Lauren's Reviews > Geisha, a Life

Where to begin... it's not that "Geisha" doesn't have an interesting story to tell, it's just a shame that Mineko Iwasaki had to be her to do the telling.

Geisha brings to us the enchanting tale of a spoiled Daddy's girl who becomes a spoiled geiko princess after she's adopted as the heir to a prominent okiya. She thus child royalty who gets what she wants, when she wants it with very little complaint from anyone. Below is a short list of what you can expect from the book:

Mineko demands things be done this way and that. She goes to dance lessons. She works really really hard and practices more than anyone else and is by far the best dancer. She was born to dance. Nobody can touch her. She's beautiful, and gets constant adoration and attention from everyone she comes in contact with. She has maids that pick up after her wherever she goes. Soon she's the top geiko in Gion, and has her schedule booked for the next five years...

After becoming a Geiko, she makes money hand over fist by learning to milk the system and schedule herself for multiple appointments in the same evening, showing up for only a few minutes at each event. At the top of her game she makes about 3 million dollars a year, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in kimono, and thus becomes so rich that she literally doesn't understand the value of money. At the age of 21, she doesn't know what "change" is or that you have to plug in an appliance before it wil turn on. Adorable, right?

One of my favorite quotes from Mineko:
"...they were among the few who relished the fact that I was such a phenomenon."

And yet, somehow, she has a hard time making friends.

Conceitedness aside, there's also contant play of double-standards in the book. One that's particularly troubling is the question of geiko serving as high-class escorts. While it's stated time and time again that geiko are not prostitutes, so sir-ee, no funny business going on here, Mineko accepts outrageous tips from men (Japan is a no-tipping culture) for entertaining them, and builds intimate friendships with married men that sometimes turn into full blown affairs. Geiko acting as mistresses is briefly acknowledged, but because Japan is a culture that associates marriage with political ties, you know, it's all good...

Much of the text is either awkwardly translated or awkwardly edited. Next to cliche expressions like "slept like there was no tomorrow," we have a smattering of words you find only on the GRE. My kindle dictionary got a good workout. Some Japanese idioms like "the scales fell from my eyes" also appear to be directly translated, but sound awkward without further explanation.

Unfortunately I find myself unable or unwilling to believe many of the stories that told within these pages. All of it is just too unreal. Should even some of it be true, it seems to me that this kind of an account would be so limited that whose to say it's "realistic" at all?

Maybe "Memoirs of a Geisha" is fiction, but I can't help but think it hold more truth than Mineko Iwasaki's "Geisha."