Geisha, Part Two: 'Memoirs of a Geisha', the novel

The Novel
'Memoirs of a Geisha', by Arthur Golden, is the story of a young girl taken from her home in a remote Japanese fishing village and sold into servitude to an okiya, a Geisha house. Narrated by an old woman living in New York City recounting her past, the story unfolds as the girl grows up to be one of the most celebrated geisha in Kyoto before and during World War Two. Hardcore Japanophiles have complained about minute details in this novel. I didn't have problems with it.

'Geisha' is a romance novel for the sophisticated reader. It makes no claims to an accurate account of life as a geisha (and this blog makes no claims to be factually correct) so the issue is moot. Its a fantasy novel. I think it is a beautiful story which gives a white Western male perspective of an enigmatic practice in an already exotic setting. The harsh story of a little girl who is thrown into slavery to become a geisha yearning for years to meet and be with the one man who showed her kindness when she was a child is simple, almost trite. There is no plot, though biographies or memoirs rarely have one. I've dismissed criticisms of this book because I understood exactly what I was getting into when I read it.

If you put aside the quality of the prose, the 'facts' and the inconsistencies, you are left with a wonderful love story told by an old woman who was a famous geisha. The story lends credibility by reminding us that she kept the story to herself until she was sure all of the important characters in her tale had died, to protect them. Also, she defends some of the traditions she practiced by comparing them with the pretty girlfriend of a rich married man. It is often a sad story, sometimes a captivating story with a few facts but mostly a romantic reminiscence of earlier times. Granted, WWII is explored in a ten page chapter and the conclusion is five pages long. Sort of like running the credits exactly when the hero is racing away with the girl. That's it? That's the end? But on the whole, while it could have been better (get rid of the 'Translators Note', the Author's Note and the Sulking Teen scene) and it might have been stronger (by incorporating actual geisha facts instead of knowingly borrowing from lesser practices and calling them 'geisha'), 'Memoirs of a Geisha' is a lush fairy tale told by a Japanese narrator from a Westerner's mind.

The first time I read this novel, I was living in Japan and when I finished it, I decided to walk around Gion and try to recapture some of the dwindling spirit of that world. I was lucky to catch glimpses of mai-ko, might have seen an actual gei-ko, though I couldn't be sure at the time. Eight years later, I have re-read the book, I have spent more years in Japan and in Asia and have read volumes of material on Japanese history and culture. I am not a Japan scholar and I will not say I know what a geisha is/is not with authority. I can say this: the novel is just that, a work of fiction. It was a fun story to read and it fueled my curiosity and appreciation for this culture. I note the irony that the book, by an American, is told by a Japanese--with the same sort of awareness that underneath the suit or the kimono, we are all the same. For example...

The Controversy
Golden ends his book with an Author's Note by thanking Mineko Iwasaki, a former geisha, for allowing him to interview her. Apparently, there is an unspoken rule among the geisha that no geisha talks about themselves or their art. Sort of like that Fight Club rule but I can't talk about that here.

Iwasaki-san sued Golden for defamation of character for portraying geisha as prostitutes and for violating a clause in their contract stipulating anonymity. File that last one away for now because we will come back to it shortly.

In the suit, Iwasaki-san claims 'Memoirs of a Geisha' portrays geisha as prostitutes and Japanese as man-beasts who enjoy having adulterous affairs and make an upper-class, rich man's practice of it. Having read the book, I can say that this argument was extremely difficult for me to see unless I pulled and twisted the rationale like taffy. Here's how it goes: some geisha are 'kept women' (like the boss's young 'friend' who shows up at the party), others sell sex for money-->all geisha are prostitutes-->Iwasaki-san was a prostitute. Hmmm. Let fix the faulty logic. Faulty profitable logic: In the book, some geisha sell their bodies-->all geisha are whores-->Iwasaki-san is a hooker-->defamation of character=book deal.

Writers don't make a lot of money in Japan. A publishing deal in America is considered the mother lode. Also, you don't make money as a retired geisha. You don't entertain when you retire, it just doesn't work that way. There is no doubt the allure of a three book deal in America and a credit in a movie you had no involvement with might have something to do with turning to the guy who made millions off his book about you and crying, in an indignant stage voice, "foul!" I had mentioned a moment ago that Golden and Iwasaki signed a contract requiring anonymity and that when he named his source, she said the book, not she, broke the rule regarding a geisha's code of silence. Never mind the books, the movie credit and the numerous TV guest appearances around the world do more to reveal the inner secrets of the geisha community than three sentences at the back of a book quite a few people thought was, meh, kinda boring or kinda romantic.

So how does one portray a hidden world with material fraught with misconceptions and inconsistencies, while preserving the exotic, romantic atmosphere?

Part Three, the movie.