The life of a geisha in Japan is often perceived as being shrouded in mystery, the exact opposite of what you’d imagine life is like for a YouTuber. It’s a contradiction that “Kimono Mom” knows well.
For years, Moe, the 30-year-old creator of the Kimono Mom YouTube channel, trained as a maiko (apprentice geisha) in her hometown of Kyoto, eventually debuting as a geisha.
“I was in Gion and the beauty of what I was doing came from not exposing everything,” she says. “Hiding was the beauty of it, and I never put my personal life out there.”