Memoirs of a
Geisha is a novel about the famous but misunderstood Geisha of Japan. Often thought of as prostitutes, they entertain men by dance and music, all while maintaining a stately level of elegance. Geisha are hardly prostitutes. The word Geisha means art in motion.
Young Chiyo is a Japanese girl who is taken from her depressed father and sick mother before reaching even her 10th year. Her
sister is along with her, but they are soon separated as well. Chiyo is taken to the Nitta Okiya, which is the name of the place where a family of Geishas live(Nitta refers to the last name of the owner of the
house). She of course does not want to be there, and attempts to run away with her sister. Her plan fails however, after she falls off of a roof. Mother, the woman who runs the Okiya, decides that Chiyo is not a good investment and stops paying for her to be trained in the arts of the Geisha.
After being convinced she would never be a Geisha, Chiyo is forced to help her ‘sister’ in the Okiya, pumpkin, become a geisha and put up with the eldest Geisha of the house, Hatsumomo, who is very conniving and deceitful, and also, wants Chiyo out of the house. This all changes when Chiyo meets a man she names the
Chairman. Chiyo is completely enamored with him and decides that the only way she can gain the attention of a man like that is to become a Geisha. She prays for a way for it to happen, and it does. A Geisha named Mameha
comes and requests to be Chiyo’s mentor.
By the
time Chiyo has become a full Geisha her name has become Sayuri and she is very famous for her beauty and allure. She comes in contact with the chairman again at a sumo tournament, but is forced to dote on a colleague of the Chairman’s, which brings her great sadness. This attention does a great service however, because the colleague, Nobu, finds her a niche during the war where she will be safe, dying fabrics for a kimono maker.
After the war, Chiyo again becomes a Geisha, and is now required to also help entertain the American soldiers. An incident with another co-worker of Nobu’s breaks Chiyo’s ties with him, and she becomes the donna, or patron and mistress, of the Chairman, which is her long time dream.
It should be noted here that the
movie is no substitute for the book. The movie comes off as a sleazy love story, where the book comes off as an enchanting look into another culture. Do not base one off the other.
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