In hanamachi communities like those in Kyoto, some of the basic requirements is that you must be a Japanese girl who graduated from middle school, you must be 15 or 16 years old, you must have black hair, you must not be taller than 160cm, you are at least 43kg in weight, are willing to train in the traditional arts for years without contact with your family, etc. Usually, you or your parent would need to contact the guild of all the hanamachi businesses to apply — once they consider you a good candidate, they will send out your photo and profile to okiya (geisha houses) that might be interested in training you. Other okiya might even require an introduction, while some others will accept applications from just about anyone through email or telephone.