KYOTO, Japan — On the quiet streets of Kyoto you will get a glimpse of them. Dressed in Kimono. The familiar white makeup. Walking quickly. That is the extent of what most people see of a geisha.

Wearing tall platform sandals and a long kimono, Ikuko glides across the room as if she were balancing a glass of water on her head. She gazes at a wall of old photos in Tokyo’s Akasaka geisha house.