Once the campaign ends, and as soon as books are shipped, copies will be available on my website: www.robertvankoesveld.com/shop
Late one night in an empty cobblestoned street in Kyoto, a woman sheltering beneath a red umbrella glided past me. I saw in an instant something in her face – luminous eyes, an aloof expression – that gave her beauty a sense of timelessness and exquisite grace. What I experienced as presence. This moment took place on my first visit to the city that had been Japan’s capital for over a thousand years. And it was this image of an unknown woman in an empty street that impelled me to begin this book three years ago.
Since that first encounter I have returned several times to Kyoto to interview and photograph geiko and maiko. There have been dozens of photography sessions and I have attended many performances. Over time I began to know more about these special artists and the communities that nurture and support them. I have included a section about some of these special people who tend the 'garden' of the kagai so that the reader gets a feeling of the village that it takes to raise a fully trained geiko.
With your support this beautiful book can now be printed so as to be more widely available. It will be hardback, 160 pages, 210mm (8.27") square, with a laminated gloss jacket and weigh around 1kg (2.2lb) when packed.
