Upon trying to do the research he stumbled upon a person who could introduce him to the most famous geisha of the 20th century: Mineko Iwasaki. Golden had spoken with her on the assurance that his book would be an accurate representation of the geisha profession, and upon its release in , it became an international bestseller. However, in order to sell more copies and to make it more sensational Mr.
Golden bent the truth and added in parts about geisha selling sex like prostitutes. As such, the book sold poorly in Japan and was mostly ignored until Mineko Iwasaki sued Mr.
Golden for defamation as she claimed that many of the events in his story were taken from her own life and then twisted into a prostitution narrative. Mineko was scouted as an heir to the Iwasaki Okiya at a very young age and was legally adopted by them when she was just a teenager. In real life, Mineko dated a man who was almost two decades older than her for a few years. Mineko Iwasaki has stated that this actually happened to her in real life! In the world of geisha, mizuage refers to how much money a person makes from working at ochaya in a single year.
In this case, Mineko did have the highest mizuage for six years straight, which was a record at the time, and this made her the most famous geisha of the century. In , Iwasaki won an out of court settlement ensuring that Golden would pay compensation to her.
Although Iwasaki never mentioned it in public, she suggested in her autobiography 'Geisha, A Life' title for the US edition; 'Geisha of Gion' was the title for the UK edition that she was offended by the novel 'Memoirs of a Geisha' because it did not provide a faithful description of the life of a geisha.
Above all, she said that she could especially not overlook the description of ' Mizuage ' coming-of-age ceremony for an apprentice geisha as selling of the right of deflowering an apprentice geisha, which was far removed from the fact. Now the Chairman can be with her.
The Chairman becomes her danna. She has their child and asks the Chairman to relocate her to New York on a permanent basis. She opens a teahouse and moves into the Waldorf Towers. She becomes very successful. The story finishes forty years later.
There are no more geisha. The Chairman, Nobu, and everyone else she knew is now dead. But, she says they all live on in her heart. Nitta Sayuri Sakamoto Chiyo — The youngest daughter of a fisherman in a small village. When she is nine years old she is given to a house of geisha, while her older sister becomes a prostitute. Chiyo starts out as a maid and then goes to geisha school. She is bullied by one of the other geisha girls but gets her revenge in small ways. When she tries to escape with her sister, Chiyo falls off the roof and breaks her arm.
Chiyo must spend many years repaying the Mother of the House for her keep and the doctor. As a geisha, she will be able to repay her debts and get her freedom. When the time comes for Mother to sell her virginity, she sets a record with the bidding of the men.
Then she is claimed by an older geisha as her sister and given the name Sayuri. Next, she is adopted by Mother, and her name becomes via Sayuri.
Afterward she makes a large amount when and secures the safety of the house by taking on a general as her danna. He supports her and she is his exclusive lover.
After the general is arrested she moves into the country. Sayuri earns her keep by making parachutes. After the war, she goes back to work as a geisha. When the Minister of Finance wants to become her danna, as well as Nobu, another man she does not want, she plans a stunt that turns both men away from her. Then the Chairman, who she has always wanted, becomes her danna.
She is his mistress since he has a wife. After she gives birth, she convinces him to set her up in New York City where she opens a teahouse and spends the rest of her life. She is the second top geisha in the city. She takes Sayuri on to train at the request of the Chairman. She is proud of the accomplishments of Sayuri. The Baron is her danna and insists she aborts any children she becomes pregnant with. This saddens her, but she is fatalistic, so she takes it all in stride.
Hatsumomo — the head geisha of the Nitta okiya. She is cruel and manipulative. She bullies Sayuri and hates her because she knows she will replace her as head geisha. Mameha works toward removing her and is successful when Hatsumomo begins to lose money due to her erratic actions. Chairman Iwamura Ken — The one true love of Sayuri. He meets her when she first comes to the geisha house as a child. He arranges for Mameha to train her to be a geisha and protect her.
Although he desires her when she completes her training, he must let her go to his friend who he owes a great debt. In the end, she becomes his mistress and he sets her up in New York City with their illegitimate child.
He is a good bit older than she is. Toshikazu Nobu — He desires Sayuri, but never manages to get her. She likes him but turns away because of his war injuries. His skin is greatly scarred and has lost an arm. In the end, he turns away from him when he finds out she slept with the Minister. Pumpkin — She is also a geisha who is training with Sayuri. Having trouble learning to dance, sing, and everything else geisha are supposed to know, she falls short of Sayuri. He is a member of the Ochs — Sulzberger family.
His grandfather was the publisher from till Then in he earned an M. During this time he also learned to speak Mandarin. Afterward, he worked in Tokyo for awhile. Arthur now lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. When Arthur set out to write a book it would stand to reason the book would be based on his favorite subject, the Japanese world. Arthur Golden released Memoirs of a Geisha in after spending six years working on it.
He changed the point of view the book was written in three times. One of the sources Arthur used for the book was Mineko Iwasaki.
She was a former geisha and is the inspiration for Sayuri. A Japanese business woman, Mineko was the most famous and notable geisha of her time in Japan. During her time as a geisha, Mineko entertained celebrities and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
She retired at the age of twenty-nine and was the heir of her okiya when she was just an apprentice. She had hoped that retiring would put more importance in education for young women, but when 70 other geisha followed her example, the geisha tradition started to die out.
Arthur had promised her he would not reveal any names because a geisha never tells secrets. No matter how many years pass, a geisha keeps the names and stories to herself. Because he acknowledged her in the Acknowledgment Section of the book, Mineko received death threats for violating the tradition of the geisha code of silence. Since she settled with his publishers out of court, the truths and names were never confirmed. Later Mineko wrote her own autobiography, Geisha of Gion.
Arthur Golden seems to have not published anything since writing Memoirs of a Geisha. Although writing the book was difficult, and time-consuming, we hope that he is diligently working on something equally as entertaining. Study Guide. By Arthur Golden. Previous Next.
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