New York Kimono Academy

Lean & Experience Japanese Kimono Culture

About the owner and instructor Masae Satouchi, owner & Instructor of New York Kimono Academy and CEO of HANNARI Entertainment:

Masae is a descendant of a 27th generation of Japanese Samurai and kimono merchants from the city of Kyoto in Shiga prefecture. Her grandmother is an accredited master of Nichibu, traditional Japanese dance, which helped her grew up immersed in Japanese traditional culture. Masae is a passionate advocate for Japanese beauty, revolutionising the art of geisha for a modern audience. She graduated from Kyoto Beauty School and Yamano Kimono Dressing School, and holds a licence as an Okuden Kimono Dresser.

For over a decade Masae has been teaching and sharing her culture through kimono workshops, photo shoots and performances. She is one of the most renowned geisha performers and the first professional Japanese fire dancer to appear in films and on MTV. Masae has also produced and performed her show internationally.

She took the grand prize at the All-Japan Hair Styling Contest and was inducted into the Miss Kimono Hall of Fame in Japan. She was selected to be a Kyoto local ambassador and has been performing and learning about the history of geisha with Tukasa Tayu, one of the highest rank of geisha in Kyoto, Japan.