Geisha, A Life, Mineko Iwasaki
May. 19th, 2009 06:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
land_sereneTitle: Geisha, A Life
Author: Mineko Iwasaki
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Times Read: 1
Rank:
Summary: Now in her 50s, Mineko Iwasaki was one of the most famed geishas of her generation (and the chief informant for Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha). Her ascent was difficult, not merely because of the hard, endless training she had to undergo--learning how to speak a hyper-elevated dialect of Japanese and how to sing and dance gracefully while wearing a 44-pound kimono atop six-inch wooden sandals--but also because many of the elaborate, self-effacing rules of the art went against her grain. Revealing the secrets of the geisha's "art of perfection," this graceful memoir documents a disappearing world. ~ Amazon.com
Mineko Iwasaki was one of the geisha Arthur Golden interviewed for his novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, and she apparently inspired him more than any others. There were two problems, however, the first and (to me) most important being that she agreed to be interviewed only if she remained anonymous. He apparently agreed, then thanked her by name in his author’s notes. As a former journalism major who had the importance of protecting sources drummed into her, this did in fact bug the crap out of me, and she very rightly sued him. Her other issue was with the text itself, which she claimed was inaccurate in many places and planted a false image of geisha as prostitutes into the minds of the western public. For this reason, she wrote her own autobiography to set the record straight.
It was nice to read another version of the life of a geisha, especially one we can be sure was true for at least one person. It was a good story and I’m glad I read it, but to be honest, I really didn’t like Iwasaki herself. She came across as extremely arrogant and rude, and yet, she was rather a coward. She was in the habit of hiding herself in closets whenever something bad happened to her, and she didn’t stop this until she was in her teens. I realize that this is a risk we take whenever we read a biography or autobiography. Unlike a novel, the author’s first duty is to tell the truth. If the story and the players happen to be engaging, so much the better, but it’s not as important as telling it like it is. I enjoyed reading about the events in her life, but I didn’t exactly enjoy her, if that makes sense.
The one thing her arrogance and stubbornness did allow her to do was to retire at the height of her popularity at age 29, because she was unhappy with the way the system was run and it was very clear that no one was listening to her ideas for change. I highly respect her for taking her life into her own hands like that, and she very clearly had a happy life after she left. I think if she hadn’t had such a high amount of pride and sense of self-worth, she never would have been able to tear herself away from a system that essentially took care of her and provided for her every need. The one time she tried to live away from her okiya (geisha house) she was back rather quickly when she discovered she had no idea how to cook or wash clothes or do anything for herself. But none of that mattered when it came time to leave for good. For that, I respect her greatly.
Author: Mineko Iwasaki
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Times Read: 1
Rank:
Summary: Now in her 50s, Mineko Iwasaki was one of the most famed geishas of her generation (and the chief informant for Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha). Her ascent was difficult, not merely because of the hard, endless training she had to undergo--learning how to speak a hyper-elevated dialect of Japanese and how to sing and dance gracefully while wearing a 44-pound kimono atop six-inch wooden sandals--but also because many of the elaborate, self-effacing rules of the art went against her grain. Revealing the secrets of the geisha's "art of perfection," this graceful memoir documents a disappearing world. ~ Amazon.com
Mineko Iwasaki was one of the geisha Arthur Golden interviewed for his novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, and she apparently inspired him more than any others. There were two problems, however, the first and (to me) most important being that she agreed to be interviewed only if she remained anonymous. He apparently agreed, then thanked her by name in his author’s notes. As a former journalism major who had the importance of protecting sources drummed into her, this did in fact bug the crap out of me, and she very rightly sued him. Her other issue was with the text itself, which she claimed was inaccurate in many places and planted a false image of geisha as prostitutes into the minds of the western public. For this reason, she wrote her own autobiography to set the record straight.
It was nice to read another version of the life of a geisha, especially one we can be sure was true for at least one person. It was a good story and I’m glad I read it, but to be honest, I really didn’t like Iwasaki herself. She came across as extremely arrogant and rude, and yet, she was rather a coward. She was in the habit of hiding herself in closets whenever something bad happened to her, and she didn’t stop this until she was in her teens. I realize that this is a risk we take whenever we read a biography or autobiography. Unlike a novel, the author’s first duty is to tell the truth. If the story and the players happen to be engaging, so much the better, but it’s not as important as telling it like it is. I enjoyed reading about the events in her life, but I didn’t exactly enjoy her, if that makes sense.
The one thing her arrogance and stubbornness did allow her to do was to retire at the height of her popularity at age 29, because she was unhappy with the way the system was run and it was very clear that no one was listening to her ideas for change. I highly respect her for taking her life into her own hands like that, and she very clearly had a happy life after she left. I think if she hadn’t had such a high amount of pride and sense of self-worth, she never would have been able to tear herself away from a system that essentially took care of her and provided for her every need. The one time she tried to live away from her okiya (geisha house) she was back rather quickly when she discovered she had no idea how to cook or wash clothes or do anything for herself. But none of that mattered when it came time to leave for good. For that, I respect her greatly.