Misedashi

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Misedashi (店だし, 'making business public') is a ceremony where a minarai (an aspiring apprentice geisha) becomes a maiko (an apprentice geisha) and officially begins their career. The maiko is guided around her local area to call on businesses, teachers, and other okiya by her okiya's otokoshi (male dresser) to thank her teachers and peers for their support and to let them know of her debut.

Maiko are usually 17 or 18 when this ceremony takes place as post-WWII labor laws prevent maiko from beginning their employment as apprentices at an earlier age as in pre-WWII eras. Some apprentices, however, skip the maiko stage, being too old to debut as a young apprentice, and instead begin their apprenticeship appearing as a geisha.