Thread by @tkatsumi06j

Human trafficking & sexual enslavement revealed by 🇯🇵 #Kyoto's ex- #maiko herself. Kiyoha exposed her #MeToo that her 'owners' brainwashed underaged girls to serve their 'customers' by forcing them to drink alcohol and bathe with them naked. In English👇

"I may be vanished for doing this, but this is the reality of being a maiko. At 16, I was forced to drink tons of alcohol & bathe with my customers (I escaped). Tell me if this passes as a 'traditional culture'. The photo shows me winning a drinking match against a customer."/1

"Hard to believe this was in 2017. I might get killed for tweeting this, but nothing will change unless someone lets this out. I didn't want to keep quiet about others attempting suicide or going mental like every single year. Kyoto's a scary place. But don't get mad at me ♡"/2

'So what if anyone as useless as you quits being a maiko? You will just end up working in the sex industry. How will you survive? By spreading your legs, right?'

"I'll never forgive them for saying this to me for the rest of my life [and that's why I'm speaking out]." /3

"Forced to live in-house for 6 years as trainee, with zero salary, a small stipend, with no connection to the outside world except through letters or pay phones, and banned from having cell phones. Why? Because we'd run away if we got in touch with the outside world." /4

"BTW, the 'danna-san' system still exists. Maiko & Geiko would go by His surname publicly. It's quicker to call it a 'Hanamachi marriage' coz that's how you go by in that part of the world. My virginity was almost sold for 50M yen. And the money doesn't get paid to the maiko."/5

"I'm sure Kyoto will be pissed at me for these tweets. They'd even try to contact me & that'll be scary. But you know what? I won't give in no more. I'm now free from the brainwashing of Hanamachi. No matter what they say or do, they can't interfere with my life no more."/6

"If you see my tweets [or myself] vanished, then think of it as the works of Kyoto (the government)." /7

"Customers have touched my breasts through a special slit in the kimono, and in a private room, my crotch, by spreading the hem of my kimono. Maiko don't usually wear underwear, so when I told my proprietress about it, she scolded at me and said it was my fault." /8

"Since there're 5 hanamachi dwellings in Kyoto, yes, cells ARE allowed, and there ARE places where bathing is NOT available, DEPENDING on the town. 'Danna-san' system may be more lax in some places as well. But only Geiko/Maiko who've set up shops in the town would know that."/9

"Ex-maiko & friends who want to quit have been asking me so I will tell them this: You CAN survive even if you didn't go to high school; take the certification test and get a diploma. You CAN go to college if you want. There ARE decent jobs that don't require academic bgr."/10

"Getting many q's but just a few I can respond:
1. Selfie is from the customer's cell. I got the data after quitting;
2. This is my experience. Not all geiko/maiko. But an amateur saying, I googled it & that's not the case is way out of place. I've been there. Have you?"/End

"Please. It took a lot of courage, so please spread the word. If this doesn't go viral, then there's no point in me taking the big leap."


Fortunately, her thread did go viral with 240K FAVs, 100K retweets, and counting.

Follow-up: It appears she has finally caught the media's attention. More to come.

"Thanks to all of you, I have been contacted by the media. I will try to give you a proper timeline and explanation there, so I will refrain from tweeting for a while."

After she garnered enough support, Kiyoha tweeted this with great appreciation and to alarm the public about the de facto truth that the government, presumably state and local, gives tacit approval for human trafficking of minors in the Hanamachi.

She also said she'll take some rest: "I'm quite exhausted right now. I can't eat or drink since yesterday and can't stop shaking. I expected this...but I need some rest. I have a child, so I will think carefully about going through with this fight after resting & calming myself."