Banquets in traditional geisha settings were a feature of Niigata’s ozashiki cultureーuntil the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Here’s what one company did to save it.

By JAPAN Forward

COVID-19 brought a sharp decline of guests dining and drinking at ozashiki, the type of room where geisha banquets take place, and the world of Niigata’s geisha district has been seriously damaged. Then a geigi (geisha) training and dispatching company sought support through a crowdfunding (CF) campaign.

The company’s campaign to support the entertainers quickly reached its initial fundraising goal with contributions coming in from all over Japan. The company even decided to double the goal amount. The Sankei Shimbun and JAPAN Forward wanted to know more, and interviewed the manager of Ryuto Shinko Co., Ltd (Chuo Ward, Niigata City), the first incorporated geigi training and dispatching company in the country, to gain behind-the-scenes insight into their crowdfunding campaign.

40 Percent Decrease in the Number of Ozashiki

The company hires geigi as full-time employees on a salary basis and trains them with traditional Japanese dance as well as other entertainment forms and etiquette. It then dispatches them to perform at ozashiki banquets at traditional establishments offering this option in Niigata. Currently, there are 12 geigi on the company’s monthly payroll.

The entertainment form is called “Furumachi Geigi”, named after the district of Furumachi in Niigata City’s Chuo Ward, where traditional ryotei (Japanese-style restaurants) line the streets.

According to Miyuki Tanahashi, 53, who manages the geigi, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak started becoming apparent by March 2020, and when a nationwide state of emergency was declared in May of the same year, the number of ozashiki banquets dropped significantly, down 90% from previous years.

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