160902-0034 - The Geisha Eiryu

The famed geisha Eiryu (栄龍). Born in Nagoya in 1896 (Meiji 29) as Rino Ito (伊藤りの), she debuted as Kiku Minasu (菊三升) on New Year’s Day in 1910 when she was 14 years old.

Eiryu was a popular model working for, among others, Mitsukoshi (三越), Sekiguchi Clothing Store (関口洋品店), and Momotani Juntenkan (桃谷順天館). She was featured in the photo book New 100 Beauties of Japan (全国新百美人, Zenkoku Shin Hyaku Bijin) as well as in books and countless postcards. She disappeared from the spotlight after contracting typhoid.

It is believed that she later became the proprietress of a pawn shop in Shimbashi, but little is know about her later life, including when she died.