4-card set of Notecards with envelopes

Cio-cio-san Madame Butterfly

Japanese perceives the butterfly to be a “soul of the living and dead” in the belief that spirits of the dead take the form of a butterfly when entering their journey to eternal life.”

Geisha (Literal: Art Person) Geisha (or Geiko) are professional entertainers who attend to guests on various occasions. The first Geisha (14th Century) were men, known as Taikomochi. In the ensuing centuries, women began training in the art and by 1750 they outnumbered men. By the 1800s, the profession became exclusively the province of women
Shikomi-san, Maiko, Geisha. Training begins at age 14/15. Within a year after passing the Shikomi exam, they become a Maiko (apprentices of the geisha). In about five years, they may be promoted to Geisha through a ritual called Erikae (changing the collar from red to white) Different hairstyles and hairpins signify various stages of a Geisha’s development and are also related to the season. The pinnacle of the complex Geisha ranking system are the grand dowagers of Kyoto. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Onsen (hot springs) Geisha. These work in the spa resorts and are viewed somewhat negatively.