Mineko Iwasaki
Paperback | Pages: 297 pages Rating: 3.93 | 18375 Users | 1229 Reviews
List Books In Favor Of Geisha, a Life
| Original Title: | Geisha of Gion |
| ISBN: | 0743444299 (ISBN13: 9780743444293) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Japan |
Relation As Books Geisha, a Life
"No woman in the three-hundred-year history of the karyukai has ever come forward in public to tell her story. We have been constrained by unwritten rules not to do so, by the robes of tradition and by the sanctity of our exclusive calling...But I feel it is time to speak out."Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only five years old when she left her parents' home for the world of the geisha. For the next twenty-five years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. She would learn the formal customs and language of the geisha, and study the ancient arts of Japanese dance and music. She would enchant kings and princes, captains of industry, and titans of the entertainment world, some of whom would become her dearest friends. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form.
In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of twenty-nine to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past." She illustrates how it coexisted within post-World War II Japan at a time when the country was undergoing its radical transformation from a post-feudal society to a modern one.
"There is much mystery and misunderstanding about what it means to be a geisha. I hope this story will help explain what it is really like and also serve as a record of this unique component of Japan's cultural history," writes Mineko Iwasaki. Geisha, a Life is the first of its kind, as it delicately unfolds the fabric of a geisha's development. Told with great wisdom and sensitivity, it is a true story of beauty and heroism, and of a time and culture rarely revealed to the Western world.
Describe Of Books Geisha, a Life
| Title | : | Geisha, a Life |
| Author | : | Mineko Iwasaki |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 297 pages |
| Published | : | September 1st 2003 by Washington Square Press (first published September 30th 2002) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Cultural. Japan. Biography. Autobiography. Memoir. History |
Rating Of Books Geisha, a Life
Ratings: 3.93 From 18375 Users | 1229 ReviewsComment On Of Books Geisha, a Life
Check out my blog to see Reviews of Books and Movies as well as Recipes and DIY projectsThis book was a solid 4 star read for me. Whereas Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha was meant to entertain, Mineko Isawaki's Geisha, a Life was meant to inform.Mineko Isawaki is most notable for being one of, if not THE most famous Geisha in Japan's history. This autobiography is told from her own view of the traditions and trails that she faced. Mineko does a brilliant job of taking the reader through theThis was a pretty good book, but it was a little dry, probably due to the translation. Main point: Geisha are NOT prostitutes.
Yeeah ... Mineko Iwasaki unfortunately comes off as very unlikeable in this book. The overtone that she is trying to prove something (that Arthur Golden was "wrong" [even though he was writing fiction, which I feel she should understand, since she knows everything about art and all?]) is very, very strong. Like way too strong. Like it kind of made me laugh. It just didn't read well at all. I would love to have read more about how Mineko challenged the system (like she claims she did, but never
I really liked it for the peek inside the life of a meiko/geiko in post war Japan. Mineko herself as a child is what we in the West would call a precocious little brat, but is more of a misinterpretation of the class system.Two things that were negatives for me though were the fact that either Iwasaki or Brown had never seen a Shamisen and/or a Viola. The text states that a Shamisen is played like a Viola.... that I would like to see.The second thing was Mineko's assertion that she doesn't pass
You should read this book if - You've read Memoirs of a Geisha, but now want something more. You're considering reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but didn't realise this was the true story. You wouldn't consider reading Memoirs of a Geisha, because of the twisted western stereotyping.
This woman wrote her book in a response to Memoirs of a Geisha because she felt that the book gave the wrong impression. Unfortunately for readers, this book is story after story about how great and important the author was / is. It doesn't represent life as a geisha, it represents life seeking fame.
The culture Iwasaki reveals is more than enough for me to give her a pass on the somewhat stilted writing - she isn't an author by trade, after all. I especially enjoy the fact that she pretty much wrote this as a big "fuck you" to Arthur Golden, who ignored her request for anonymity when she helped him with Memoirs of a Geisha; it's worth noting that Golden also misrepresented many facts about the life of geisha in general.I could not handle such a career - the lack of good sleep for such a
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