Madame Sadayakko
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| The Cover of Madame Sadayakko |
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Lesley Downer wrote this very interesting book about a child who was born with the name Sada Koyama. She was a child, like so many other kids, who was simply born at the wrong time, and in the wrong place. In the late 1800's in Japan, life was hard, particulary if you are born a girl, and the 12th of a houseful of kids. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle, and in a society that placed little value on little kids, she was used as "collateral" against a "loan", in essence, "sold" as a piece of property into a geisha house.
But this child was no ordinary child. She grew up in this exotic, strange, and mysterious world of geisha and achieved success where so many failed, were lost, endured hardship, tragedy, or simple misfortune. It was an incredible string of chance meetings, circumstances, and twists of fate and history that sent this child-slave into a world where she experienced unheard of adventure, and was able to exert unheard of influence to the furthest corners of the world.
Sada's name changed over time, and she became known as Sada Yakko, or simply Sadayakko. She was the first geisha to ever travel around the world, and her journey ranged from utter ruin where, along with a troupe of kabuki actors not being able to speak a lick of English on the rough shores of California and without two dimes to rub together, managed to reach such acclaim and have such success that she was able to meet historical figures like, The Duke of York, Queen Victoria, King Otto of Bavaria, Czar Nikolai II, Giacomo Puccini, and Pablo Picasso. It is an incredible biography of a very real, very passionate, very complicated and powerful woman.
Sadayakko was not only a woman whose sole purpose was to live and work in the "floating world" and the ethereal realms of sexual titillation, she had ideas of her own what it meant to be a woman, what it meant to be free, and how to use her position to affect and influence the society and world where she came from. After her incredible journeys through the world, Sadayakko was able to focus on change in Japan. She was not a social reformer with megaphone in hand, she was simply smart enough to know what it took to get power and resources, and then despite what anyone said or thought, did what she thought was best.
In Japan today, living in such a way is virtually unheard of. As a woman in the 19th century, living through the turn of the century, a former geisha, a lowly wife, and a "filthy actress", she would not have had a leg to stand on. But Sadayakko turns her own world upside-down, seemingly through will power, drive, and desire for a better future. She is a heroine of epic proportions, and the woman that women of Japan today could take a few lessons from. Tough, resolute, and determined, she exemplifies what is the best, and most beautiful in a world of illusion, dance, and pretense.
A great read, an amazing biography, this book is meticulously researched, has excellent structure, and is a gripping read. This is a book where the spirits of the "floating world" step out of the pages and kiss your cheeks.
An excellent read!
Mark Groenewold
Kanazawa, Japan
February, 2004
This page is Copyright © 2004 Mark Groenewold
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