Kiyoha may wear the fancy kimono-dresses, but she is not your every-day geisha. The hairstyle may be the same, and she may have some of the finest clientele, comparable to those of the most refined women in all of Kyoto, but she is not in the home of geisha and their maiko assistants. Instead, Kiyoha is in Yoshiwara, the infamous red-light district located in northeast Tokyo. And instead of being a respected geisha artisan, she is an oiran, a courtesan.

Kiyoha didn't choose this life. She was forced into this world at an early age for one reason... she had spunk. A fire burned within her as a child. She would rather fight than cry, and she caused her caretakers so much grief their best solution was to give her a purpose to be strong and maybe a chance to develop a life on her own. But getting to that point would take years of heartache and misery. Kiyoha's entire life has been in chaos, and she has blossomed in it.

Story and art by Moyoco Anno.