A NORTH company specialising in Japanese culture has announced plans to bring a geisha to the UK.
Jill Clay and Katie Chaplin, from Vintage Kimono, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, have organised events for the visit of the geisha and a maiko -a geisha apprentice - next May.
The company has hired Swinton Castle, near Masham, as a venue for the visitors to perform and meet Japanese enthusiasts.
Mrs Chaplin said: "We are so excited to be doing this. We want to give everyone the chance to meet a geisha and experience their arts at first-hand.
"There are a lot of misconceptions about geishas which are simply not true.
"We were warned that even touching their kimono by accident is considered offensive. They are definitely to be looked at, but not touched."
Geishas are entertainers who undergo five years of intensive training to perfect the arts of music, dance, tea ceremony and conversation.
For details of the geisha's visit, call (01677) 450071.
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