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Fiona Graham

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Fiona Graham
Born
Fiona Caroline Graham

Melbourne, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Other namesSayuki
Alma materKeio University
Occupation(s)Anthropologist, geisha
Websitewww.sayuki.net

Fiona Caroline Graham (born in Melbourne]], Australia) is an Australian anthropologist. She debuted in Tokyo's Asakusa district as a geisha under the name Sayuki (紗幸) in 2007.[1]

Academic career

Graham first came to Japan at the age of 15 on a school exchange programme.[2]

Her first degrees in psychology and teaching were taken at Keio University. She received a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford, and an M.B.A. from the same.[3]

Geisha training

On 19 December 2007, Graham formally debuted as a geisha under the name Sayuki in the Asakusa District of Tokyo, after a year of preparation and training.[4][5] Graham became a geisha as an academic project for a year initially but received permission to continue after the initial year.[6] She continued as an Asakusa geisha for more than three years. She is the first westerner to work as a geisha in Japanese history. American scholar Liza Dalby claims to have debuted as a geisha in the 1970s, but as clearly stated in her own book, she did not do the required year of training before hand, and was not affiliated, this cannot be regarded as a real debut. Sayuki takes lessons in several arts, including tea ceremony and shamisen, but her main art is the yokobue (Japanese bamboo flute).[7]

Graham was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2010,[8] and also in the fashion magazine Marie Claire in November 2009.[9]

In February 2011, Graham was disaffiliated from the Asakusa Geisha Association after repeated disputes with other geishas, who claimed she failed to follow customs and show proper deference to more experienced practitioners, spending too much time on self promotion.[10][11][12] In a June 2011 interview in The Australian, Graham stated that the Asakusa Geisha Association had rejected her request to operate independently from December 2010 after the "mother" of her geisha house fell ill. She would however continue to operate as a geisha despite the refusal, possibly in a different geisha district.[13] According to a representative of the Asakusa Geisha Association, the Association only gave special dispensation for Graham to be a geisha "as part of her study" and "did not expect her to become an independent geisha to begin with".[12] The Association acknowledged that Japanese citizenship was one requirement for working as a geisha.[10]

Current work

In March 2011, Graham opened a second-hand kimono store, "Sayuki no Kimonoya", in Asakusa, Tokyo.[1][14] As of July 2011, Graham offers non-traditional geisha services, such as banquets for students and pensioners, birthday parties, and trade shows.[15]

On 4 August 2011, Graham visited the last remaining geisha in Kamaishi, Iwate, 85-year-old Chikano Fujima, to present her with two kimonos after hearing that she had lost her home and belongings in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[16]

Wanaka Gym court case and fine

In December 2010, as sole director of Wanaka Gym Ltd., Graham was fined NZ$64,000 and ordered to pay NZ$9,000 in costs to the Queenstown Lakes District Council in New Zealand, after being convicted of 14 charges under the Building Act concerning the use of the Wanaka Gym in Wanaka as a backpacker-style hostel after the building had been declared "dangerous" in June 2008.[17] During the trial, Graham's second lawyer sought to have the defendant's name and occupation details suppressed, claiming it would jeopardise her activities in Japan, but this was denied by the presiding judge.[17][18] Graham had been involved in a legal battle with Queenstown Lakes District Council regarding the Wanaka Gym premises since 2000; in 2006, she was fined NZ$5,000 in the Alexandra District Court after her property was deemed a fire risk for its 14 tenants,[19] and in 2009 she was ordered to pay back NZ$4,150 to five former tenants who had been evicted.[20]

Bibliography

  • Inside the Japanese Company by Fiona Graham, Curzon Press, 2003, ISBN 0-415-30670-1
  • A Japanese Company In Crisis: Ideology, Strategy, And Narrative (Contemporary Japan) by Fiona Graham, Routledge, 2005, ISBN 0-415-34685-1
  • Playing at politics: an ethnography of the Oxford Union by Fiona Graham, Dunedin Academic Press, Edinburgh, 2005, ISBN 978-1903765524

References

  1. ^ a b Martin, Alex (3 June 2011). "Geisha cuts into kimono market". The Japan Times Online. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  2. ^ Ryall, Julian (9 January 2008). "Westerner inducted into mysteries of geisha". The Telegraph. Japan: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  3. ^ Ryall, Julian and Norrie, Justin (8 January 2008). "Australian academic is a geisha down to a tea". The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Melbourne woman becomes a geisha". 9 News. Ninemsn Pty Ltd. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  5. ^ Corkill, Edan (29 June 2008). "Aussie geisha speaks out". The Japan Times. The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  6. ^ Nakano, Keisuke (12 May 2008), "Meet Sayuki, first foreign geisha", The Nikkei Weekly
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference tg20080124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Lisa Ling goes inside the world of a modern geisha and a real-life nunnery". Oprah.com. Harpo Productions, Inc. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  9. ^ Haworth, Abigail (9 November 2009). "Meet Japan's First Western Geisha". Marie Claire. Hearst Communication, Inc. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  10. ^ a b "外国人芸者の独立ダメ…業界組合「想定外」と困惑". Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Japan: Sports Nippon Newspapers. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Ryall, Julian (4 June 2011). "First ever Western geisha leaves the 'sisterhood'". The Telegraph. Japan: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  12. ^ a b Novick, Anna (7 June 2011). "Foreign Geisha's Future Uncertain". The Wall Street Journal: Japan Realtime. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  13. ^ Wallace, Rick (6 June 2011). "Aussie Geisha Fiona Graham rejects reports she's split with Asakusa Geisha Association". The Australian. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 29 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ "AIESEC Opportunities Newsletter, Edition 3" (pdf). AIESEC Melbourne. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  15. ^ Graham, Fiona (7 July 2011). "Sayuki is doing a lot of new banquets for new types of customers". Sayuki - Geisha in Asakusa. Japan. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  16. ^ "被災芸者に着物のプレゼント＝豪出身の「紗幸さん」－岩手・釜石". jiji.com (in Japanese). Japan: Jiji Press Ltd. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b Beech, James (18 December 2010). "Gym owner fined $64,000". Otago Daily Times Online. New Zealand: Allied Press Limited. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  18. ^ "Building company fined $64K". The Southland Times. New Zealand: Fairfax New Zealand Limited. 18 December 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  19. ^ "Owner to take council to court over evictions". The Southland Times. New Zealand: Fairfax New Zealand Limited. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  20. ^ Haggart, Matthew (5 February 2009). "Gym landlord ordered to pay $4150". Otago Daily Times Online. New Zealand: Allied Press Limited. Retrieved 4 August 2011.

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