A team of highly skilled geishas accompany their ruler, Lord Tensei, around the world to perform an ancient Japanese custom: the daily back-shaving ritual.

The women, robed in silk kimonos and faces painted ghostly white, come from a long lineage of back-shaving courtesans dating back to Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1868).

Trained since girlhood, the geishas are duty-bound to serve the feudal lord of their prefecture — a rank attained by Tensai last year.

Every morning at sunrise, the geishas bathe Lord Tensai in a hot spring bath (or “onsen”), scrubbing every inch of his body before beginning the shaving ritual. Their shaving techniques are precise and elegant, passed through generations of Kyoto geishas, and leave Tensai’s skin soft and stubble-free.

A typical Japanese Lord requires only one geisha for this job, but Tensai is a special case. Before he ascended to the throne, he was frequently belittled with shouts of “Shave your back!”

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