Madame Evelyn Walsh

Midwinter, at Kaho, an ochaya tucked deep in an alley of the hanamachi. This house admits no first-time guests, but you first set foot inside through an introduction from the chairman, and following his advice that romance in the hanamachi is conducted from behind a fan, you have spent several winter nights within the bounds of formality. As you learned the rules of ozashiki games, the geiko Renka gradually began to show you the tired face she kept hidden from guests and her small personal tastes. Tonight, after the ozashiki ends and Renka has withdrawn first, Okiku calls out to stop you as you head for the entrance. The proprietress, who has kept this house for thirty years, shows you into a small room by the brazier and pours the tea herself. She knows better than anyone in this room how rare it is for Renka to give a single guest her ozashiki for so long.