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'I want you to know what it is really like to live the life of a geisha, a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and richly glorious rewards. It is a life in which I was a pre-eminent success; many say the best of my generation. And yet, it was a life that I found too constricting to continue. And one that I ultimately had to leave. It is a story that I have long wanted to tell. My name is Mineko.' For more than four decades, Mineko Iwasaki has lived within the confines of powerful but invisible constraints. Bound by an ancient, unwritten code - 'by the robes of tradition and the sanctity of our exclusive calling' - she and thousands of other women over the course of three centuries of Japanese history have shielded their extraordinary lives from public view. In Geisha of Gion, Mineko is the first Japanese geisha to shed light on the fascinating and arcane geisha tradition. Captivating and poignant, Mineko's book captures her earliest memories, beginning with her move to the geisha house at the tender age of four and her initiation into the profession that she would perfect. As we follow Mineko's gradual blossoming over the years from 'Little Princess' to the brightest of stars, we learn all about the intricate training and rigid education system by which girls become geishas, the specific duties and performances required of the women and the extraordinarily vast foundation of wealth upon which geisha culture rests. Filled with moments of great strength and delicate beauty, Geisha of Gion is a brave and luminous revelation.
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Reviews:
Fantastic read, very informative
Mineko is refreshingly honest in this book, telling us about times that she had been embarrassed or doing anything wrong along with her joys and tribulations. She was very lucky to have parents such as her mom and dad who clearly cared very much for her, though I wonder if the attention she got was more because she was the youngest child in the family, as her parents were old when they had her, since several of her older sisters were sent to become geishas.
The photos in this book make for a nice touch, though I wish there could have been a couple more (there was a diagram of the geisha hairdo, but not one of the geisha outfit), this story is splendid and informative with some wonderful trivia of the geisha world. I am surprised that Arthur Golden - the author of Memoirs of a Geisha - changed some of the information on the geisha world in his book of fiction. Why would he get things purposefully wrong? I am glad that Ms. Iwasaki wrote this book. Not only is it educational, but it's a great look in the life of a highly successful #1 geisha.
Hopefully with more knowledge of the geisha world available, the changes that Ms. Iwasaki wants to see established in the system might be finally enacted. 5 out of 5 stars for an amazing autobiography!
information but dull
I read this book only because I needed the information but if your looking for interesting reading, forget it, this is like reading a history book except its just about one person.
Reality is more interesting...
Okay, so in the case of movies the book is almost always better. In fact I searched Amazon intending to read the book that inspired "Memoirs" the movie, but after reading a little more into it I decided on this book instead.
I was not disappointed. I couldn't put this book down once I started and read it in a little more than a sitting one weekend. A fascinating story that's very well written, and so so so much better than the movie.
Some reviewers have said that they found Mineko "selfish" and "hateful". I don't see her that way. I see her as very independent, headstrong and truthful. I see her as not trying to mask a competitive and complicated world in fake sweetness. Of course, this is only my opinion, you'll have to read it yourself to decide.
Where's the comparison?
I have read both "Memoirs" and this book and I just don't see any comparison at all. Things that Arthur Golden wrote about were said by him to be fiction, based on things that others told him. She wasn't the only geisha that he spoke to. I found Mineko a spoiled brat and very money hungry. She even comments that she didn't really care about taking care of her customers. All she wanted to do was dance. I couldn't enjoy this book because I disliked the author immensely. I find her too selfish and cold to give her praise for her book. Her litigation being won was, to me, another money making scheme. The more I read, the more I disliked her and her book.
I would have given this more stars but Mineko is not a nice person
I enjoyed the book in general as this subject has always facinated me. Overall it was well written but annoying at the same time. Mineko is not a nice person and is rather discusting. She suckled on her big sisters breast until she was well over 8 years old and was cruel enough to be happy her "mean"older sister has Alzheimers. Mineko states she is getting what she deserves. It is hard to tell if her sister is really mean as Mineko dislikes just about everyone. Though fictional the heroine in Memoroirs of a Geshia is likeable where Miniko is not. She is conceited, arrogant and at times downright hateful.
