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Yuko Asakusa, believed to be Tokyo's oldest geisha, speaks about continuing her profession at 91-years-old. Full Story: Ninety-one-year-old geisha Yuko Asakusa has sat in front of the mirror putting on make-up, adjusting her kimono and preparing the tools of her trade for 75 years. These days, there are few geishas left in a fading profession in which female entertainers sing, dance and engage in witty conversation at dinner parties for exorbitant prices. The number of geishas, which means "performer" in Japanese, peaked at 80,000 in 1928 country-wide, but now only about 1,000 remain. The geisha association in the Asakusa district in Tokyo says there are now 216 of them left in the Japanese capital. Asakusa, who's real name is Fumi Kikuchi, keeps pace with her colleague Suzuryu, 57 years her junior, as they walk to a nearby Japanese restaurant. The Asakusa geisha association said she is the city's oldest geisha. Asakusa still maintains a busy schedule -- sometimes with 20 reservations a month. Asakusa, has been working as a geisha in the Asakusa district of Tokyo since she was 16-years-old. She says she is proud of her age and doesn't hide it. "I'm still only 91-years-old. I say 'I'm still only 91' to people on purpose. When I say 'I'm still only 91-years-old', my clients laugh uproariously, wow, they laugh loudly," Asakusa said. Asakusa began as an apprentice to a geisha house called Shin-Kikuno-ya" when she was 13-years-old. She herself asked to become a geisha after she was influenced by geisha movies she watched over and over with her mother. She debuted as a full-fledged geisha three years later. Asakusa said being a geisha was an easy career choice. "No matter what, I love to perform. I like playing the shamisen, singing, and dancing. You don't call someone a 'geisha', if she doesn't like to perform," she said. In its hey-days in the early 20th century, the Asakusa district had over 1,000 geishas entertaining clients in restaurants. While she no longer dances due to her age, Asakusa says she'll be singing and playing the Japanese three-stringed instrument called shamisen, until her last breath. "Its not about until how old I get, in my case. I will be a geisha all my life. It's not until a specific age, it's until I die," she said. She met a married customer at the age of 20 and gave birth to his son. She then raised her son alone with the help of her mother. Asakusa said her son would tell his teachers of his mother's profession. "When my son's school teacher asked him what his mom is doing, he said 'my mom is a geisha' and he added, 'she's a first-class geisha'," she said. Asakusa now spends a lot of time teaching the young generation about what it is to be a geisha and the traditional arts. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C