MemoirsOfAGeisha

Memoirs of a geisha

Arthur Golden

This romantic historical drama takes place in pre-WW2 times (around 1930s) and is set in Japan, in a town called Kyoto.

Our main character, Chiyo Sakamoto, is a young girl whose life takes a wild turn when she's taken from her poor fishing village and forced to live out the rest of her days as a geisha. But first, what even is a geisha?

CHARACTERS

HATSUMOMO

PUMPKIN

MOTHER

MAMEHA

CHAIRMAN

NOBU

THE PLOT

„The mizuage fee was, of course, the reason Mrs. Nitta adopted me. If she hadn't adopted me, some of that money would have fallen into my hands-and I can just imagine how my new Mother would have felt about that!“ -PAGE 23, CHAPTER 8

,,I think the things I remember are more real than the things I see.” -PAGE 41, CHAPTER 14

QUOTES

,,A woman can say more with her eyes than with any other part of her body." -PAGE 13, CHAPTER 4

,,We must always keep something to remember those who have left us.” -PAGE 38, CHAPTER 13

,,It's the water in both our personalities. My father had wood in his personality; mother and I were full of water.“ -PAGE 1, CHAPTER 1

Author shows us how we directly influence our destiny by the choices we make, but our course also may be drastically altered by outside forces. A small act of kindness can send out many ripples, and transform another's life, just like the Chairman transformed Chiyo's.

Personally, the book is quite good. It definitely has its rather tiring parts, but the most of it is positively interesting and intense. The plot is not hard to understand or follow. It's also a beautiful window into Japanese culture. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves drama and/or romance.

Info

INTERVIEW

with Sayuri Sakamoto

Hi, Sayuri! Hope you're doing well! How are things?

Quite good, thank you! The tea shop's working surprisingly well.

How's your husband, Mr. Iwamura? How is it that you haven't taken his surname?

He's not my husband. He's my danna and danna means patron!

How interesting! And have you, if I may ask, heard from your sister?

No... ever since that night I completely lost track of her...

That's sad... Well, at least you're not on bad terms with your friend, Pumpkin, am I right?

After the incident with the Chairman, we lost touch.

Oh dear! Do you have anyone left except for your danna?

Of course I do... I have myself. I've lived quite a tempestuous life as a geisha. Things haven't been easy at all, but I managed thanks to myself.

Truly inspiring. Would you mind telling us more about it? For example, we would like to know more about Hatsumomo.

Oh, poor Hatsumomo... She was just really frustrated with herself. You see, she fell in love. And geishas aren't meant to fall in love.

Why is that? Didn't you fall in love?

Geishas must be perfect. If a geisha falls in love, it's considered the end of her career. In my case, I was lucky to find a man who I love and who is my danna at the same time.

Did you ever think about being a geisha again?

No, not really. I learned amazing things, but my time as a geisha is over.

Understandable. Well, thank you for your time. I hope you're as happy as you say!

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