 Word On Books
with Jeremy Fenton
Geisha of Gion
The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki
Published by Simon & Schuster
 "Having a principal geiko at your beck and call is a major status symbol in Japanese society," writes Mineko Iwasaki in her newly published memoirs, Geisha of Gion.
In the Japanese karyukai districts (karyukai means "the flower and the willow world") life is solely devoted to the "enjoyment of aesthetic pleasure". It's in these special places that the professionally trained "women of art", the Geisha, live and work.
The centuries old Japanese tradition of refinement and entertaining men is a hard road to travel, despite the potential rewards there are literally years (if not decades) of training in etiquette, make-up, dress, movement, music and dancing to master. As well as living within a strict and often merciless social hierarchy.
Despite the Geisha's job description and Iwasaki's reputation as being the closest one comes to perfection in the role, her book reveals that in many ways she was the exact opposite of what one would expect from the demands of the job. Surprisingly for someone in one of the most people orientated professions, she describes herself as shy and uncomfortable in company.
"A star geiko is never, ever alone and I always wanted to be by myself."
This is but one of the many revelations that emerge from Geisha of Gion, reportedly the first book by an actual practitioner to reveal the hidden ways of the Geisha.
That's not to say that outsiders haven't attempted previously to describe the life. Most famous is Arthur Golden's bestselling Memoirs of a Geisha - a book that is in some ways responsible for Iwasaki telling her own tale.
Much of the research for Golden's book came directly from contact with Iwasaki (over 100 hours of interviews), allegedly under the condition that he preserve her anonymity.
She now strongly objects to not only being essentially identified by Golden as the basis for his book (he even thanked her by first name in it), but also what she sees as his use of "distorted fact" and portrayal of the Geisha as "going from man to man". It's a disagreement that has since lead to legal action.
"Actually, the geisha system aims at allowing women to achieve independence. We are artists. We dance and perform music - this is how we earn our living. It is not about sex."
These days Iwasaki lives outside the confines, responsibilities and rewards of the Geisha tradition (she returns to the karyukai districts now only as an honoured guest), and essentially predicts the end of the flower and willow world's "glorious tradition" through lack of financial support.
The first-person reminiscence in Geisha of Gion works as a rebuttal to Golden as well as a gentle and evocative journey into a little understood part of Japanese culture. Fascinating (even if a little self-important at times).
jeremy@wordonbooks.com
www.wordonbooks.com
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