass-roots level.

Bye-bye, sweetheart. Yeah.

Bam. Whoo.

The old ways are starting to change

throughout all spheres
of Japanese society.

What I love about this school
is the sense of freedom it has.

The children are all
treated as individuals,

encouraged to be individuals.

Courtesy, responsibility,
individuality - fabulous.

I wish I was here now.

Unlike the West,

individuality has traditionally been
looked on with misgivings in Japan.

I've even heard
a famous old expression,

"The nail that sticks out
must be hammered down."

But here in the wastelands
of a Tokyo suburb,

one person is striving
to be different.

Minori is 23
and is credited with reinventing

a centuries-old Japanese style
called Shironuri,

which means "painted in white".

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

She may look like
a modern-day geisha,

but Minori designs and makes
all her own clothes and make-up.

She collaborates
with her photographer Teppei

to create strange ethereal characters

that have been
exhibited internationally
and featured in Vogue.

I love the way
they've chosen this location

where all her soft clothes go
with this dead and dying vegetation.

And the green in her scarf
picks up the green of that bridge

and the slightly tawny-coloured hair
and that chalk-white face.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

This reminds me of modelling days,

and no matter how cold it is,
how much the wind blows,

you're still there, beautiful.

She hasn't flinched all this time.
She must be frozen.

Beautiful creature.

It's just a creature
standing amongst the reeds.

Gorgeous.

Hi, Minori-san. Oh! Oh. (GIGGLES)

My dear little one.

Can I carry your beautiful dress?

There, I shall be
your train-bearer, Minori.

Thank you. (LAUGHS) Thank you.

Minori-san, you have won a new fan.

Oh! (GIGGLING)

Really? I think you're wonderful.

You look wonderful,
really beautiful. Thank you.

How does Japan see you?

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

In Japan, there is a saying...

..that a nail that sticks up too much
must be hammered down.

What do you think about that?

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

(GIGGLES)

I quite agree.

Teppei-san? Yes.

Will you take a picture
of us together?

Yes. Thank you.

In a country of conformity,

Minori is a unique individual
who's trying to break the mould.

OK, cool. Great. Beautiful.

(CAMERA SHUTTER)

But after dark, in the Akihabara
district of downtown Tokyo,

this sense of theatricality
continues.

Groups of besuited
male office workers

are joining forces
with gangs of teenage boys

to celebrate Japan's
new masked entertainers.

ANNOUNCER: This is Kamen Joshi!

(POP MUSIC PLAYING)

(CROWD CHANTING)

Kamen Joshi is an 18-piece girl group

that performs twice nightly
to its legion of devoted fans.

Its name translates
as "masked girls".

(MUSIC CHANGES TO HEAVY ROCK)

Sakura Yuki has been
in the band for two years.

Tell me about the mask. Yeah.

Put it for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah! (LAUGHS)

All the girls are what sort of age?
How old are they?

18 and 26. Up to 26? Yeah, yeah.

And so is this your only job

or do you study somewhere
or have jobs? Yeah, yeah.

Oh, wow. And what do you study?

Psychology? (CHUCKLES)

Well, then you will give me
a glimpse into your fan base,

the fans, the audience.

Do some of them come after
a long day at the office?

Some seem very young,
some a bit older.

(SAKURA YUKI SPEAKING)

Are they mostly men?
Yeah, yeah, mostly men, mostly men.

(CROWD CHEERING, BAND SINGING)

It's an incredible statistic

that nearly a third of all
Japanese men are single today,

and that perhaps explains the
enthusiasm of the audience tonight.

Each fan can show
just where his loyalty lies,

the colour of
the glow stick signifying

which girl he likes the best.

Yuki-san. Yes. How often do you come?

Um...once or twice a week. Do you?

And you know all the songs
and all the movements? Almost.

Which is your favourite girl?
Mai, over there.

This one holding the card?
Yeah. Mm-hm. Uh-huh.

And so, when you have your light,
what colour do you have?

Purple. Purple. That's her colour?

I had a purple one tonight.
Oh, really?

Yeah. I didn't know
it was her colour but I went...

(HEAVY ROCK MUSIC PLAYING,
BAND MEMBER SHOUTING)

There might be something
slightly strange about these men

fanatically following
a group of young girls.

(CROWD CHANTING)

But maybe with so many single men,

they get a sense
of belonging and camaraderie

that their day jobs
and social lives don't provide.

(SINGING CONTINUES)

It's extraordinary, it's fantastic.
I've never seen anything like it.

The audience is as skilled
and as important

as the stars on stage.

The 18 girls are fabulous,

but the audience seem to know
every single song, all the gestures.

They've got clique-y things
they do together and... Wa-wa-wa!

It's just extraordinary,
very exciting.

I love it and I think
it's time for more.

It's my last night in Tokyo

and I feel as if
I've only scraped the surface

of this vast, dazzling metropolis.

It's so huge,
I could live here for a year

and it would still be
just as bewildering.

I love this. I've spent
hours sitting at this window

just staring down at people crossing,

hour after hour,
just dreaming about a life in Tokyo.

That's actually a complete lie.

It's the first time
I've ever sat down at this window.

You just get five minutes to sit down
on this shoot, you know...

..and have some ginger ale.

I've left Tokyo
and I'm travelling south now.

I'm heading for
the legendary Mount Fuji.

People who don't know Japan
say "Fujiyama".

It isn't, it's "Fujisan".
It's cos I know Japan now.

But before I get to the mountain,
I have a quick stop-off to make.

MATSUSAKI: Konnichiwa.
Matsusaki-san.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE) I'm Joanna.

In my home back in England,

I have the most beautiful
woodblock print of Mount Fuji.

And I've always wanted
to see first-hand

the painstaking skill it takes

to create these traditional
Japanese works of art.

Oh, oh, oh, look at this.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

Oh!

79-year-old Keizaburo Matsuzaki

is one of the last masters
of this great art form.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

(GASPS) Look, it's beautiful.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

Ah!

This is master's work.

Centuries before
printing machines were available,

wood-block printing was the only way
to reproduce intricate art works.

Using a series
of carved wooden blocks,

one block for each colour.

Look at that.

The greatest artist who
worked with wood-block printing

was the 19th-century painter Hokusai

who was renowned
for his depictions of Mount Fuji.

Gradually building up,
piece by piece.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

This is exactly the way... If we
were in Leonardo da Vinci's studio,

or if we were back
in the 1500s, 1400s, even 1300s,

this is how people were working.

Nowadays,
we get so used to everything

being able to be aligned by computer.

This is the real skill. This is why
a handmade wood-block print

is worth so much more
than just perfection things,

smack down, smack down.

Absolutely gorgeous.

(GASPS)

Look at that,
that's the finished one.

Isn't that beautiful?
To see it from just an outline,

suddenly to this gorgeous picture
with depth and warmth and...

It's a privilege
to watch a master at work.

(LAUGHS)

Arigato.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

A couple of hours later,
I'm approaching the real thing,

the majestic Mount Fuji,

and I'm positively
giddy with anticipation.

Mount Fuji in all her splendour.
Blue skies, white slopes.

In fact, today, of course,
it's not quite like that,

but it gives us a tantalising glimpse

of what she looks like
in different weather conditions.

I think you can see that we've
got the slope of the mountain here.

The little boat's missing.

It's not really cold, it's
got this sort of golden feeling,

the hard blue sky at the top

and the reflection
clearly showing underneath.

Fail.

Undeterred, we continue
travelling south through Honshu.

Centuries ago, the route between
Tokyo and the ancient capital Kyoto

passed through the remote Kiso Valley
on the legendary Nakasendo Way.

This road was like the M1
of 16th-century Japan,

and back then, in the days
of samurai and the shogun,

it was one of the few ways you could
travel between the two great cities.

And this, believe it or not,
is actually part of the road.

Terribly ancient. People have been
walking on this road for centuries.

Unbelievable little villages
like this dotted all along the way.

The starting point
of my walk is Tsumago,

one of 69 postal towns
along the route.

Apparently there's a man
in the village, Yoshinori Fujiwara,

who has a detailed map
of the Nakasendo Way,

so I thought I'd pop in to see
what I might expect en route.

Fujiwara-san. Hi. Hi.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

I'm Joanna. Hello. Hi, Joanna.

Hi. Konnichiwa. How good to see you.

Fujiwara-san's map
is not what I expected.

(GASPS) Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my goodness.

Wow! No!

It's got pleats within pleats.

This is the longest map
I've ever seen.

Where are we? Just down here.
Oh, that's us here. Hm.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

So we must be one of these
little houses here maybe?

Yes. Here. (GASPS) Well, well.

Does this show the whole route
from Tokyo to Kyoto,

or just a part of it?

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

(CHUCKLING) 20 maps.

You could put them around a room
and still you wouldn't have room.

How extraordinary.
But it's so detailed,

it shows the little houses,
it shows all the bends.

It's beautiful.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

This is Magome? Yes.

That's where I'm walking to.

And that's only
a 20th of this whole journey,

and that's not even
a 20th of the 20th,

cos this is a tiny fraction
of this map.

They were tough people in those days.

I think I would have brought
a pony along with me,

a pack animal of some kind.

Before I set off, there's just
time for another stamp in my book.

Get good ink on it.

Oh, look, that's beautiful.
Arigato. Thank you so much.

Signpost saying "Nakasendo".

You get very good sweets in Japan.

Nice to have them in your pocket
and your mouth when you're walking.

"Naka" means "middle",

"send" means "mountain",
"do" means "way",

"Nakasendo" means
"the middle mountain way".

Look at these bamboos,
they're immense.

It's like a forest.

My five-mile trek to Magome

through winding,
unspoilt countryside is hilly,

and feels remote after the busy city.

And at all times,
I have to keep my wits about me.

"Ring the bell hard against bears".

Wild bears aren't a threat today,

but in the past,
this route was fraught with danger,

and people in high places
had to take precautions

when travelling this road.

In 1862, Princess Kazunomiya
needed an entourage of 25,000 people

to ensure her safe passage
to Tokyo to marry the shogun.

This vast train of soldiers,
servants and porters was so huge

that it took three days to pass by.

People with less security
often came a cropper,

and all along the route are reminders

of dastardly deeds
committed centuries ago.

That's the Kirishima-Jingu shrine.

A terrible thing happened here,

a vassal of the local noble lord was
travelling with 30 of his servants,

and bandits and brigands came
out of the hills and killed them.

I wish I knew what that meant. Maybe
the horses were killed, as well.

I wouldn't have thought so,
brigands would've used horses.

Somebody's put fresh daffodils.

Look at this.

Little squirrel's been down here
and made its own offering.

Walnut shell.

This road is like
a journey back in time,

and it seems that at every turn,

there's a story of Japan's past
to be told.

The great samurai swordsman of
the 17th century, Miyamoto Musashi,

used to practise
his sword skills here.

We're not going to film it,
I know, but over there...

is the female waterfall.

This is the male waterfall, big,

and that's fair enough
because men are big.

And this is the female waterfall,
very slightly smaller,

and in many ways,
women are slightly smaller than men.

And in many ways, very much bigger.

I'm a few miles into my walk
along the Nakasendo Way

and it feels like another time
and another country.

This is so beautiful.

In a way, it reminds me
of Switzerland or...

I don't know, any alpine or,
in fact, any mountain villages.

Beautiful little wooden houses
and woodpile stocked,

everything kept neat and tidy,
swept, small vegetable patches...

..clothes hanging out to dry.

It's gorgeous.

The Nakasendo Way
was really a political tool

for the ruling shogun to maintain
the fragile peace in Japan.

This way he could keep tabs
on the unruly feudal lords,

who he regularly forced to trek
all the way to the capital and back.

Checkpoints were set up
along the route

and everybody would
have to show credentials

and explain their reason for travel.

Commoners weren't
allowed to go anywhere

without a very good reason.

A tea house.

Tea houses like this one

were set up to offer
weary travellers refreshments.

Hello? Can I have tea? Yeah.

This guy didn't ask to see my papers
or ask any probing questions...

..but he seems happy to bring me tea.

I can't see any price lists,

so I think that what you do is
you just get given tea

and put a donation in this little
donation box, bit of bamboo cut off.

Lovely.

What a darling house.

Oh, look what's coming. Please.
Arigato. Thank you. What is this?

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

That's wonderful. It's...

Is it radish, do you think?
I think it is radish.

This is wonderful. And tea. Mm!

I sing a song. Please.

(SINGING IN JAPANESE)

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

Oh, that's wonderful. Arigato.
That's very good. Arigato.

This is wonderful.
Gosh, how beautiful.

We should have more singing
in tea shops, I think.

The great danger of sitting down
in the middle of a walk

is that you never want
to get up again.

Just have one more of these,
cos they are so good, or two more.

Thank you very much.

I've loved walking through
Honshu's pristine forests...

..but I know they've been preserved
at a cost.

Other Asian countries
willingly sell their own rainforests

to make disposable chopsticks
for the Japanese market.

This is the beginning of Magome

and it's the end
of my very short walk.

Lovely to think of this old road.

In the old days,
it had all kinds of things,

bandits and horrors
and villains and splendour,

and now it's just got happy tourists,
happy walkers like myself.

But I can't hang around in Magome.

Spring is in the air
and I have to press on.

There is a very important
seasonal event

in Japan's former capital city Kyoto.

It may have been
the historic capital,

but Kyoto Station
is a gleaming modern statement

of Japan's brilliant infrastructure.

I've arrived along with
thousands of others

in search of
Kyoto's famous cherry blossom.

Now all I have to do is find it.

Wow.

Taxi?

Japan is bending over backwards

to encourage foreign visitors
to come here and spend their money.

Look.

Foreign-friendly.

Can you imagine that?
Taxis especially for foreigners.

And quite a long queue.

They're a bit busy, sorry. Busy?

Wait...20 minutes. 20 minutes?

20-minute wait? Yeah, sorry.

Is this because of cherry blossom?
Yeah. Yeah.

I'm sorry. Look. I'm sorry.

Just by delaying,
trying to find a foreign taxi,

I've completely ruined this.

It's now 40 minutes
cos the queue's got a bit longer.

I've been planning my trip
to arrive in Kyoto

at exactly the right time
of the year to see it in full bloom,

so 40 minutes to wait is nothing.

So nice to meet you.
My name is Kanu.

Kanu-san? Yes.
Kanu-san, my name is Joanna. Ah-ha.

When did you start
being foreign-friendly?

Foreign-friendly taxi system
is just started.

Really? This year? It's brand-new?
Yes, brand-new. It's brilliant.

I think it's so courteous,
so kind. Mm.

And you learnt English here? Ah, yes.

That's excellent. Here in Japan.

I'm so ashamed
I don't speak Japanese.

(CHUCKLES) Thank you.

I feel that Kanu-san and I
are now well-acquainted enough

for me to offer him
one of my favourite sweets.

Kanu-san?

Would you like a lovely sour sweet?
Ah, thank you.

I put one out for you?

There you are, in my fingers.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Crikey, it's sour.

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

Very sour. Very sour.

It's brought tears to my eyes.

(GASPS) Oh, how pretty.

Kyoto is famed around the world
for its cherry blossom,

and in 2014,

tourists visiting
the city spent £4.5 billion.

Not only is it difficult
to get a taxi,

but at this time of year,
hotel rooms are like gold dust.

The arrival
of this beautiful blossom,

or sakura as it's known,

is hotly anticipated
throughout the whole country.

(SPEAKING JAPANESE)

I'm wearing cherry blossom-related
colouring today.

I'm actually quite excited.
I mean, I am seeing it,

but I want to see
sort of clouds of it.

Look, you see, we're just
getting blossom along here.

(GASPS) Look at it.

Here in Japan, the seasons are
terribly important and celebrated.

And particularly spring coming with
the arrival of the cherry blossom,

people going out
to have picnics under the trees

just to stare at the beauty,
it's something I so believe in.

I love the idea that a whole country
can be gripped by blossom fever.

The Japanese make
a big thing of going out

and taking in the natural beauty
of the new cherry blossom.

They call it "hanami".

Oh, it's just beautiful.

I've been dropped off
at the Philosopher's Walk

that is a popular hanami spot,
and I can see why.

Sorry, I have to take
a picture of this.

I have never seen so many
cameras out everywhere.

People are just taking
pictures, pictures.

People are taking pictures of people
taking pictures of pictures.

Fabulous.

It doesn't have much scent

but there's something
quite intoxicating

about seeing cherry blossom
on this scale.

Will you come and be in my picture
and so I can take a selfie?

And we put... In closer.
I think it's... iPhone.

Oh, I see, yes, hang on a second.
Come on, where are we?

I don't want that,
I want to go back to here.

Let's go back to that.

(LAUGHING)

Put your heads in, baby,
nice and close, nice and close.

Yay. (GIGGLING)

Thank you so much.
Thank you very much indeed.

All right. Arigato.
Thank you. Bye-bye.

It's so adorable.
I wish we dressed beautifully still.

I wish we put flowers in our hair...

I feel massively underdressed now,

dejected even.

This is called the Philosopher's
Walk, and me, obviously,

philosopher kind of thinking,
kind of person that I am,

the kind of person who'd
have a jewelled teddy bear

hanging off their iPhone.

I think it's just one more selfie.

Philosopher's face, not looking.

Thinking of something.
(CAMERA SHUTTER SOUND)

Yeah, thank you. Very nice.

Up here for thinking,
down there for dancing.

Kyoto was Japan's capital
for over 1,000 years

and it still has
a proud and refined air.

Its thousands of Buddhist temples,
Shinto shrines and ornate gardens

were spared the blanket-bombing
of World War II,

and now attract a throng of tourists,
especially at this time of year.

But there's another part of Kyoto
that comes alive at night.

Gion district is synonymous
with that most Japanese tradition,

the geisha, or as they're
known here, the geiko.

It's got a slightly
different edge to it here.

There are practically no tourists,
even though it's full of...

bars and restaurants.

There's a reason for that,

because these bars and restaurants
are geisha bars and restaurants.

You can't just walk in,
you've got to be invited in.

It's a world absolutely
shrouded in secrecy,

which famously shuns
the press and media and...

To tell you the truth,
I'm excited and a bit nervous

because I'm going to
meet a trainee geiko,

they're known as maiko.

And her name is Tomit Suyu
and she's 18 years old.

Tomit Suyu has invited me
to a traditional tea ceremony,

one of the many rituals
she's trained in.

She's three years into
a rigorous five-year programme,

preparing to become
a fully-fledged geiko.

The beauty of this procedure,

everything done absolutely precisely
with no speed, no flurry.

The folding of the napkin
with one hand,

the very careful cleaning,
the precise placing of things,

I'm so thrilled to have seen it.

Contrary to popular belief,

geishas are not some form
of "ladies of the night".

The literal translation of geisha
means "art person".

In the 18th century,
they entertained clients

in the pleasure quarters of cities
with music, dancing and singing,

and were distinctly separate
from the prostitutes and courtesans.

In modern-day Japan,
they have a certain celebrity status.

Mainly, they are hired
by rich businessmen as party hosts,

or to entertain important guests
in private tea-house parties.

It's delicious tea.

Green tea,
as green as pea soup, really.

Tomit Suyu does not speak
when she does this ceremony

so I don't speak to her.

But I think she knows
how grateful I am

to be drinking this beautiful tea.

Tomit Suyu-san...

(SPEAKS JAPANESE)

Thank you for such
lovely tea you made me.

Thank you for coming.
It's beautiful.

What attracted you
to the life of geiko?

I was born in Kyoto... Yes.

..and some of my family members
were working for kimono...

kimono industry. Yeah.

So I liked wearing kimonos
since when I was a kid

and I also loved watching
Japanese historical movies

and I thought maybe I could do
something related to the tradition.

And what did your parents
think about that?

My parents were surprised... Yes.
..and they didn't believe me

because they know how hard
to become maiko-san is.

You look so beautiful. Thank you.

Do you do your own make-up?
I do. You do.

And the back, I paint by myself.

Can you see that, too?
Oh, look. Look, look.

Geikos only use black, red
and very thick white make-up.

This was originally done so their
faces would glow in the candlelight.

The nape of the neck, which is
considered especially attractive,

is seductively left bare.

You can do your hair?

I go to a special hairdresser
once a week.

It takes one hour
to make the hairstyle,

but I have to sleep
with this hair done like this.

How do you sleep on your back,
very neat?

On my side neck. Yes.

But I have a very special pillow
made out of wood. Yes.

It's a proper discipline,
this, isn't it?

It's hard work to do
what you do. Yes.

Tell me what your week is like.
What is a day like?

Normally, in the morning,

I have to spend about one hour
fixing my hair

from the pillow, the wooden pillow,
and go to lessons.

What are the lessons?

Uh...the tea ceremony... Yes.

..dancing... Dancing?
..flute, drumming, singing.

And then, maybe, two or three
o'clock, I start getting ready.

It takes maybe two hours
fixing my hair again,

put those hair accessories on,
put my make-up,

and then start working
from six o'clock at night.

That's when customers
arrive here. Yes.

What is it that people come for?

It depends on the customers,

but sometimes
they want us to accompany...

to go to theatre
or um...dinner. (GIGGLES)

How many maiko-san and geiko-san
are there in Kyoto?

In Kyoto, well,
there are around 180 geiko-san.

So not so many.

Even girls really want
to become maiko-san...

..unfortunately,
most of them don't...

Don't make the grade. No.

Last year, five girls
came to this district

and only one could become maiko-san.

You're very young still at 18,
and you joined when you were 15?

Yes.

Now, other 15-year-old girls
are listening to music

and trying on clothes
and going out with boyfriends, maybe.

Do you miss any of these things?
Sometimes. (GIGGLES)

What do you miss most?

I miss my parents and my friends,

and also the modern technology.

I'm not allowed to have phones
or Internet connections,

so I can't go onto, like,
Facebook and other things.

So, it's a solitary life,

but you're walking
in the street with people,

but not doing what other people do.

No, I'm not allowed.
Do you sometimes wish you could?

Sometimes? Sometimes. (LAUGHS)

I'm somehow both shocked
and entranced by Tomit Suyu.

It makes me feel sad thinking about

the normal adolescence
she'll never have.

But I'm also in awe
at the level of devotion she shows

to this strange life she's chosen.

You're wearing your tall shoes.
Yes, I am as tall as you now.

(BOTH LAUGH)

You walk in them beautifully,

but are they quite hard
to walk in when you learn?

I had to practise for...

..over half a year.

Half a year. (GIGGLES)

You must be paid
for this work that you do.

No. No? Not for five years.

(GASPS) Not till you're geiko. No.

Because maiko-san
is an apprenticeship. Yes.

So we don't have to pay anything
to become maiko-san... No.

..so everything like accommodation,
food, lesson fees, hairdresser fees,

everything's provided
by the house. Wow.

But I don't get paid
for five years. Gosh. (GIGGLES)

I sometimes forget my real name.

Your real name is Tomit Suyu? No.

What is your real name?
I can't tell you. (GIGGLES)

I've been calling you Tomit Suyu
thinking that was your real name.

No. That's Maiko Tomit Suyu.

So it's like a stage name.
Stage name, yes, exactly.

And do you think that maybe one day

you will come back
and be an ordinary person again?

Maybe. Maybe get married,
maybe have children. Mm.

Because I'm only a child.
You're only a child now.

I hope that you have
such success as geiko-san,

but I hope that, also,
that later on, you can escape.

(LAUGHS)

As Tomit Suyu leaves for another
discreet evening engagement,

it's reassuring to learn that she's
still a normal teenager at heart.

Have you ever been to England?
No, never.

Would you like to come? I'd love to.

What would you do
when you came there?

I want to go to Harry Potter World.

Oh, Harry Potter. (LAUGHS)

I've met Daniel Radcliffe, you know.

Really? Yes. (GASPS)

(BOTH LAUGH)

He's a charming man.
He's charming. Wow, really?

(GIGGLING)

Next time,
the final leg of my journey.

I'll be uncovering the secrets
of ancient Japan.

It's 5:30 in the morning.

Flying over this monster.

Whoa.

Confronting the horrors of the war.

I find this so...

..so unbearable.

And throwing a few shapes
with some lovely old ladies.

These incredibly
funky-looking people.

subtitles by Deluxe