mlongan 's review for:

Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki

4.0

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Mineko Iwasaki was credited for being Arthur Golden's main inspiration for his own book on geisha, even when asked not to name her. Aside from this book being written as a response to MoaG, it's a fascinating look into the closed-off world of Japan's geisha. I've always been fascinated with the culture, so when I found this book I was very excited to read it. Of course the first thing I noticed was Mineko's pretentiousness. While digging in somewhat with the traditions, it was mainly focused on her all around amazingness, if she does say so herself. Her attitude got to be very annoying, but seeing as she was the most prolific geisha of her day I think she has some right to brag. Overall an extremely good read!