was a ceremony undergone by apprentice () and some (apprentice geisha) as part of their coming of age ceremony and graduation.
For , who had often already lost their virginity, a patron would pay for the exclusive privilege of being a new 's first customer; for who underwent , it formed part of a number of ceremonies and occasions used to mark graduation into geishahood, including symbolic changes in hairstyle and official visits to benefactors. Before the outlawing of prostitution in Japan, who underwent would see patrons and benefactors bid large sums of money for the privilege of taking their virginity, a sum of money the (the geisha house an apprentice was affiliated to) would take entirely.
In the present day, a 's graduation is known as , and is entirely non-sexual, though some older sources – such as the autobiography of Mineko Iwasaki, the geisha that inspired the character Sayuri in the novel Memoirs of a Geisha by
author Arthur Golden refer to the non-sexual graduation of to geishahood as . , and courtesans as an extension, exist in a wholly non-sexual capacity in modern-day Japan; re-enactment parades are performed by actors, and perform their profession's traditional arts without the inclusion of sex work. In both capacities, the of both (who are merely actors in a parade) and (for whom the role is a profession) do not engage in sex work as part of a 'graduation' out of apprenticeship.
History
has been long connected with the loss of virginity of a , because some did undergo ceremonies to lose their virginity. for a would also include monetary sponsorship by the patron, intended to support and promote the 's debut to geisha status. Through this sponsorship of the apprentice, a patron would essentially purchase the right to take the 's virginity. according to the research of anthropologist Liza Dalby, though this process was generally not pleasant, for many, it was perceived as a natural stage in growing up, with trainees in the same age cohort who had not graduated viewed by their peers as having been somewhat left behind.
Post-1956
Mineko Iwasaki, former high-ranking Gion geisha, detailed her experience of in her autobiography, Geisha, a Life. Describing her experience of graduation to geishahood with the term , Iwasaki described her experience as a round of formal visits to announce her graduation, including the presentation of gifts to related geisha houses and important patrons, and a cycle through five different hairstyles before graduating.