Memoirs of a Geisha
| File:Memoirs of a Geisha book.jpg | |
| Author | Arthur Golden |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | September 23, 1997 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 448 pages (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-375-40011-7 (hardcover edition) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first-person view, tells the story of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before World War II.
Plot summary
Contents
It is 1930 in Japan. Before her mother dies, the main character, Sakamoto Chiyo, and her older sister, Sakamoto Satsu, are taken to Gion by Mr. Tanaka. Satsu is sold to a "house of pleasure" as a prostitute, while Chiyo is sold to an okiya, a house for geisha. Chiyo meets Mrs. Nitta, or "Mother," the mistress of the okiya.
With her unusual blue eyes, Chiyo is to train to become geisha, but is constantly antagonized by Hatsumomo, the resident (and only) geisha of the Nitta okiya. The arrogant Hatsumomo recognises Chiyo's potential and is upset at any hint of competition. Due to Hatsumomo's machinations, Chiyo is reduced to becoming a maid in the okiya. She befriends another girl named Pumpkin.
An encounter with the wealthy and benevolent Chairman changes her luck. They meet when Chiyo is seen looking sad, looking down at the water in the middle of the bridge, mainly because she is a maid and not training to be a geisha at the okiya. The Chairman sees her, and tells her to smile more. He then gives her coins to buy 'sweet ice,' a treat like a sno-cone. After, Chiyo goes to the temple and prays to see him again. Soon after, Chiyo wins the eye of Mameha, the most successful geisha in Gion, who is despised by Hatsumomo because she outshines her in every aspect and having earned her independence as a geisha, unlike Hatsumomo, cannot be toppled. She takes Chiyo in as her younger sister and protégé and trains Chiyo to rival Hatsumomo. Chiyo's entrance into apprenticeship is marked by being given a new name: Sayuri.
Mameha orchestrates a bidding war between rich patrons for Sayuri's mizuage (interpreted in the narrative, erroneously, as a deflowering ceremony), and Sayuri's final price is more than enough to pay off her entire debt to the Nitta okiya, establishing her as a highly successful geisha and earning her adoption by the mistress of the okiya. This causes a rift between herself and Pumpkin because Pumpkin was also hoping to be adopted into the okiya. As the years after Sayuri's adoption roll by, Hatsumomo's reputation and status as a geisha begin to diminish as Sayuri begins to outshine her. With the help of Mameha, Sayuri causes Hatsumomo to attack one of her most distinguished patrons causing her to be kicked out of the okiya.
The outbreak of World War II, a theme foreshadowed by growing reference to the Japanese military, represents, structurally, another major challenge for the heroine. Her successes are quickly made irrelevant, and her physical beauty is tarnished by manual labor and malnutrition. The life of luxury is replaced by a new reality: her personal dark valley.
During her time as a geisha before the war, she encounters the Chairman again, but finds it impossible to get close to him as she desires. Instead, she finds herself constantly being pushed to be with Nobu, the Chairman's most trusted friend. Nobu saves Sayuri from the harsh labor of the war until Gion is able to open again on the condition that she will allow him to become her danna (patron), even though she desires the Chairman.
However, it is not until she puts herself in an undesirable position that Sayuri's desire to be with the Chairman truly frees her to pursue her own destiny. The Chairman then frees her from the okiya and becomes her 'danna' (A danna was typically a wealthy man, sometimes married, who had the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other costs). The book ends with Sayuri living in the USA and the hint that she has had a son with the Chairman.
Controversy
After the Japanese edition of Memoirs of a Geisha 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 acknowledgements for the novel.
In 2003, Golden's publisher settled with Iwasaki out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.
Iwasaki later went on to write her own autobiography, an account vastly different from Arthur Golden's novel, published as Geisha, A Life in the US and Geisha of Gion in the UK.
See also
References
- McAlpin, Heller. Night Butterflies; Memoirs of a Geisha. Arthur Golden. Los Angeles Times 30 November 1997. Pg. 8.