Kodoani.com – Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine, in its joint 37th and 38th issues this year, announced on Wednesday that the manga Maiko-san Chi and Makanai-san (Makanai in the Maiko Lodge) by Aiko Koyama will be on hiatus and is scheduled to return in the magazine's 41st issue in September. Interestingly, the manga also went on hiatus in August 2023 and returned in the magazine's 41st issue in September of that year.
The story of Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san takes place in the “hanamachi” geisha district of Kyoto, where geishas, after finishing their work late at night, rest at an inn, preparing for the next day's work. The focus of the story is Kiyo, a girl originally from Aomori, who becomes a chef at a geisha inn in Kyoto after graduating from junior high school and leaving her hometown. Accompanying her is her best friend Sumire, a maiko, or apprentice geisha.
Aiko Koyama launched the manga in Weekly Shonen Sunday in December 2016. Shogakukan published the 26th volume on May 10, and the 27th volume will be released on September 11. Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san won the Best Shōnen Manga award at the 65th Shogakukan Manga Awards in January 2020.
The manga was adapted into an anime titled Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House, which premiered on NHK World with English subtitles in February 2021. The anime has a unique airing schedule, with new episodes released every month. Crunchyroll also streams the anime.
Additionally, the manga also inspired the live-action series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, which debuted globally on Netflix in January 2023.
