Utako Hanazono

Utako Hanazono (January 1905 – 1982) was a Japanese writer, modern dancer, geisha and a Japanese traditional dance master by the name of Tamae Hanazono at her later years.

She publicly criticized the Japanese government in the 1920s and 1930s for preventing geisha to take on other professions in order to earn a living. In her book "Geigitsū" Hanazono annoyed leading women's right activists Fukuda Hideko as well as Wakamatsu Shizuko by pointing out that many geisha were forced to turn to sex work in order to survive because of this law. including customary indentured servitude which had been bound with advance debt contracts.