Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I'm reading this book right after completing the memoirs of a geisha. This book surpasses it, not only because it's authenticity drips through the pages, but because the threads close much better. If you want a real account of the life of a geisha, read this!
Put the movie/book "Memoirs of a Geisha" to shame. Has more of an autobiographical, non-fiction slant.
i think its because i have literally just finished autobiography of a geisha by sayo masuda, but i didnt really like this as much as i thought i would. from the get go its sort of a dry read, packed with all the information i wanted to know about first class geisha and erudite japanese culture, but also controled, emotionless. there were parts where i could feel mineko's love and spirit really shine through (particularly during her time with toshio) but for the most part i felt her writing was very stilted and short. i dont think this is a translation issue either; mineko's personality seems very controled and measured, and i absolutely cant blame her for developing into such a person. she also comes off as fairly spoiled. i think perhaps at one point that was because she knew nothing else but splendor and beautiful kimono but today i think she knows better.
all that being said, this was an enjoyable read. combined with sayo masuda's memoir of her time as a geisha, i believe i now have a more complete image of what a geisha is and does. masuda was a hot springs geisha in prewar japan and iwasaki was a first class geisha in gion kyoto after the war, so the differences are really jarring. anyway, i have a hard time disliking memoirs even if theyre so stiffly written.
all that being said, this was an enjoyable read. combined with sayo masuda's memoir of her time as a geisha, i believe i now have a more complete image of what a geisha is and does. masuda was a hot springs geisha in prewar japan and iwasaki was a first class geisha in gion kyoto after the war, so the differences are really jarring. anyway, i have a hard time disliking memoirs even if theyre so stiffly written.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
Sometimes it seemed like the author was protecting her image after the Memoirs of a Geisha scandal. I believe the author, but do wonder if some things were left out.
I remembered my father's dictum "The samurai betrays no weakness when starving." But this time I changed it to "The Samurai betrays no weakness when eating," and swallowed hard.Imagine. Asia has been the dominant world force for the past 500 years. One of the members of its countries, a moderately well established but still relative nobody in terms of commercial fame, has the idea of looking into the cultured, rigorous, and extremely private realm of ballet. This member (cishet dude of able physical ability and general neuroatypicality of thoughts) of the dominant paradigm focuses on the most popular representative of ballet, a quaintly named person (a racial, ethnic, gendered, and linguistic other) with quaint little attributes and a sense of self from a quaint little mystery of a country known as France (a place that the dominant sphere of influence has always had something of a fetish for, capitalistic and otherwise), someone who happens to have achieved monumental success with both skill and personal dignity within the field but still recognizes how the institution's refusal to change with the times and open up to the modern world will ultimately be its death knell without severe intervention. The representative agrees to interviews, the member transcribes his notes, and all throughout that transaction, the respect that the representative has been raised on to both give and to accept is a nonentity to the member's gaze, who is simply looking for the next exotic hog to cash in on. A quarter of a century and a successful libel lawsuit later, the world is still one where Asia dictates the international paradigm and Europe is a funny little realm filled with odd cultural mores and salacious pastimes, with France acting as lightning rod for the dehumanizing as one collection of major world powers enforces its perspective and exacts the resulting payment from a collection of minor ones. I mean, it's a shame Europeans and their diaspora feel so offended whenever they interact at all with the world of literature and the overriding picture of them is some cobbled together porno stereotype of a fanfiction that continues to be devoured by those who will never read something written by an actual European in their lifetime, but they really can't expect to be taken seriously, acting the way they do. Anyway, freedom to read, right?
This is a book that attempts to do what many a work acting in a marginalized position is often forced to do: take on the entire history of their people, culture, and collective identity and deliver it in the kind of groveling, song and dance form that white Anglo types still expect to receive whenever they deign to step out of their Confederate live action role playing and obsession with the Great British Bake Off and acknowledge that the rest of the world exists. Now, Mineko Iwasaki is more than passionate about song and dance, but in the manner of a professional at the height of her powers, proudly resplendent at the helm of the heritage carried on for more than a thousand years in a position that she gave the years of her youth to in the kind of overexertion that postpones physical development and could have well sent her to an early grave. Since her country is not of the Powers That Be and she is not one of those sacrosanct identities that can gun down innocents and lustfully pursue children and not only continue to hold office, but also be admired in terms of character construction/place in history, of course we get reviews which neither contemplate with increasing interest the ramifications of the María Luz Incident had on constructs of ethics the world over or marvel at the beauteous cultural edifices that Japan has been able to maintain for hundreds of years, WWII being merely one of the more severe shocks to a deeply embedded institution of culture and respect, but instead talks about how Mineko Iwasaki is unlikable. Despite being brutally honest in many regards in terms of her personal shortcomings, traumatic experiences, youthful hopes and aged reconciliations with results ranging from disappointing to downright tragic, apparently the idolatry that white Anglos, especially those hailing from a certain collection of states, has for those who literally run themselves into the ground in the pursuit of being the best there ever was, doesn't extend to those fields for whom a highly feminized range of professional skills of attributes from fashion and music performance to dance and customer service is what garners acclaim, rather than a business suit and a stock market portfolio. Apparently it's acceptable to kick around subordinates, but not to skillfully subvert and circumnavigate major cultural faux pas committed by various members of foreign royalty without causing international scandals and major breaches in the relationships between major world powers. Go figure.
And yet, I didn't love this book. As is the case with all autobiographies/memories, Iwasaki's strongest resource is her comprehensive honesty, putting in details all along the way while contextualizing them whenever she feels it to be necessary so that a reader may come some way towards understanding Iwasaki's life as much as she does herself. And, of course, in the wake of the kind of breach in confidentiality that paints the truest picture of white male behavior on the cusp of the 21st century, she is extremely explicit about her efforts to combat the more malicious aspects of the false portrayal, even to the point of sanitizing certain aspects of her field in a manner that directly contradicts Sayo Masuda's [b:Autobiography of a Geisha|70048|Autobiography of a Geisha|Sayo Masuda|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388233863l/70048._SY75_.jpg|67868], first published nearly a half century before Iwasaki's work and written from a perspective far removed from the comparative royalty of that businesswoman's realm of influence. Also, the writing isn't the strongest and/or in line with my personal preferences for such, so while I appreciate the solid look at a much sensationalized topic, the work benefits a tad too much from not having much in the way of serious competition. There's some interesting analysis to be made in comparing the experiences of the two, along with looking further into the idea of geisha in an era where art and cultural output is severely undercut in favor of STEM/capitalism and sex workers the world over are working to claim the profession for themselves, but the idea of being able to find serious, credible, and respectful work being done on such issues on the Anglo side of things while white folks continue screech out en masse their yellow fever/yellow peril imaginings is rather farcical, to say the least. I'll keep my ear to the ground, as I usually do; I just ask that the typical reader who can't understand why MoaG is far from the greatest thing on earth to shut up and get out of my way.
So we support the dance but it does not support us. And we are not mountaintop sages who can live by consuming mist.
informative
inspiring
reflective
Loved this memoir! Mineko Isawaki was one of the most famous geikos in Japan, and to read her life story in her own words is truly fascinating.
I've had this book on my Amazon wishlist for a while, as it was not available for the Kindle, and received it as an early Christmas present last week. I promptly put it in my bag for our vacation, and spent a lovely time reading it over the past few days. As I logged on to write up a review, I discovered that this is simply a re-issue of Geisha: A Life which I had read quite some time ago. However, while that is disappointing (and explains why it was vaguely familiar as I read it), it is still an excellent story and book that should be read by anyone interested in learning about the life of a geisha in Kyoto in the mid-1900s.
Others have pointed out that the author, Mineko Iwasaki, wrote this as a refutation of the fictions penned by the man who interviewed her and wrote Memoirs of a Geisha, so I won't rehash that further. Mineko's story starts at age 3, with her earliest memories of her family and the circumstances that led to her becoming heir to the Iwasaki geisha house. Her training to become a maiko and then geiko began at age 6, and continued until her retirement at age 29. It's a fascinating story of the different classes and learning that she undertook, as well as the various relationships that underpin the entire flower and willow world. Her descriptions of the kimono ensembles, hairdos, and the dances are wonderful and evocative, and her humor peeks through in short snippets of conversation and other vignettes. The writing is a little choppy at times, with a few rapid-fire topic changes, but not enough to detract from the story.
Simply put, this is an excellent story of one of the world's most prominent geisha and possibly the last one to be so. It's worth a read for anyone interested in a good story, and especially so for anyone who is interested in the world of the geisha.
Others have pointed out that the author, Mineko Iwasaki, wrote this as a refutation of the fictions penned by the man who interviewed her and wrote Memoirs of a Geisha, so I won't rehash that further. Mineko's story starts at age 3, with her earliest memories of her family and the circumstances that led to her becoming heir to the Iwasaki geisha house. Her training to become a maiko and then geiko began at age 6, and continued until her retirement at age 29. It's a fascinating story of the different classes and learning that she undertook, as well as the various relationships that underpin the entire flower and willow world. Her descriptions of the kimono ensembles, hairdos, and the dances are wonderful and evocative, and her humor peeks through in short snippets of conversation and other vignettes. The writing is a little choppy at times, with a few rapid-fire topic changes, but not enough to detract from the story.
Simply put, this is an excellent story of one of the world's most prominent geisha and possibly the last one to be so. It's worth a read for anyone interested in a good story, and especially so for anyone who is interested in the world of the geisha.
This was really interesting. I'm torn between thinking how fascinating it must have been to be a top geiko, to be able to meet so many interesting people, and thinking how narrow and restricted a life it must have been, and how little practical training the geiko received.
The story is told in a very stilted and unemotional fashion, although I wonder if some of that is the challenge of translation. It took a bit of getting used to, and makes the book read more like a history than a memoir. I was also amazed at the author's memory - she recounts details of things that happen when she was only 3 years old! I'd be really surprised if she's actually able to remember that level of detail.
It's certainly some interesting background for books like Memoirs of a Geisha. I think the only thing that this book was really missing was a glossary. There are a lot of very specialized Japanese terms used throughout the book. Some of them have multiple meanings, and there are a lot of words that (to English eyes at least) look very similar. With no glossary or index, it was really hard to look back and find out what exactly was meant by a particular word.
The story is told in a very stilted and unemotional fashion, although I wonder if some of that is the challenge of translation. It took a bit of getting used to, and makes the book read more like a history than a memoir. I was also amazed at the author's memory - she recounts details of things that happen when she was only 3 years old! I'd be really surprised if she's actually able to remember that level of detail.
It's certainly some interesting background for books like Memoirs of a Geisha. I think the only thing that this book was really missing was a glossary. There are a lot of very specialized Japanese terms used throughout the book. Some of them have multiple meanings, and there are a lot of words that (to English eyes at least) look very similar. With no glossary or index, it was really hard to look back and find out what exactly was meant by a particular word.