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Mayu adjusts Koiku’s kimono, as Koiku wears a protective face mask while posing for a photograph, before they work at a party where they will entertain with other geisha at Japanese luxury restaurant Asada in Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has made Tokyo's geisha fear for their centuries-old profession as never before. Though the number of geisha - famed for their witty conversation, beauty and skill at traditional arts - has been falling for years, they were without work for months due to Japan's state of emergency and now operate under awkward social distancing rules. Engagements are down 95 percent, and come with new rules: no pouring drinks for customers or touching them even to shake hands, and sitting 2 meters apart. Masks are hard to wear with their elaborate wigs, so they mostly don't. “I was just full of anxiety”, said Mayu, 47. “I went through my photos, sorted my kimonos ... The thought of a second wave is terrifying”. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Mayu adjusts Koiku’s kimono, as Koiku wears a protective face mask while posing for a photograph, before they work at a party where they will entertain with other geisha at Japanese luxury restaurant Asada in Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
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23 Jul 2020 00:03:00
A Japanese woman and her daughter leave Daikichi kimono rental shop Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Tokyo's Asakusa area famous for sightseeing, before attending their family friend's wedding. Japan is bracing for a return of tourists from abroad, as border controls to curb the spread of coronavirus infections are gradually loosened. Yusuke Otomo, who owns the kimono rental shop, can barely contain his excitement. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)

A Japanese woman and her daughter leave Daikichi kimono rental shop Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Tokyo's Asakusa area famous for sightseeing, before attending their family friend's wedding. Japan is bracing for a return of tourists from abroad, as border controls to curb the spread of coronavirus infections are gradually loosened. Yusuke Otomo, who owns the kimono rental shop, can barely contain his excitement. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)
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01 Jul 2022 02:29:00
A dog walks on the street as it snows in Kyoto on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

A dog walks on the street as it snows in Kyoto on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)
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31 Jan 2024 08:48:00
A performer dressed as a zombie performs inside a “Zombie Shinkansen” bullet train bound for Osaka from Tokyo, inspired by the South Korean movie “Train to Busan” ahead of the Halloween season, Japan, on October 19, 2024. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A performer dressed as a zombie performs inside a “Zombie Shinkansen” bullet train bound for Osaka from Tokyo, inspired by the South Korean movie “Train to Busan” ahead of the Halloween season, Japan, on October 19, 2024. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
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02 Dec 2024 02:11:00
A tourist cools off in front of a misting fan near a venue of the Hozuki-Ichi (Japanese lantern plant fair), at Sensoji temple, in Tokyo, Japan, on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A tourist cools off in front of a misting fan near a venue of the Hozuki-Ichi (Japanese lantern plant fair), at Sensoji temple, in Tokyo, Japan, on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
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05 Aug 2025 04:01:00
Participants carry a portable shrine, or mikoshi, into the sea during a purification rite at the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

Participants carry a portable shrine, or mikoshi, into the sea during a purification rite at the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)
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10 Sep 2025 04:03:00
A boat, center, is surrounded by Japan Cost Guard's patrol boats after some activists descended from the boat on Uotsuri Island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in East China Sea Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. (Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun/Masataka Morita/AP Photo)

A boat, center, is surrounded by Japan Cost Guard's patrol boats after some activists descended from the boat on Uotsuri Island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in East China Sea Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Regional tensions flared on the emotional anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender as activists from China and South Korea used Wednesday's occasion to press rival territorial claims, prompting 14 arrests by Japanese authorities. The 14 people had traveled by boat from Hong Kong to the disputed islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. (Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun/Masataka Morita/AP Photo)
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18 Sep 2012 09:02:00


Families and relatives of the dead cry as they identify their family members at a temporary burial ground March 25, 2011 in Higashi Matsushima , Japan. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)
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25 Mar 2011 15:43:00