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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I loved it. I loved the way she explained all the things of Japanese culture that we don't know. I love how she mixes some sad situations with funny ones.
And the fact that were some photos of her and her friends in the last pages is why I give this book 5 stars.
And the fact that were some photos of her and her friends in the last pages is why I give this book 5 stars.
The dilemma: wanting to reread Memoirs of a Geisha while travelling in Kyoto but not wanting to support a white male appropriating an Asian female's story.
The solution: Mineko Iwasaki's autobiography in opposition to Arthur Golden's fiction based on her story.
It was beautiful. My opinion is likely skewed by the beauty of reading her story while in Kyoto. Golden may have been more seamless and descriptive and moving, but I love it nonetheless. (And yes, Iwasaki comes off as more than arrogant as an adult/writer and esp as a child). I think I would have also liked more of the family she left behind.
The solution: Mineko Iwasaki's autobiography in opposition to Arthur Golden's fiction based on her story.
It was beautiful. My opinion is likely skewed by the beauty of reading her story while in Kyoto. Golden may have been more seamless and descriptive and moving, but I love it nonetheless. (And yes, Iwasaki comes off as more than arrogant as an adult/writer and esp as a child). I think I would have also liked more of the family she left behind.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
I've always been fascinated by Geishas and their secretive world. It was a wonderful experience to read about a real life geisha, not to mention learning about Japanese culture. I might not love all aspects of Japanese culture portrayed in the book, but I do appreciate the new knowledge and perspective.
informative
slow-paced
I wish to note at the outset that, while I really liked this book, I think a lot of people will find it very dry. Mineko Iwasaki's memoir is a story of her life as well as the story of geisha, and, as the latter involves and relies upon so much detail, it is necessary to include a lot of description. I found it fascinating; I know other people will be bored.
So. Know that going in, if you decide to read this book (instead of Arthur Golden's fictionalized rip-off of Mineko Iwasaki's life).
I know very little about geisha or about what life was like for children in post-WWII Japan, so almost everything in this book was new to me. Mineko Iwasaki (and Rande Brown)'s writing style is light and the book is well-organized. There are a lot of Japanese terms, and fortunately most appear in the foreword (I'm calling it the foreword--it's the initial, unnumbered chapter); the book could really use a glossary at the end, because at times it got a little difficult to keep everything straight. There are two photo sections, which are lovely, but I wanted more--and in a book with this much detail, I think more photos is a fair request!
I learned a lot from this book--about geisha, about Mineko Iwasaki herself, about the culture surrounding geisha--and I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
So. Know that going in, if you decide to read this book (instead of Arthur Golden's fictionalized rip-off of Mineko Iwasaki's life).
I know very little about geisha or about what life was like for children in post-WWII Japan, so almost everything in this book was new to me. Mineko Iwasaki (and Rande Brown)'s writing style is light and the book is well-organized. There are a lot of Japanese terms, and fortunately most appear in the foreword (I'm calling it the foreword--it's the initial, unnumbered chapter); the book could really use a glossary at the end, because at times it got a little difficult to keep everything straight. There are two photo sections, which are lovely, but I wanted more--and in a book with this much detail, I think more photos is a fair request!
I learned a lot from this book--about geisha, about Mineko Iwasaki herself, about the culture surrounding geisha--and I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Abandonment
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
It is a good biography but the dates and years do not add up. The editor should have caught those mistakes. And I am one of those people who get vexed when dates are clearly wrong. In a biography that might one day become a historical document, it is very important to get dates, years and time sequences right! Otherwise the author's honesty will be questioned.
Content Warnings
Mineko prefers to describe outfits, rather go in to too much detail about the bullying that went on in the Gion Kobu world. And her nephew's attempted rape is not described too much in detail, nor her affair with a married man, so a safe read for us who prefer to be spared sexual details!
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Mineko Iwasaki comes from an aristocratic but impoverished family in Kyoto. In these circumstances, her family decide to send four of their daughters to be educated to be geisha or geiko in the famous old geisha district in Kyoto. This allows the daughters to live in genteel circumstances, and to be educated in traditional Japanese arts, such as dance, music, calligraphy, and the tea ceremony. When they are old enough, they go on to appear at distinguished parties, dressed in extremely expensive kimono, and meet many wealthy and influential people. Iwasaki is in the highest echelons of the rarefied society: she is trained for hours every day, and her mere presence at a party is hugely expensive. However, she still lives a very constrained life: there are very strict rules about how she comports herself, and she is only allowed to dance, her passion, in very specific circumstances. She is also extremely driven, working long hours and often only sleeping for three hours a night. This book gives the other side of the coin to Sayo Masuda's Autobiography of a Geisha: Masuda is an essentially an indentured servant in a rural bathhouse, and experiences abuse and extreme poverty. She is not trained as Iwasaki is, and, unlike Iwasaki, she is a sex worker as well as an entertainer. The two worlds are extremely different, but exist within the same system, and both Masuda and Iwasaki chafe against the misogyny they experience. The difference is that Iwasaki sees much to love in the world of the geisha, and is proud of her accomplishments and the long history attached to traditional Japanese arts, although ultimately she finds it too stifling, and leaves. This is a worthwhile read, though I didn't find it as moving as Masuda's work.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced