An is the lodging house/drinking establishment to which a or geisha is affiliated with during her career as a geisha. The is typically run by the "mother" () of the house, who handles a geisha's engagements, the development of her skills, and funds her training through a particular teahouse. Though a geisha is legally required to be registered to an in order to work, and may live there as a trainee, it is not a legal requirement for geisha to live within their . A geisha's engagements at parties, and her lessons in singing, traditional dance, musical instruments and tea ceremony are also booked through her . An and its attached teahouse typically has its own "branch" of art names linking its geisha and together, usually through the use of a shared prefix; for example, many of the geisha trained at the Dai-Ichi teahouse in Pontochō have names that begin with . Living arrangements Many geisha, particularly those working in more traditional geisha communities such as those found in Kyoto, live within the they are affiliated with, though some working in other areas of Japan – such as the geisha of Tokyo – are more likely to commute in from their own apartment. However, a geisha will still keep her kimono at the , and will dress there every evening before attending parties and engagements. There may be more than one geisha or living in an at any given time, and the mother of the house may also be an active geisha herself; however, there are no requirements for an to have any geisha at all in order to keep its license as an . Financial arrangements The financial arrangements of a geisha's affiliation with her varies; a geisha may start her career by borrowing everything from her , including room and board and her kimono, and may pay this back over time. Under this system, until a geisha's debt is paid off – a process that takes roughly two years through this arrangement – all of her tips and wages go to the , who then give her an allowance in return. A geisha under this arrangement generally enters into it with an external guarantor, and requires the mother of the house to keep extensive and detailed records. Some owners will not take geisha on under these terms, considering it to be too involved and too much work. Another