Online Instruction by Kyoto Craftsmen at "Maiko's Pochochi School"! Students are invited until May 11 for men and women aged 18-69 all over Japan!

～Your challenge will help preserve the beauty of maiko for future generations.

2025.04.16 10:30

アンドエイチミュージアム合同会社

Kaae Kishimoto, the president of ANDH MUSEUM LLC (located in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto) and a silver hairpin craftsman in Kyoto for 20 years, learned that the number of people making obi clips made of silver and jewelry, called "pokuchis," which are a key part of a maiko's outfit, was decreasing, and in April 2020, she started teaching at "Maiko's We have started teaching at [an online school for people who want to become a maiko's obi-dome maker] from April 2020.

In order to foster new successors, we are now accepting applications for the 9th term until May 11, 2025 (Sunday).

Details of "MAIKO POCKY SCHOOL" blog

URL: https://ameblo.jp/hanae-kyoto-kimono/entry-12841561374.html

舞妓とぽっちりを作った岸本華枝

Hanae Kishimoto, who made Maiko and Pokkiri

■Conditions for recruiting school students

Students can balance work and study. Also, because it is online, there is no need to commute to Kyoto, and you can learn at home at your favorite time.

(1) Age is between 18 and 69 years old

(2) Can speak and read Japanese and reside in Japan

(3) Gender and nationality are not required

(4) All you need is a desk and a light.

　　(The minimum tools required are included in the first six months' fee.)

(5) Facebook account (you will be asked to join our Facebook group)

　　*If you do not have an account, you can create one after you apply!

ぽっちりとは、銀×宝石で作る大きな帯留めのこと

Pokkiri is a large obi-dome made of silver and jewelry.

Introduction of the leader of Pochochochi School

Hanae Kishimoto

Atelier Hanae is a silver Kanzashi artist in Kyoto for 20 years, and since 2015, she has been one of the few maiko potchiri makers in Kyoto. She has been active globally, visiting France and the U.S. to share the beauty of Japan with the rest of the world. She has won awards in Italy, Mongolia, France, and other countries.

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/atelierhanae

Profile : https://ameblo.jp/hanae-kyoto-kimono/entry-12841551577.html

Store : https://atelierhanae.thebase.in/

岸本華枝

Kae Kishimoto

Kishimoto is the only one in Japan! Why did you start Pokkiri Online School?

When I was interviewed as a craftsman who makes maiko's pokkiri in March 2020, I read the interview article and realized 'Now, the number of craftsmen who make maiko's pokkiri is decreasing. And I thought, 'Isn't this a crisis that we need to train successors?' I created an online curriculum and started recruiting students for the first term.

At the time, I wondered if it was really possible to train people to make potpourri online. However, as of March 2025, five years after the start of the school, the first and second term students have grown so much that we can prove that they are able to communicate their Pokkuri making skills online without ever meeting with each other.

Every month, they send their assignments to Kyoto by mail, and even though we cannot meet in person, we give one-on-one advice in the videos according to the students' characteristics and habits.

[Explanation of how the school was established (3-minute YouTube video)

URL: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7hC19zNc4

Who supports Kyoto's traditional culture? More than blood...more than family lineage...there is something more important!

Kishimoto Kae, the head of the school and a kanzashi (hairpin) craftsman in Kyoto, did not graduate from art school or an art college. She was born in Osaka to an ordinary businessman family (she has lived in Kyoto for 25 years). When she was in her 20s, she longed to work in the world of Western-style clothing (dresses), which seemed to be the complete opposite of the Japanese world.

However, as I started working and spending time in Kyoto, I began to strongly feel that "Japanese design was so beautiful" and "I would like to work on costumes for maiko (apprentice geisha).

I have been working in Kyoto for about 20 years with this single thought. That is why, more than dexterity or experience, it is the desire to 'take on a challenge! We are looking for men and women between the ages of 18 and 69 from all over Japan who are willing to "take on the challenge!

Message from Hanae, the leader and instructor of the class, about 8 minutes long

URL: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=vbWbRMaZQZk

ぽっちり制作途中