In one of the busy malls in Tokyo, Ikuko, Japan's oldest and most famous geisha dances for shoppers in an elegant black kimono with precise movements. Only, the 86-year-old isn't really there; it's her hologram, a 3D projection of her, displayed in a life-size white box.

Foreign Correspondent secures rare access to the closed world of geisha, Japan's iconic art form struggling to survive.

In one of the busy malls in Tokyo, Ikuko, Japan's oldest and most famous geisha dances for shoppers in an elegant black kimono with precise movements. Only, the 86-year-old isn't…