This weeks [long winded] review is Mineko Iwasaki's Geisha of Gion...
Mineko
Iwasaki’s autobiographical work Geisha of
Gion has been on my to-read list for a long time. As those who are close to
me know, many things about traditional –and indeed postmodern- Japanese culture
have fascinated me from a young age, one of them being the magically secretive
and unbelievably unique world of Geisha. I was thrilled when I got the
opportunity to read it, and instantly sat down to read a book that would only
strengthen my awe for these inspirational women.
Mineko
Iwasaki is one of the most famous Geisha icons- even today, her life as a
geisha inspires so many young Japanese women to dedicate their life to the
profession; to declare themselves taken in by the all-encompassing nature of
this mysterious world. Iwasaki does not use this book to mechanically list
chronological events in her enchanting life, but uses her words to lead us on
informative, yet never tedious or irrelevant mini-stories embedded in the main
narrative that pull the reader deeper under the spell of geisha. Her almost photographic accounts of
events in her life, starting at the tender age of three, when the okasan of her
future okiya (Madam Oima) came to visit her parents’ house spare no detail in
introducing us to the willow and flower world that soon became all she knew.
Leading us from her young life as a reclusive child with a tendency to hide in
cupboards, Iwasaki provides an emotional commentary on the hardships all maiko
and geiko face on the road to success. She describes in detail her transition
from cleaning the okiya, to her debut as a maiko – or apprentice geisha- all
the way to becoming a fully-fledged geiko and eventually managing the okiya
herself.
As a young
child Iwasaki was selected by the manager of the okiya (a post referred to as
‘okasan’ or ‘mother’ in English) as an itotori. A very prestigious prospect
indeed, an itotori is the girl who is lucky enough to be selected as the next
manager of the okiya after the death of the current okasan; a job that many
geiko aspire to one day take on. Iwasaki introduces us to the competitiveness
of being a geisha, portraying how even her own sister Yaeko bitterly rejects
her, and the girls at her local school ignore her, jealous of her natural
talent in the performing arts. We feel a great empathy for Iwasaki as she
learns to become independent, attending lessons and becoming adept in arts
every geiko must master, including dance, tea ceremony, general conversation
and etiquette. We understand how, as she rose to prominence, her health began
to suffer due to the hardship of continuous work and on very little sleep. Her
accounts of the hardships of keeping up with the geisha lifestyle can seem
almost intolerable, snubbing the Western stereotype that geisha merely sit and
serve tea, but attend classes during the day, get their hair done, get dressed
and go to work at Japanese dinner parties, referred to as osashiki in the
evening, before returning home in the early hours of the morning to only a few
hours of sleep before starting the cycle again. The introduction to the
elaborate and beautiful culture of traditional Japan further entices us into
the book, describing everything from the beautiful patterns on Mineko’s silk kimonos
to the religious purification of the okiya with the offering of salt. Iwasaki
will have you embracing the cultural beauty of Japan as you travel through her
enchanting life.
We are introduced to a whimsical world of
interesting characters, often described in a quirky way. One of the many
attributes to greatness this book contains is the way in which Mineko Iwasaki
herself reveals each character, both the likeable and the truly unappealing
with a sense of emotion and immaculate detail that helps create a set of truly
memorable people. And no, it’s not even a work of fiction. As she reports on
her meetings with the Queen and Prince of England and Mr Gucci, we realize that
being a geisha means entertaining some very famous people, opening doors that
an ordinary Japanese woman would very unlikely have access to. To be a
successful geisha, we see that the hard work equates to being very connected
and entertaining those at the top of the societal hierarchy. Throughout the
book we also experience many emotional entanglements that the majority find
ourselves dealing with on a daily basis; loss, love, heartbreak and anger are
related throughout the life of this extraordinary geisha, helping us,
paradoxically after Iwasaki meets such famous faces, to find common ground
through the many events the book. The diversity of this woman’s life becomes
almost shockingly apparent, and the reader may find themselves pausing to
reflect what their life would be like had it taken such estranged turns.
After the
death of her Okasan Madam Oima in March of 1980, Iwasaki had a decision to
make. After fifteen years serving as a geiko, she decided her career should
come to a close. She announced her retirement from the world of Geisha four
months later on the 23rd July, and takes us briefly with her on a
following journey into a new realm of work. Iwasaki answers our burning
questions about other characters of interest and brings the book neatly to an
end, stating her fears that the mysterious world of the geisha would decline
over the years that passed.
This book is
beautiful. Beautifully written, well thought-out, and truly spell-binding. For
anyone with an interest in the secret and elegant world of the geisha, and
finding out why the effortless beauty they portray takes real hard work, Mineko
Iwasaki’s Geisha of Gion is a captivating must-read.
Next weeks review will be Black Butler: 1 by Yana Toboso
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