When I had first heard of this novel, I couldn't understand why it was so controversial.
Now that I've read it -- I understand lol 😩
Memoirs of a Geisha is a book that is meant to focus on just that: recollections from the life of a geisha (for those unfamiliar, a geisha is basically a professional performer who sings, dances, entertains with stories, etc.).
But unfortunately, it was completely whitewashed, and that is not a word to be taken lightly in this context.
My biggest issue with the book is the fact that it is a British? man writing about a Japanese woman's history and experience. An experience such as this one is so personal and intimate, that it should truly be reserved only for those who have lived it? 🥴 Apparently there are so many inaccuracies in this novel that it doesn't matter anyway!
The author, Golden, had the opportunity to interview a real geisha for his book. For obvious reasons, she wished to remain anonymous. Well, not only did Golden openly expose her identity in the acknowledgments, but apparently he even REVISED her past, to make it more tentalizing.
This is the story that the reader receives...
Our protagonist, Chiyo, is a young girl living in Japan during the 1930s. She lives in a poor fishing community with her mother, father, and older sister. One day, her mother begins to fall very ill and does not recover. Her father struggles to care for his two children alone.
As a result, Chiyo and her sister are sold into slavery and sent to the city of Gion.
Once in the city, Chiyo and her sister are separated. Chiyo starts her new life in an okiya. These are living quarters where girls all live together and train to become geisha. However, some do not make it, and life their lives as maids of the okiya. Typically there is a "mother" of the household who is responsible for every girl and geisha.
Chiyo begins her lessons of singing, dancing, tea making, playing the shamisen, kimono wearing... However, her home life as a maid is unsatisfying, and Chiyo's elders make life miserable for her...
She eventually discovers her sister living in another okiya, and the two of them try to run away together. But Chiyo does not make it in time, and soon she is all alone again...
One day, while running errands, the loneliness and hopelessness become too much for Chiyo to bear. She weeps in the streets, until someone eventually stops to comfort her. This man is the Chairman, and from that moment on, Chiyo becomes infatuated with him. She then makes it her life's purpose to be adored by the Chairman.
Chiyo goes on to study hard and become a geisha. The rest of the novel focuses on her "destiny." Chiyo must decide if she wants to be a mistress for comfort, or for love. One of her two suitors would be able to give her a comfortable life, but Chiyo's true feelings still lie with the Chairman.
In the end, Chiyo refuses to commit herself to her first suitor, and goes on to become the Chairman's mistress until he dies.
My thoughts? This novel was horrible... Controversy and inaccuracies aside, what a terrible message. Chiyo spends her entire life fighting her feelings for the man she truly loves in order to feel pity for another. She nearly dedicates her life to a man she does not love. Rather than respecting her feelings, and the feelings of others for that matter, she lies, manipulates, and destroys in order to advertently get what she wants. It's a vicious and callous mentality; very depressing to read...
The biggest discrepancy that I cannot get past is the virgin auction: taking the highest bid for a girl's virginity. It isn't the fact that Chiyo is 15-years-old, because that shit did happen back in the day... but not with geisha! 😩 Golden literally goes out of his way to explain that "geisha are not prostitutes," then goes on to treat them like prostitutes not but A PAGE later! 😂 Then, the rest of the novel was basically about geisha sleeping around! 😫
"They wore kimono and hair ornaments similar to geisha, but their obi were tied in front rather than the back. I'd never seen this before and didn't understand it, but it's the mark of a prostitute."
Literally 3 pages later:
"'We'll run away Tuesday late at night, five days from now. I have to go upstairs, Chiyo. A man has come for me.'"
Geishas were not prostitutes. They were never mistresses for men. They were not having multiple abortions. It's extremely defamatory, and I can understand why the "anonymous" geisha went on to sue Golden.
If someone wanted a feel for this aspect of Japanese culture (without getting depressed 😂), then honestly, I would recommend the movie Spirited Away. They say the bathhouse environment is reminiscent of a brothel, so every time I was reading about scenes in the okiya, I would picture Spirited Away. Again, geisha were not prostitutes, but I truly felt like I was in the movie when I would read about the women all under one roof.
