Memiors of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

I'm sure most of you have heard of this book, even if you haven't read it. I picked this up in FOPP last year but only got around to actually reading it for the first time last week. I have to say that I am glad I finally got around to reading it as it's one pretty amazing book.

Before I go on any futher I should reallly clear up the fact that the word "geisha" does not mean "prostitute," as a lot of us ignorantly assume. It actually means "artisan" or "artist".

The book is the memoirs of one of Gion's (one of the most famous geisha districts in Kyoto, Japan) more famous geisha girls, Sayuri (or Chiyo as she was known prior to becoming a geisha). It follows her life starting in a small fishing villiage just before she was sold as a servant and apprentice to a well known okiya (which is a house which homes geisha girls). The book effectively illustrates the hardships that these young girls had to endure during their training to become apprentice geisha. The school the girls had to attend doesn't cover your normal, maths, sciences etc but instead concentrates on things such as tea service, dance and the teachings on the use of many different musical instruments.

The book covers the main events in Sayuris life, from her debut as an apprentice geisha, alongside her older sister (an older sister is a fully fledged geisha that takes an apprentice under her wing to show her the ways and also to allow her to gain a good reputation), to the sale of her mizuage (virginity), to the highest bidder for a record price, to becoming a fully fledged geisha at the age of 18 and also her first danna (a male that pays extra and who in return gets "extra priveledges". A geisha only has one danna at a time and this is the best way in which to make your okiya a lot of money). It also follows the course that Sayuri's life took when the geisha districts were shut down through Japan in the last years of WWII and the subsequent reoppening several years later. It finally concludes with her new life in New York, after many hard years work as a Geisha.

I would highly recommend this book as it allows a glipse into a world that has previously been hidden to most people. It shows just what people are prepared to do to succeed and even just to survive.

It's a very rare opportunity for such an insight, as there has never been such a frank covering of the life of one of the more famous Gion geisha girls.