Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new drama series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House recently dropped on Netflix. In light of releasing his first show for the streaming service, the director took the time to speak with The Hollywood Reporter about exploring the world of Japanese geisha as part of his preparation for the series. Kore-eda served as The Makanai’s producer, showrunner, and co-writer. He also directed some of the show’s episodes and oversaw the aspiring Japanese creatives who ran the additional episodes.
The Makanai is a nine-episode series based on the best-selling manga by Aiko Koyama. The show is set in the traditional Geiko district of Kyoto. The story follows two 16-year-old girls, Kiyo (played by Mori Nana) and Sumire (portrayed by Natsuki Deguchi), who move from their rural home of Aomori with the aspirations of becoming geisha. However, while Sumire quickly shows natural talents in the traditional arts, Kiyo struggles to acclimate and is instead drawn towards becoming a makanai, the traditional cook who prepares the meals at the yakata house where the geisha live.
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Hirokazu Kore-eda Says That He Wanted To Explore ‘A World That I Did Not Know"
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When asked what inspired him to tell this story, Kore-eda said, “Well, I was interested because this was a world that I did not know. In films, I had seen this world portrayed by Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse, but I realized I didn’t have any idea how geiko and maiko actually live their lives in the present day. So I was very curious to look into this world. And when I began my research, I found that the shape of their lives is indeed very different from what most of us experience.”
He added, “Most of us have lost touch with and forgotten so many of these customs. The way they live by the seasons and all of the rituals they observe — these traditions are ongoing. Today, it’s a very small community and world, so the connections they have within it are very intense. I thought that reflecting on this different, older style of life might offer some insight into how they rest of us are living today. And it’s a world I knew that I would love to shoot.”
When asked about the research that went into creating the Netflix series, Kore-eda described the process of accurately representing the traditions and lifestyles shown in the show. He stated, “Well, the original manga is obviously fiction. In real life, there are no teenagers who work as Makanai in that environment. But when I did my research, I went to one of those Yakata houses where all of the women live as a small community and I spent time with their Makanai. The person I interviewed was a woman in her 70s. She actually wasn’t an in-house Makanai; she had a separate home, where she lived and did all of her cooking. But I basically followed her for a whole day and observed what she did and how she lived her life.”
He continued, “And then for the Yakata houses, I wasn’t actually able to visit directly, because they have a very strict rule about not allowing any outsiders. But there are these people called otokoshi, whose job it is to dress the Maiko in their kimono; they are the only outsiders allowed to enter the Yakata houses. So, through the eyes of the makanai and otokoshi I was able to do some research and get some impressions. I also visited the kimono houses in the neighborhood and researched the ozashiki, the places where the Geiko and Maiko showcase their art for their audiences. And then, finally, I also did interviews with some Maiko and geisha themselves.”
The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House is now streaming on Netflix.
