Geisha, A Life
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This book is a very interesting first-person account of what it meant to live life as a geisha in the 20th century. Frank, intelligent, and very evocative, this book dispels quite a few notions about who and what the geisha are. In this book, Mineko Iwasaki simply tells us her story, from her earliest recollections, through her childhood and adolescence, and into her adult life as one of the most successful geisha in the Gion Kobu. Her experiences also mark a very interesting period of history, a time when Japan was recovering from the Second World War, a time when the Japanese were trying to “re-invent” themselves, as well as their traditions.
Iwasaki's tale is one full of many rare and privileged experiences. She meets heads-of-state, captains of industry, royalty, and movie stars. She entertains Prince Charles and tries to chat up Queen Elizabeth. Both accounts are quite hilarious and you will have to read this book to find out more. But this story is not all fun and games. The rigorous training and pressure put on these young women is astonishing, and the price to become a full-fledged geisha is higher than most are able, or willing, to pay.
The life of a geisha is one that is supposedly shrouded in mystery, but Iwasaki takes pains to explain everything in exacting language, and all done through her own particular hectic experiences. The geisha are supposed to be accomplished entertainers: well versed in song, articulate in foreign and domestic affairs, accomplished in foreign language, deft in music, dance and calligraphy, charming beyond all femininity. They are superhuman in the quiet spaces of human interaction, and epitomized in a particularly painted role between the sexes. There is no other word to describe such people other than “geisha”.
A very interesting and evocative read. More interesting in that it is written by someone on the inside of that world, the “karyukai”, the “the flower and willow world”.
Read it and enjoy!
Mark Groenewold
Kanazawa, Japan
March, 2003
This page is Copyright ©2003 Mark Groenewold
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