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I once had the pleasure of meeting a woman who was once the No.1 geisha in Japan. She's a wonderfullady, funny, warm and kind. She was once a favorite of my wife's grandfather who, with his manybusiness and social connections, helped her find sponsors and make her name. He died many years backand more recently his wife - my wife's grandmother - also passed away. This lady unassumingly tookcontrol of all the everyday things at home - cooking, cleaning, child-minding - so that the familycould grieve and deal with the multitude of funeral related matters.

Geisha do still exist and ply their trade, of course. But the role they play in modern society is minor and, except for the attention they get from camera-wielding tourists, largely unseen. In fact, most of the women captured on film are either maiko (apprentice geisha) or local tourists themselves, done up for a few hours of faux. Memoirs of a Geisha Quotes Showing 1-30 of 312 “At the temple there is a poem called 'Loss' carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. Love marriages weren't nearly as common and it wasn't considered immoral for men to visit geisha because we were respected artisans and the arts were our trade. The wives did not hate us because we prevented their husbands from visiting brothels where there was a.

In the evening she regaled us with geisha tales and parlor tricks. Some of the jokes and songs weresurprisingly risque, but related with such grace and skill that no one could really be offended. Sheis well into middle age but I could see how, in her time, she must have drawn men to her like mothsto a flame.

A Kyoto Geisha

Arthur Golden's 1998 novel Memoirs of a Geisha revived interest in an aspect of Japan that is sointrinsic to the Western stereotype and yet so far removed from the reality of daily life here. Geishado still exist and ply their trade, of course. But the role they play in modern society is minor and,except for the attention they get from camera-wielding tourists, largely unseen.

In fact, most of the women captured on film are either maiko (apprentice geisha) or local touriststhemselves, done up for a few hours of faux sophistication and attention seeking.

But like their malecounterpart the samurai, the geisha and her world continue to fascinate people around the world as partof their image of a mysterious and timeless Japan. While prostitution is often referred to as the 'oldestprofession' and the history of the geisha stretches back several centuries, and although there have beentimes when the two overlapped, today's geisha should really be thought of as traditional entertainers.

Because while many people assume that geisha is just a Japanese word for a prostitute, the somewhat moreromantic word 'courtesan' is closer in nuance, and even that is misleading when you consider their history.I remember exploring the history of geisha, preparing a culturologyresearch paper in university - it cameas a surprise that the word geisha itself literally means 'person of the arts' - indeed the earliest geishawere men - and it is as performers of dance, music and poetry that they actually spend most of their workingtime.

The two most famous hanamichi (geisha quarters) can be found in the capital cities of today and yesteryear,Tokyo and Kyoto. Medieval Edo, as Tokyo was formerly known, had the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, wherekabuki actors and artists would mingle with the evolving merchant class. The Edo period (1600-1868) was atime when Japan was largely closed to the outside world and also an era of great cultural development.

Actors, sumo wrestlers and geisha were often the subjects of colorful ukiyo-e, woodblock prints whose nameliterally means 'pictures of the floating world,' a wonderful euphemism for the world of carnal desires.

In the case of Kyoto, entertainment was to be found in the Shimabara district. Even today, maiko and geiko,as they are referred to in Kyoto, entertain customers in traditional teahouses.

History of Geisha

Today's geisha have their roots in female entertainers such as the Saburuko of the 7th century and theShirabyoshi, who emerged around the early 13th century. They would perform for the nobility and some evenbecame concubines to the emperor.

It was in the late 16th century that the first walled-in pleasure quarters were built in Japan. Like so manyaspects of Japanese culture, they were modelled after those of Ming Dynasty China. After they were relocatedin the mid-1600s, they became known as Shimabara (after a fortress in Kyushu).

Meanwhile a marshy patchof land (Yoshi-wara) in Edo had been designated as the site for a brothel district under the auspices of theTokugawa shogunate. Brothels and the like were not allowed to operate outside the district and strict ruleswere applied.

Included among these were that no customers were allowed to stay in a brothel more than 24 hours; courtesanswere to wear simple dyed kimonos; and any suspicious or unknown visitors were to be reported to the Office ofthe City Governor.

With Japan enjoying a long-awaited period of peace following centuries of civil war, many samurai found thatsociety no longer had such need of their services. It's thought that many daughters of these formerly noblefamilies became courtesans, with the result that quarters such as Yoshiwara and Shimabara were places ofrefinement and culture.

Peace also brought an increase in prosperity and the rise of the merchant class, or chonin. Add that to thepresence of artists and an atmosphere free of the strictures of the outside world, and it truly was somethingof an adult amusement park, with culture thrown in for good measure.

Within the hanamichi there were many different classes of courtesans, and over the decades the hierarchy andthe standards expected of them changed many times, not always for the better. The situation deteriorated inthe mid-18th century to the extent that a new form of entertainer emerged in Kyoto and Osaka.

The earliest geiko were men, while the first females, who appeared shortly after, were odoriko (dancers) orplayed the shamisen. Female geisha soon became popular enough to be able to steal clients from the courtesans,and in the case of Yoshiwara it was decided to start a kenban, or registration system, to keep them undercontrol and force them to pay taxes. It strictly controlled their dress, behaviour and movements and wasconsidered so successful that it quickly became the norm at hanamichi across Japan.

These strict rulesin fact allowed the geisha to flourish as artists and entertainers. Though more simply dressed than thecourtesans, they became regarded as fashion leaders.

But many aspects of the lifestyle itself were less glamorous. Young girls were sold into the geisha life bytheir families until the mid-20th century and were often subject to the ritual of 'mizu-age,' whereby theirvirginity was sold to the highest bidder. Such practices were eradicated after World War II and the geishaprofession went into a steady decline.

Today, if geisha are hired to entertain at a private party outside the upper eschelons of society, they aremost likely to be seasoned veterans, more akin to your favorite aunt or even grandmother than the girl nextdoor.

Some of the colour photos on this page were kindly provided by photographer Frantisek Staud, who has a wonderful collection of photos of Japan among his many galleries. See PhotoTravels.net

Related content:

Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of a fictional geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before, during and after World War II, and ends with her being relocated to New York City.

In 2005, a film version was released.

Plot summary[edit]

In 1929, nine year-old Chiyo Sakamoto and her 15 year-old sister, Satsu, are sold by their father to work within the entertainment districts of Kyoto. They are taken from their home, the coastal fishing village of Yoroido along the Sea of Japan, and travel to Kyoto by train; upon arrival, Chiyo is taken to the Nitta okiya (geisha boarding house) in Gion, whereas Satsu - deemed less attractive and therefore a poor investment - is instead taken to a brothel within Kyoto's pleasure district.

Chiyo is taken inside, and is introduced to Auntie, Mother (Auntie's adoptive older sister and the matriarch of the house) and Granny, their elderly and poor-natured adoptive mother and the okiya's former 'mother'. Both Auntie and Mother are strict, though Auntie is kinder to Chiyo, whereas Mother is driven by money and business. Chiyo is also introduced to Hatsumomo - the premier geisha of the okiya, its primary earner, and one of the most famous, beautiful and ill-mannered geisha of Gion. Hatsumomo takes an instant disliking to Chiyo, and goes out of her way to torment her. Auntie warns Chiyo against both angering and trusting Hatsumomo, knowing the ill-mannered geisha's true nature very well.

Chiyo begins her 'training' at the okiya, which consists of household drudgery, before she is deemed worthy enough and starts her geisha training. Having learnt the location of Satsu from Hatsumomo, upon an errand one day, Chiyo runs off to find her, and discovers her working in the pleasure district. The two conspire to run away and escape. Returning to the okiya, Chiyo discovers Hatsumomo with her boyfriend, Koichi; both Hatsumomo and Chiyo are punished after Chiyo is falsely accused of stealing by the furious Hatsumomo.

Miserable and desperate, Chiyo plans to finally run away from the okiya; however, she is caught when she falls off the roof and breaks her arm. Enraged at her for being a poor investment, Mother stops investing in Chiyo's geisha apprenticeship and returns her to the life of a maid. In a letter, Chiyo learns of her parents' deaths, and that Satsu managed to escape and return to Yoroido, only to run away with the son of a fisherman.

A few years later, a downtrodden Chiyo is given money and a handkerchief in the street by a kind stranger known to Chiyo as the Chairman. She donates the money to a shrine in Gion, praying to become a geisha of sufficient status to entertain the Chairman, and keeps the handkerchief as a memento. Soon afterwards, Pumpkin prepares to make her debut as a maiko, and the 'younger sister' of Hatsumomo, whilst Chiyo remains a maid; this is, however, until Mameha, another famous geisha in Gion, persuades a reluctant Mother to reinvest in Chiyo's training, with Mameha acting as Chiyo's mentor and 'older sister'.

Under Mameha's care, Chiyo becomes a maiko with the given name of Sayuri (meaning 'lily'), and is reacquainted with Chairman Iwamura (who appears not to recognise her), his closest friend and business partner Nobu, and a number of other prominent men. As Sayuri gains popularity, Hatsumomo - who has been refused succession of the okiya through adoption by Mother - tries to hurt Sayuri's reputation and career in the hopes of Mother adopting Pumpkin instead, through whom Hatsumomo can run the okiya by proxy.

Mameha devises a plan to orchestrate a bidding war for Sayuri's mizuage (a deflowering 'ceremony' for maiko as a step to becoming a full-fledged geisha). The plan is almost ruined when Hatsumomo attempts to spread the rumour of Sayuri no longer being a virgin; however, her attempt fails, and Mameha uses the record-breaking payment for Sayuri's mizuage to cover all of her debts. Mother adopts Sayuri over Pumpkin, ultimately destroying their friendship forever, and Hatsumomo begins a downward spiral into alcoholism before being thrown out of the okiya permanently following the assault of a kabuki actor during a party.

Upon Sayuri's promotion to fully-fledged geishahood, Nobu expresses an interest in becoming Sayuri's danna (patron), but loses to General Tottori; with Japan on the eve of war, Mother decides that a connection to the military is more important to the okiya. In 1944, geisha districts are ordered to close, and with many geisha conscripted to work in the factories, Sayuri desperately asks Nobu for help to avoid being conscripted into factory work. He sends Sayuri far north to live with his old friend, Arashino, a kimono maker, where she stays for much of the war.

At the end of the war, Nobu visits Sayuri, asking that she return to Gion to entertain the new Deputy Minister, Sato, whose aid Nobu desperately needs to rebuild his and the Chairman's business, Iwamura Electric. Sayuri returns to Gion to find Pumpkin working in a new okiya; despite hoping to rekindle their friendship, Pumpkin later sabotages Sayuri's plan to scare Nobu off from proposing to be her danna, as revenge for taking her place in the adoption so many years ago.

A few days after her plan fails, Sayuri is summoned to meet a client at a teahouse. Believing Nobu has called her to discuss the arrangements for becoming her danna, Sayuri is surprised to see the Chairman instead, and confesses that she has worked for years to become close to the Chairman. The Chairman admits that he has always known she was the girl he met on the street, and confesses his feelings for her as well, but felt he owed Nobu - his oldest and closest friend - the chance to be with Sayuri out of kindness. He also admits to having asked Mameha to train Sayuri.

Sayuri peacefully retires from geisha work when the Chairman becomes her danna. It is heavily implied that they have an illegitimate son together. Foreseeing the consequences this could have regarding the inheritance of Iwamura Electric, she relocates to New York City and opens her own small tea house for entertaining Japanese men on business in the United States. Sayuri severs her links to the Nitta okiya and, in effect, Japan. The Chairman remains her danna until his death and the story concludes with a reflection on Sayuri and her life.

Of A Geisha Movie Set In Japan

References to actual locations[edit]

Much of the novel is set in the popular geisha district of Gion in Kyoto, and contains references to actual places frequented by geisha and their patrons, such as the Ichiriki Ochaya. Part of the story is also set in the Amami Islands, and Sayuri narrates the story from her suite in the Waldorf towers in New York City.

Lawsuit[edit]

After the Japanese edition of the novel was published, Arthur Golden was sued for breach of contract and defamation of character by Mineko Iwasaki, a retired geisha he had interviewed for background information while writing the novel. The plaintiff asserted that Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity if she told him about her life as a geisha, due to the traditional code of silence about their clients. However, Golden listed Iwasaki as a source in his acknowledgments for the novel, causing her to face a serious backlash, to the point of death threats.^[1] In his defense, Arthur Golden countered that he had tapes of his conversations with Iwasaki.^{[2][clarification needed]} Eventually, in 2003, Golden's publisher settled with Iwasaki out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.

Iwasaki later went on to write an autobiography, which shows a very different picture of 20th century geisha life than the one shown in Golden's novel.^[3] The book was published as Geisha, A Life^[4][5] in the US and Geisha of Gion in the UK.

Film version[edit]

In 2005, film director Rob Marshall made a film version of the novel. It stars the Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi as Sayuri, Gong Li as Hatsumomo, and Michelle Yeoh as Mameha; and Japanese actors Ken Watanabe as the Chairman, Suzuka Ohgo as Sayuri's childhood incarnation Chiyo, and Youki Kudoh as the adult Pumpkin.

Filming was primarily done in California, and in some locations in Kyoto, including Kiyomizu-dera and Fushimi Inari-taisha. It was nominated for and won numerous awards, including nominations for six Academy Awards, three of which—Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design—it won.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

Memoirs Of A Geisha Cast

1. ^Richard Lloyd Barry (March 30, 2006). 'The Queen and the Geisha'. The Times. UK. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
2. ^A Geisha ScornedThe Rough Guide to Japan: The Rough Guide, by Jan Dodd, Simon Richmond. Published by Rough Guides, 2001. ISBN1-85828-699-9. Page 889.
3. ^Chris Kincaid (May 6, 2015). 'The Battle of the Books Memoirs of a Geisha vs Geisha, A Life'. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
4. ^Geisha, a Life
5. ^Tamara Weider (October 10, 2002). Remaking a memoirArchived January 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Boston Phoenix. Accessed 2012-12-12.

References[edit]

Memoirs Of A Geisha Cast

• Quotations related to Memoirs of a Geisha at Wikiquote
• McAlpin, Heller. 'Night Butterflies; Memoirs of a Geisha'. Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1997. Pg. 8.
• Dalby, Liza. 'Geisha'. 1983. pp. 54–64 (prostitution); pp. 109–112 ('deflowering' and mizu-age).
• Iwasaki, Mineko. Geisha; A Life. Simon and Schuster, 2003, books.google.com/books/about/Geisha.html?id=Yqj4q6M7x9MC.

+Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of a Geisha. G.K. Hall, 1999.

Memoirs Of A Geisha 200