There’s an elephant in the room that like most every review of this book needs to be addressed: there is “Memoirs of a Geisha” and then there is the actual memoir of a geisha. The former, a pastiche of various stories stitched together (without full authorization it seems) by a one-hit wonder writer to form a pretty entertaining account of the geisha life of Japan before, during, and just after WW2. It tugs on the heartstrings, it’s exotic, and just really neat. But it’s not entirely accurate either and that author’s primary source was not too happy. Thus, we get her actual account that most obviously given her birth-date (1949) is not a tale of immense national upheaval, but a country experiencing an economic miracle. Of course, that does not mean everyone is rolling in dough—after all, her okiya was noted early on as being in dire financial straits. Let’s just say the stakes are less and thus we’re given in less to dramatics and more to the real comings and goings of a popular geisha before she, not a war, decided to shutter her own house.
The dramatic playing field is indeed lower in ‘Geisha, A Life’. This is the memoir one should read if one really wishes to understand the daily routine of Japan’s highest form of entertainer. Still, this is a ‘modern’ tale: the 1960’s did not see Mineko cloistered from dawn to dusk in a world away from ours diligently training nonstop in the art of perfectly opening and closing a door (really), serving tea at just the right angle (not joking), and playing the shamisen like nobody’s business. She went to school. Yes, public school. And even (secretly as it was against her okiya’s rules) joined the basketball team. Thus, we’ve a unique case of someone whom both may have a luxurious kimono weighing more than half of her entertaining wealthy guests emulating an era long gone by at nights while engaging in the regular activities of Japanese youth in the daytime.
As Mineko’s recollections of days long gone continued, I began to wonder: who in particular was she entertaining and were there any foreigners (something I am sure the audience of this book would be intrigued about)? After all, early on she of course notes the life of a geisha involves accompanying clients and that in her day that included those visiting the country. Surprisingly, her first client was in fact a foreigner; a well-known director from America and said interaction also answered my other question: given an almost certain language barrier, how did they talk? Interpreter though she noted she used some of her English schooling too. While it probably would go beyond the confines of the book, seeing how a normally demure and refined Geisha would then ‘drop down’ to textbook English would have made for interesting fourth wall breaking material.
Reiterating the above, the stakes are indeed lower here than in ‘Memoirs’. This one gets detailed—almost tediously so—about the daily life of being a geisha. For those who want drama and some action, there is not much besides an emergency hospital visit (she turned out fine, don’t worry). There’s also the issue that since this is all told through the viewpoint of one person, one begins to wonder how much is perfectly accurate? Visions of the past get hazy over time and as I was nearing the end, I liked Mineko, but also felt she presented herself as a Mary Sue who’s “the best geisha, the best maiko, the best nightclub owner (really), the best at most everything and how can anyone find fault with that”?
3/5
by kobushi