Tags
family, Survival, Memoir, historical, travel, Japan, loss, Asia, geisha, Japanese, glamorous, investment, struggle, kyoto
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Book Nook. I know I have been MIA for the pass two weeks or so but I am back and we are going to be doing a review on Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. This is one of the books I picked up at my local used book store and I absolutely loved it! We have a lot to get through, however, before we get started, I encourage you all to comment down below and tell me your thoughts. Also, make sure you are following the Book Nook on WordPress, Instagram and YouTube; that way you don’t miss any of my reviews in the future. So, without further ado, lets get into it.
This books follows Sayuri, a young woman who was sold by her father at the age of 9 and ended up becoming a Geisha in the 1930s. It follows the ups and downs of Geisha life and all the challenges Sayuri had to face throughout her life.
It took me about a week, week and a half to finish this book. It’s not terribly long, 428 pages to be exact, but it’s pretty dense and there’s a lot of information to process. It is boring in the beginning but once Sayuri becomes an apprentice Geisha it picks up. I do have to point out that Sayuri is a fictional character; however, the day-to-day living of a Geisha presented in this book is not.
I found the whole idea of being a Geisha fascinating.
All Geisha live in okiya, which is a house that is occupied but a Geisha and her staff, so-to-speak (maids, cooks, assistants, etc.). However, if you are a very prominent Geisha and make good money, you are able to live in your own apartment. But majority of the Geisha lived in okiya. Many Geisha occupy certain teahouses as well. Again, if you are a Geisha of a certain status you would frequent a more upstanding teahouse and have access to a specific clientele of men. On the flip side, if your Geisha status is low, you would frequent other teahouses with lower statuses as well. Geisha also have to be very well-verse in the arts. From what I understand, Geisha women did go to school but not necessarily for science, math, history, etc. Instead, these women were taught the art of calligraphy, dance and music. These women were also taught how to be seductive but also demure.
If a Geisha were in the presence of a man, she would raise the sleeve of her kimono slightly to reveal a bit of their wrist to entice the man but not to imply that she was loose or fast. On the flip side, if a Geisha were in the presence of a woman, specifically an older woman, she would raise her sleeve but just slightly so as not to cause offense. I thought it was also interesting that there was a Geisha registry. Although now that I think about it, it makes sense. These women were investments and so the city (specifically the city of Kyoto which the book takes place) must keep track of everything. Furthermore, these women barely ever seen even half of their earnings. For example, if a Geisha made $300 a week she would probably get $120 (if that). The earnings go to various people before the Geisha can even get her cut. The host of the teahouses the Geisha occupy get a percentage as well as her hairdresser, her kimono maker, the registry office and the okiya itself. With that being said, most Geisha try to get a danna; or to put it in modern terms, a sugar daddy. Unfortunately, most Geisha didn’t have a danna because most men in the city could not afford to be one.
All Geisha, at one point, are apprentices. An older Geisha, known as a big sister, would take a young girl under her wing, a little sister, and mentor her on becoming a Geisha. Now, Sayuri lived in an okiya initially as a maid but the current Geisha, Hatsumomo, refused to be her big sister. Hatsumomo was cruel, manipulative and ultimately jealous of Sayuri. But Sayuri did became the little sister of Mameha which turned out great because Mameha was the most popular Geisha in the city. Other that Hatsumomo’s treatment of Sayuri, another thing that irritated me somewhat was Sayuri’s infatuation with the Chairman.
When Sayuri first came to Kyoto as a child, a man known as the Chairman, should her a bit of kindness; since then Sayuri has fantasized about this man. Even when the Chairman did not recognize Sayuri many years later, Sayuri held out hope. What I found even more crazy was that at some point, Sayuri did give up on being with the Chairman but when she found herself back in the Chairman’s circle years later her infatuation sparked again. It all worked out in the end but even I wanted her to let it go.
As I whole, I loved this book. The whole concept of a Geisha was insightful and fascinating. The life of a Geisha may seem glamorous but majority of these girls were Geisha, not because they wanted to be, but because they had to be. It was a part of their survival. Their lives did not belong to them. With that being said, I would recommend this book to anyone who had any preconceived notions about Geishas.
Overall, I give it a 5/5.
Until next time!
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