Okiya

An okiya (置屋^?) is the lodging house in which a maiko or geisha lives during the length of her nenki, or contract or career as a geisha.

A young woman's first step toward becoming a geisha is to be accepted into an okiya (boarding house), a geisha house owned by the woman who will pay for her training. The proprietress of the okiya is called okā-san (the Japanese word for "mother"). The okiya normally pays all expenses, including for kimono and training. The okiya plays a large part in the life of a geiko or maiko, as the women in the okiya become her geisha family, and the Okā-san manages her career in the karyūkai (flower and willow world).