G'day to geisha

An Australian woman has become the first Westerner to be accepted into the 400-year-old world of the Japanese geisha. Fiona Graham, originally from Melbourne, made her professional debut under the name Sayuki on December 19 in Tokyo. Graham first went to Japan at age 15 as an exchange student and was fascinated by the culture. She graduated from a Japanese high school and attended prestigious Keio University and then Oxford University before completing a doctorate in social anthropology. Before being permitted to become a geisha, Graham had to undertake rigorous training in various arts such as traditional dance, tea ceremony, the Japanese drum and conversation. In addition, geisha must specialise in their own art or "gei" - Graham's is the bamboo flute. She plans to film some of her experiences in Japan and use her first-hand knowledge to explain the world of the geisha.