Post by Dominique on Jul 9, 2007 19:34:57 GMT -5
I finished The Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially those who have read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I found it really interesting so I thought I'd share a couple of things about it.
As I've mentioned in a previous post Iwasaki is the geisha Golden interviewed in researching Memoirs of a Geisha and she was so unhappy with the end product of the book she tried to sue him. In this book you can see how parts of Iwasaki's life are very similar to that of Memoirs of a Geisha, and parts Golden has altered dramatically.
Also of interest is Iwasaki claims that a lot of the western image of geisha as courtisans comes from confusion between geisha and oiran and tayu. She says that the oiran and tayu are high class prostitutes where as geisha are entertainers. The major plot point in memoirs of a geisha where the main character's virginity is auctioned off is apparently an example of this confusion, the term mizuage is used for oirans when they come of age and their virginity is auctioned off. The same term is used for geisha when they become a proper geisha and they change their hairstyle and are no longer apprentices.
It's pretty funny if this is true because it means there's a major error in a book that was a best seller for weeks and weeks! I think I prefer it to Memoirs of a Geisha anyway.
Mineko also meets and entertains Gucci, the Queen and Prince Charles through her career; which is interesting to read about!
As I've mentioned in a previous post Iwasaki is the geisha Golden interviewed in researching Memoirs of a Geisha and she was so unhappy with the end product of the book she tried to sue him. In this book you can see how parts of Iwasaki's life are very similar to that of Memoirs of a Geisha, and parts Golden has altered dramatically.
Also of interest is Iwasaki claims that a lot of the western image of geisha as courtisans comes from confusion between geisha and oiran and tayu. She says that the oiran and tayu are high class prostitutes where as geisha are entertainers. The major plot point in memoirs of a geisha where the main character's virginity is auctioned off is apparently an example of this confusion, the term mizuage is used for oirans when they come of age and their virginity is auctioned off. The same term is used for geisha when they become a proper geisha and they change their hairstyle and are no longer apprentices.
It's pretty funny if this is true because it means there's a major error in a book that was a best seller for weeks and weeks! I think I prefer it to Memoirs of a Geisha anyway.
Mineko also meets and entertains Gucci, the Queen and Prince Charles through her career; which is interesting to read about!
