Ogawa geysha 9a. 19th century Japan. Public domain image.

Geisha are traditional, female Japanese entertainers of the "Flower and Willow World", shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Geisha skills include performing various ancient Japanese arts regarding music, song, dance, tea ceremony, calligraphy, flower arranging, poetry and the art of conversation. In Japan, geisha are the ultimate hostess and class of entertainment. Geisha are hailed as the very icons of Japanese social grace and etiquette. They have existed for over 400 years, yet their elegant appearance has remained timeless and unchanged in the present world.

Ogawa Kazumasa (1860–1929) was a Japanese photographer, printer, and publisher who was instrumental in the development of the collotype process in Japan. He was born in Tokyo and began his career as a photographer in the 1880s, working primarily in the studio of Ueno Hikoma. In 1888, he founded his own photography studio, the Ogawa Shashin Seihanjo, which became one of the most successful and influential studios in Japan. In addition to his work as a photographer, Ogawa was also a skilled printer and publisher. He was one of the first photographers in Japan to experiment with the collotype process, a printing technique that allowed for high-quality reproductions of photographs. He established the Tokyo Collotype Company in 1894, which became one of the leading printing companies in Japan. Ogawa was also an important figure in the development of the art of photogravure in Japan. He published a number of books featuring photogravure prints, including "The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido" (1896) and "The Flowers of Japan" (1899). These books were highly influential and helped to establish photogravure as a respected art form in Japan. Throughout his career, Ogawa was committed to promoting photography as an art form and to preserving traditional Japanese culture through his work. He died in 1929, but his legacy continues to influence Japanese photography and printing to this day.