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A review by apechild
Geisha Of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki
4.0
2007 bookcrossing review:
I finally got around to reading this before my trip to Japan, and I think for anyone interested in Japan and/or the geisha world, it's a must.
It's the autobiography of Mineko, a leading geisha working in the second half of the 20th century. She was a really spirited character (and still is, I presume!), also a bit of a perfectionist and workaholic. I also admired her courage when she dealt with the unwelcome attentions of dirty old men in the street. And her older sister Yaeko... what a nasty piece of work!
There were also a few bits in there that certainly show up our cultural differences. I was surprised to hear that women used to (I am curious to know if they still do this) get their faces shaved!
And our current queen, Elizabeth, did not come out well in this book either! To be honest, I agree with Mineko - she really was rude regardless of whether she's a Queen or not. And the episode with Prince Charles was funny too - a little ignorant of him though to just take her fan and sign it without asking.
It was well-written too and an engaging book.
I finally got around to reading this before my trip to Japan, and I think for anyone interested in Japan and/or the geisha world, it's a must.
It's the autobiography of Mineko, a leading geisha working in the second half of the 20th century. She was a really spirited character (and still is, I presume!), also a bit of a perfectionist and workaholic. I also admired her courage when she dealt with the unwelcome attentions of dirty old men in the street. And her older sister Yaeko... what a nasty piece of work!
There were also a few bits in there that certainly show up our cultural differences. I was surprised to hear that women used to (I am curious to know if they still do this) get their faces shaved!
And our current queen, Elizabeth, did not come out well in this book either! To be honest, I agree with Mineko - she really was rude regardless of whether she's a Queen or not. And the episode with Prince Charles was funny too - a little ignorant of him though to just take her fan and sign it without asking.
It was well-written too and an engaging book.