Japan’s geisha world operates as a black box to most outsiders. So when a former insider speaks out, it makes headlines. That was certainly the case in 2022 when Kiritaka Kiyoha dropped bombshell accusations about abuse in the karyūkai (花柳界), the word for Japan’s ephemeral world of female hospitality and entertainment.
At the time, Kiritaka claimed that since she started as a maiko at age 16, she was forced to overconsume alcohol and was subject to sexual harassment and abuse. She also claims she was close to having herself practically sold to a wealthy patron, or danna (旦那).
Kiritaka is back in the news because artist Miyamoto Gumi (宮本ぐみ) has been telling her story in a series of comic essays. Titled Kyoto’s Geisha Quarter is Hell on Earth (京都花街はこの世の地獄), Volume 1 of the series was released in 2025; volume 2 came out in January 2026. Bunshun, Japan’s most powerful tabloid, has been running excerpts through August.
While based on Kiritaka’s accounts, the book tells the story via a fictional protagonist, Takekoma, who acts as Kiritaka’s stand-in. Volume 2 makes a new bombshell claim: Takekoma/Kiritaka wasn’t completely free when she left her geisha house (置屋; okiya). After she departed, the house billed her an exorbitant “exit fee.”
In Japan, as elsewhere in the civilized world, charging an employee to leave is illegal. It’s indentured servitude, a form of slavery. However, legal experts say that geisha houses use legal technicalities to commit what some argue is a human rights violation.
“My virginity was nearly sold”
In her original social media posts on the subject, Kiritaka discussed how she was almost tied to a patron for 50 million yen (~$314K). The mechanics of the patrons are clear to everyone: it would be a sexual relationship, essentially selling Kiritaka’s virginity to the highest bidder. None of that money would flow to Kiritaka, either; it would go to the house.
After she left her geisha house, the book says, she was met with an ironic shock.
