Song of the Minarai
By Umeko
My room is silent
In the distance the sharp strings of a Shamisen
Echo across the red-tiled roofs
To blend with the mournful notes of a Shakuhachi
Pine smoke lingers over the Hanamachi
Fires kindled to chase the chill of night away
From this cold early spring
I lie awake
Listening for the sound of laughter in the street below
Laughter that tells me my sisters have returned
From their engagements
Quickly I dress and scamper down the stairs
I hold the door for them
I bow and ask in a quiet voice of their success
I hold the door for them
And line their Geta neatly in a row
They drift away to their separate rooms
As the quiet of the night
Descends once more over the Okiya
Tomorrow they will sleep till noon
It is a right they have earned
But I will be up at dawn
To scrub and sweep
Then quickly run to class
I learn to dance
Until my legs burn
I learn to sing
Until my voice cracks
I play the Shamisen
Until my fingers bleed
What kind of life is this you ask?
A life like no other is my answer
A life of happy service
A life of rich reward
For the heart can be happy
When the mind is free of worry
And the path before us is clear
A time will come
When another shall hold the door for me
And line my Geta neatly in a row
A time will come
When I will wander off to bed
And sleep till two
Or maybe even three
Fan Dance
by Umeko
Our fans of yellow, gold and orange flutter in our hands
Dove wings
Our fingers, in their ever searching patterns
Launch them
Released from gravity they spin
Sunbursts
Around me the quiet whisper of kimono
As we glide across the stage
Increasingly we are lost
We women of the Hanamachi
Into a world of our own flight
Released from gravity
We soar.
We Who Walk on Shifting Air
by Umeko
Who are we?
We women of the Hanamachi
We women who paint our faces?
And walk on shifting air?
Are we not beauty?
Are we not grace?
Do we not sing
Like the Nightingale or the Lark?
If you touch us
Will we not shatter?
If you kiss us
Will we not vanish?
How does one define
The undefinable?
We forgo the company of men
For the companionship of women
We live across a bridge
In a world that floats on water
We are compassion
We are hope
We are dreams
That dance with fans
We embrace tradition in our arms
We carry honor in our hearts
And loyalty in our deeds
We bask in the happiness of others
And weep in the loneliness of night
We are the women
Who pass you by
But do not look up to see your face
We are the shadows
Of what once was
And the hope
Of what could be
We are the promise of our sisters
And the memory of our mothers
We are the women of the Hanamachi
And we float on a world of dreams
