When she was young, her father took her to visit her two older sisters (one of the sister was Yaechiyo IWASAKI) at an okiya (dwelling of geisha) in Gion, where the owner, Ima IWASAKI, took a liking for her and she had her adopted by her adopted daughter, a local geisha named Fumichiyo IWASAKI (at the time of adoption, she changed her name to Mineko, because her adopted mother's real name was Masako.)
幼少のころ、実父とともに実姉2人（そのうちの一人が岩崎八重千代（いわさきやえちよ））が、芸妓として勤めている祇園の屋形（置屋）を訪れ、主人の岩崎今（いわさきいま）に見初められ、跡取りとして今の養女であった地方芸妓、岩崎富美千代（いわさきふみちよ）の養女となる（そのとき、名を峰子と改めるが、これは養母の本名が政子であったからだといわれる）。