Cho-Cho-San Indeed!

       I wore my shapeup shoes again this morning.  I took mincing little steps as I did my morning tasks, only occasionally leaning on a counter or wall for assistance.  I thought I was doing well until Tom was ready to leave for the office.  When I leaned toward him for a goodbye kiss, I lost my balance and fell into him instead.

       Laughing as he stood me back on my feet, he kissed me and said "See you later, Cho-Cho-San."

       For those who are not opera fans, Cho-Cho-San (Cio-Cio-San) is the beautiful and fragile geisha of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, who faithfully loves an American soldier, only to be abandoned by him. I might have worried Tom was planning to abandon me -- perhaps tired of watching me stagger around in my shapeup shoes -- if not for the realization that he had a point. Indeed, my shapeup shoes suddenly seemed strangely similar to those worn by modern-day geishas! 

       I minced over to the laptop computer on the kitchen counter , and googled "geisha shoes". Sure enough, within minutes, I found images which confirmed it.  A few clicks later, I learned that these platform wooden shoes, called okobo, are worn by apprentice geishas known as maiko. They not only help keep kimonos from hanging into dirt or mud, they also encourage the apprentices to take tiny steps, just as I was forced to in my shapeup shoes.

       Although I was eager to continue my research, I could feel the muscles in the back of my legs knotting up from standing still for too long in my pink okobo. Still, I sensed there was something more to know...