Rivalry- A Geisha's Tale -Japanese Studies Series-

Ahead of it's time
After the success of Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, I noticed that books about Geishas were gaining popularity. People started to write about Geishas, and older books about Geishas were brought back into the spotlight. I say this, because after reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" I, like many others, went out to look for more Geisha books. Having read the Geisha books that I did, I can honestly say that Rivalry is one of my favourites. The story starts with the Geisha Komoyo bumping into her former client Yoshioka. They were involved with each other back when Yoshioka went to school, but they soon drifted apart. Yoshioka went abroad to study, while Komoyo got married. Komoyo's husband dies, bringing her back into the Geisha world. Soon after the meeting, Yoshioka and Komoyo start things up again. Things start off smoothly, Yoshioka is pleased with Komoyo since she reminds him of his youth and Komoyo is happy to be with someone, but it doesn't take much time for there to be some tension between the two. Yoshioka wants Komoyo to leave the Geisha business, which leaves Komoyo quite distressed. She left the Geisha business before and was happy with her husband, but once he died, she had nothing, causing her to come back to the world she left behind. She doesn't want to go through with that again and tries her best to give him an answer. As she is left to think about the offer, she falls for the actor Segawa and starts up an affair with him. It doesn't take long for Yoshioka to find out and when he does, he decides to get his revenge. While reading this novel, I felt so bad for Komoyo. She made some stupid decisions, but it was depressing watching the men use her and the other Geishas trying to ruin her. I understood Yoshioka's anger at Komoyo, but Komoyo fall from grace is heartbreaking. Rivalry shows some of the uglier side of the Geisha life. There is one scene where Komoyo picks up another client, hoping to replace him with Yoshioka, only he's hideous. So hideous that she names him the sea monster. She tries to get rid of him, but it only makes him want her more. He's truly a scary creature and I felt bad for anyone who was stuck with him. If you are looking for a book exactly like Memoirs of a Geisha, then I don't think this is what you are looking for, there no tea ceremonies, or descriptions on how to become a Geisha. Instead, you are pushed straight into the Geisha world, reading not only about the inner workings of the girls, but also the men who use them. If you like Geisha novels, Japanese fiction, or just want to try something new, then definitely pick up this novel. I had a blast reading it. 4.5/5

A Cameo of the Taisho Period
Nagai Kafu is not well known in the West but he is important for his chronicling of certain aspects of the Taisho period (the one after the Meiji Restoration) when Japan was undergoing massive change due to its contact with the West but much still remained of what, we in the West, would regard as traditional Japan. This is the story of a geisha who after having been married by one of her customers, returns to the quarter when her husband dies and she cannot survive in the remote country area of his relatives. She becomes involved in a love triangle where she is ultimately disappointed. The ending is, however, in the context of the book, a happy one. More important than the plot to the modern reader is the picture of everyday life of a geisha in that period and their vulnerability to the whims of men and the fears that they face. It also dwells on the cultural skills of the geisha and the central role played by kabuki actors at that time. It is a fascinating and at times, alarming tale. Japan

Mean girls
Apparently catty girls fighting over a popular guy knows neither the boundaries of time nor place nor social status. "Rivalry: A Geisha's Tale" could just as easily be a hot new teen film, starring Lindsay Lohan as the naive new girl being manipulated and preyed upon by the more cynical seniors. Even when set against the elegance of the flower and willow world, these women of the arts are still just ordinary people inside, with hopes and ambitions and disappointments just like everyone else. And that really is the charm of this book. The geisha here are just allowed to be people, and interact in a regular old-fashioned love/rival story, rather than serving as some great symbol of refined and mysterious Japan. There is almost no emphasis put on the job of the geisha, the endless hours of training, the various roles in the geisha house and the extravagance of rare mockingbird-poop make-up that gives them a special sheen. Instead, they are just human beings doing a job, not all of them happy with it, not all of them good at it, but all of them determined to make some go at happiness, by hook or by crook. Author Kafu Nagai has put forth a story that is far more Jane Austen than Kawabata Yasunari, more light-hearted romp than heavy-hitting classic. The basic story has Komayo arriving on the Tokyo Shimbashi geisha scene, returning after a short break when she was married are taken to the countryside. Her husband dead and her marriage over, she returns to the only work she knows. Unknowingly stealing a client from another geisha, the established and imperious Rikiji, she sets herself in a position of retaliation, and the gears start slowly working against her. Others move about the scene, like Hanasuke, the second-place girl content to be in the background but still looking after her own interests, or the slutty Ranka about whom it is gossiped that she is little more than a prostitute painted like a geisha but is still very popular with the male customers. The prize for all involved is the handsome and popular actor Segawa, a somewhat fickle man who is content to watch the game unfold and see who emerges the winner. A short book at a little over 200 pages, it is still a great read and a refreshing perspective for anyone wanting to read about geisha, or just get involved in a fun catty story of a couple of pretty gals maneuvering for the top guy.

Geisha reality
In a typically well-written Japanese novel from the early half of the last century we find out - between the lines rather than between the sheets - just what it meant to be a geisha and to live in the geisha world. And if anybody knew about this world, it was Kafu.