FEATI University

Helios St., Sta. Cruz, Manila

Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden

(Book Review)

Revor E. Velasquez

14-00275

Dr. Aracelli Ayuyao

Instructor
 Introduction

One difference between memoir and autobiography is that memoir is

usually concerned with personalities and actions other than those of the

writer, whereas autobiography stresses the inner and private life of its

subject. Thus, this book is narrated by Sayuri herself , bringing the novel

triumphantly to life. She narrates her reflections concerning much of the

events in the novel.

Memoirs of a Geisha is an amazing novel that discusses the life of a

Geisha, a Japanese artist -entertainer. Both its very exotic s etting, with its

extremely different value system, and fascinating plot contribut ing to

making this novel a special book worthy of reading.

The world of Geisha is a secret and forbidden world. The shell is

beautiful and seems to be a life of luxury, but th e core is pure suffering.

Geisha do not love, they do not choose their fate, and their life is owned

by the men they entertain. They are not meant to feel. The very word

geisha means moving art. That’s all they’re meant to be. Not humans but

paintings. Like a sculpture, beautiful but cold as the stone their made of.

Memoirs of a Geisha is a book that is based on a true story and lets us

catch a glimpse of the world where the women paint their faces and don’t

deserve to love. Golden’s achievement has been to open this world and

reveal it in all its detail, to a fascinated, and sometimes shocked, reader.

Thesis of the Story

In Memoirs of a Geisha a thematic statement that best exemplifies

the story is achieving your goals, taking every step, surviving through

hardships, and letting no one stand in your way. This statement shows

how Chiyo ’s life evolved from a little girl in a fishing village, to a servant,

and then became Sayuri, an extraordinary geisha.

“Your family sold you to this house, you live here now. If you

impress mother, and do exactly as she says, she will send you to school

become a geisha.” – p.85

An innocent girl entered a world where appearances are paramount;

where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men…

“We don't become Geisha to pursue our own destinies. We become

Geisha because we have no choice.” – p. 360

…and where love is scorned as an illusion.

Time/ Period of the Story

In the early days of geisha entertainment, courtesans, singers,

dancers, samisen player s and jesters gathered at theaters and teahouses

to perform. In the nineteenth century, geisha were trendsetters in fashion

and taste, and their teahouses were cultural centers. In 1940s geisha

entertainment was outlawed. The geisha world is traditionally a world of

ceremony and masks.

Locale of the Story

The book started in a poor town of Yoriodo where Chiyo and her

sister grew up until sold by their father to the Geisha district in Kyoto. And

throughout the book, the world of Sayuri and other geishas revolve i n the

pleasure district of Gion.

Main Character

Sayuri (Chi yo) is a heroine one can identify with. Though intelligent

and beautiful, she is not perfect, and deeply hurts several people in her

life. This is not done intentionall y, but is a result of her desperate

attempts to escape from the geisha world.

Minor Characters

The vindictive geisha Hatsumomo, the beautiful and kind Mameha

who acts as Sayuri’s older sister, the ultimately pathetic geisha Pumpkin,

once Sayuri’s friend, who turns on her and attempts to destroy her.

The Title’s Relation to the Story

Obviously, the title of the book, Memoirs of a Geisha, relates to the

life of the heroine battling in such a controlling environment; and yet, a

system that can also be very deadly. One misstep, one bit of scandal, and

many geishas found themselves ostracized by the community.

The Significance of the Story

 Chiyo is a slave, being trained for the sole purpose of pleasuring

men, men that mean nothing to her and are like alien be ings. Up to this

point, not a single person has shown her any kindness without ill

intentions and when she is about to lose her faith in humanity . A man

appears out of nowhere and shows her true kindness. Finally, a man

means something to her. One of these men that she is supposed to serve

has a face and value to her. She made it her life -purpose to reach him .

Chairman was the man SHE wanted and SHE desired for herself.

Considering her life, that was a big goal . He was the symbol of true

kindness. Her dedic ation to reach him was moving and ethereal.

Additionally, the book successfully described the life of a geisha .

The author is obviously well -informed and has done his research.

The Interrelationship of the Events

Uprooted from her family environment, she is treated with great

harshness at the okiya (geisha house) to which she has been sold. She

learns very quickly that geisha girls have little hope of love and warmth,

either from other geisha girls, who are fiercely competitive, or from the

men in their li ves. A successful geisha will usually have a danna – a

permanent lover who acts as her patron and pays her expenses. But

Sayuri, right from the start of the story, is driven by her need for love, and

in the end she succeeds in becoming the mistress of the man who truly

cares for her and has always seen beyond the geisha ceremony to the
woman beneath. Sayuri’s journey to happiness is long, and her life

undergoes many changes: The hardships of W orld W ar II turn geisha life

upside down and after the war, many of the old traditions are destroyed

forever. But Sayuri has the resilience and intelligence to adapt.

Plot: Exposition

In the 1920’s in Kyoto, Japan a young girl named Chiyo lives with

her sister Satsu, in a poor town called Yoriodo along with her sick m other

and elderly father. Her father sells Chiyo and her sister to Mr. Tanaka to

be taken to an office where they decide that Chiyo will become Geisha for

her good looks and blue eyes but Satsu will be taken to a prostitution

house in the pleasure district .

Complication

Chiyo is taken to the Nitta okiya (Geisha House) to become a

Maiko (apprentice geisha). She breaks her leg from trying to run away and

her training is stopped. Chiyo is then told that both of her parents have

died. She meets the Chairmen of Iwamura Electric Company and falls in

love with him. She dedicates her l ife for him to become her danna.

Crisis or Problem

Hatsumomo is the lead Geisha in the Okiya and is jealous of Chiyo’s

good looks and the attention she gets. Thus, she treats Chiyo like the dirt

she walks on. The only person in the okiya kind to Chiyo is Pumpkin, an
aspiring geisha the same age as Chiyo. Her dream is to be adopted by

oka-san (owner of the okiya ) and be the lead geisha of the okiya.

Climax

Mameha, a renowned geisha, comes to the okiya to offer to be

Chiyo’s onee-san (older sister). She teaches Chiyo all of the secrets to

becoming a great geisha. She is no longer known as Chiyo but, Sayuri.

She was also declared as the lead geisha of the okiya and successor after

selling her mizuage with astronomically high bid by Dr. Crab.

W ar is declared on Japan. Nobu, a patron and good friend, takes

Sayuri into hiding in northern Japan. She lives there f or years working at

a dye factory owned by Nobu’s friend. Nobu comes for her and offers to

become her danna. Sayuri, still in love with the Chairman, doesn’t know

what to say. Nobu says that before she answers Sayuri and Pumpkin need

to entertain a party w ith an American general to try and make peace. She

accepts and tries to look like the geisha she was years before. Nobu

clearly doesn’t like the General so Sayuri uses the general to make Nobu

hate her. Sayuri tells Pumpkin to bring Nobu to the warehouse l ater at

night. Sayuri brings the General with her and starts to be intimate with

him. The door opens and instead of bringing Nobu as Sayuri asked,

Pumpkin brought the Chairman! The Chairman sees and walks away.

Denouement or Resolution
 Sayuri is depressed. She almost certainly lost the one she loved.

She gets invited to a small get together and is surprised to find that the

only person in the tea house is the Chairmen. He begins by saying that

Nobu was supposed to come but heard about what happened and n ow is

livid at her. He continues that he was the one who told Nobu because he

understood Sayuri’s intentions. He says that Pumpkin explained and

begins to kiss Sayuri. He confesses his love to her and offers to become

her danna.

Conclusion

Sayuri moves to America because of a feud with who would inherit

the Iwamura Electric Company. She m oves to New York and the Chairma n

visits regularly. Sayuri has her own teahouse to manage.

Conflict

Man versus man. Sayuri needs to face her competitors who in

deliberately try to pull her down. This includes Hatsumomo because of

jealousy she did with all her might to keep Chiyo fail as a geisha.

Moreover, Pumpkin is also considered as an enemy of Sayuri even though

at the early part of the book she is kind. Pumpk in put Sayuri in ineffable

agony when she betrayed her in bringing the Chairman instead of Nobu.

Man versus society. Given the fact that Sayuri is a geisha, the

geisha world is an intricate society to deal with. One misstep, one bit of
scandal, and many geishas found themselves ostracized by the

community

Point of View

The book presents a first -person point of view in the persona of

Sayuri. She narrates her whole journey in becoming a geisha.

About The Author

Arthur Golden was born and brought up in Tennessee, in the

southern United States. He graduated from Harvard in 1978 with a degree

in art history, specializing in Japanese art. In 1980 he obtained a

postgraduate qualification in Japanese History and also studied Mandarin

Chinese. He then went to work for a magazine in Tokyo, where he met a

young man whose father was a famous businessman and whose mother

was a geisha. Golden was fascinated by this, and back in the United

States, began a fictional novel about a young man whose mother was a

geisha. However, rea lizing that his real interest was in the secretive

geisha world, he resolved to write a novel about a geisha. He did an

enormous amount of research and the novel took many years to write. He

wrote three versions of the book before it was finally accepted b y a New

York publisher. The authenticity of the novel brought Golden much -

deserved success. The author lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his

wife and children.

 CONCLUSION

“Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may suffer them,

all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.”

On our brief trip across this mortal plain we often become full of

ourselves, and our importance in the scheme of things, forgetting that we

came from dust and to dust we shall soon return - as we came - taking

nothing with us. The traces of our lives blow away with the winds of time.

W e are as grains of sand on a beach, one of indistinguishable billions, our

success and triumphs less than an atom in the grand scheme of things.

Memoirs of a Geisha is an entrancing novel that transports the

reader into the true world of Geishas. Into the world of illusions, beauty,

mystery and conflict.