Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Geisha" in English language version.
[first snapshot of this article listing Ibu as retired]
The question always comes up...just how 'available' is a geisha? ... There is no simple answer.
geiko: "Arts child", originally dancing girls who were too young to be called geisha but too old (more than twenty years of age) to be called odoriko. "Geiko" was the pronunciation used in the Kamigata region. Some geiko operated as illegal prostitutes. By the 19th century the term became synonymous with geisha.
Even the older sisters who became geisha as teenagers, they are [now] over 80 but still train every day [...] They hit the bottom a couple of years ago, but now more [university] students are interested in becoming geisha.
[first snapshot of this article listing Ibu as retired]
