Entry 5 (Chapter 12-35)

In order to have Sayuri pay back her debts before age 20, Mameha creates a plan to create a bidding war between two men: Nobu Toshikazu, who happens to be close friends and business partners with the Chairman and a doctor named 'Dr.Crab'. Sadly enough, after many years, when Sayuri once meets the Chariman again, the Chairman appears not to recognize Sayur. Although he treats her with kindness, he pays her little attention. However, Hatsumomo finds out about the bidding war, and quickly turns Dr.Crab against Sayuri by starting the rumour that she sees men in her room. Being not defeated, Sayuri is noticed for her superior dancing skills and is chosen for the solo lead in the Springtime dances. The bidding war for Sayuri's virginity ( in Japan, they call it mizuage) begins, and in the end it is Dr.Crab who pays a record price for the privilege. The huge amount of sudden income convinces Mother to adopt Sayuri as her successor instead of Pumpkin, and as was Mameha's plan, Sayuri replaces Hatsumomo as head geisha in the okiya which creates a permanent split between Pumpkin and Sayuri.Hatsumomo is startled when her bad behaviour is no longer tolerated and turns to drinking, and her place in the Okiya gradually erodes. Sayuri and Mameha torture her by following her from party to party, and finally Hatsumomo loses her temper and bites a prominent actor. She is kicked out of the Okiya and is not heard from again. Unfortunately, months later, WWII is declared and Sayuri is evacuated to another city to work in a factories. When Sayuri leaves, Nobu promises Sayuri that once Iwamura Electric's future is ensured, he will become Sayuri's danna. Nobu’s promise put Sayuri to an end of any hopes of having a relationship with the Chairman; however, she agrees because in these years, Nobu has had helped Sayuri in many ways. Time passes quickly, Many years later after the WWII is over, Sayuri returns to Gion and find things completely different when she left Gion years ago: geishas were now enteraining American soldiers, and the geishas were no longer different from the prostitutes. Fortunately, overcoming many obstacles, the Chairman finally confessed his true feeling to Sayuri. He tells her that when he first sees her in the party, he recognizes that she is the girl that he has comforted many years ago when he is walking along the Shirakawa Stream. The Chairman further expands on his feelings of how he was not able to take away the woman his friend showed so much interest in. At the end of the story, the Chairman kisses Sayuri which is Sayuri’s first true kiss.

The novel reaches to its climax when Mother decides to adopt Sayuri as her successor instead of Pumpkin after Sayuri earns a huge amount of money after selling her virginity to Dr.Crab. It is also the point when Hatsumomo breaks down and being tortured by Sayuri and Mameha following her parties to parties. Finally at the end, she is kicked out of the okiya. “What goes around comes around” by Karma really suites Hatsumomo. In the beginning of the play, Hatsumomo is really mean to Sayuri; she would always blame bad things on her, telling her lies, and verbally bullies her. Not being defeated, Sayuri does not just cry and walks away, she stands up against Hatsumomo. She works really hard in order to become a successful geisha. Finally, near the end of the story, Sayuri becomes one of the most famous geisha in Gion and she even breaks the recod of selling her virginity. Being extremely displeased, Hatsumomo turns to drinking and her place in the Okiya gradually erodes and finally she is kicked out of the okiya.

Wow,I finally finished reading the novel! It is definitely one of the longest story that I have ever read ( it has 428 pages), but I definitely definitely enjoyed reading it, partly because I have always fantasized by Geishas’ daily lives. It is also amazing that the author could present the history in such a fascinating way. Besides these, I find the romance between the Chairman and Sayuri really sweet, though the Chairman is about 30 years older than her. If it hasn’t been the Chairman, I would find it disturbing for a young girl to like a guy who is about her dad’s age. However, the Chairman is different; he was so nice to Sayuri even she was only a kid by that time, and when he knows that Nobu likes Sayuri, he quits although he also has feelings toward Sayuri. The Chairman quits because he knows that he owns Nobu a lot, and he doesn’t want get into a fight with his best friend over a woman. Moreover,  there so many good quotes in the novel, and my favroute quote is  from Sayuri. She says “Dreams can be such dangerous things; they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes consume us completely.” This quote inspires me a lot and I would always remember this quote. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, and especially interested in geishas’ culture.

Entry 4 (Chapter 9 -11)

While walking down beside the Shirakawa Stream, Chiyo cries sadly because the thought of never becoming a geisha is just killing her. Suddenly, Chairman Iwamura Ken notices the young Chiyo, and he walks toward her. He gently asks Chiyo why she’s crying, and he praises her unusual beautiful eyes.The Chairman then gives her his handkerchief to wipe her tears and buys an iced snow-cone to cheer her up. Chiyo is fascinated by the Chairman because there has been no one as kind as the Chairman to her. The Chairman's kindness inspires Chiyo to become a geisha one day in order to gain his attention again. Several months have passed with no change in Chiyo’s life as a maid except the unexpected death of Granny in the early September.Granny is electrocuted by her heater. As a result, the life in the Okiya becomes disrupted; many geishas would pass through the Nitta Okiya to give their final respects to Granny. One afternnon, Mameha, one of the most popular geisha in Gion, passes by and shows her interests in Chiyo. Mameha sees Chiyo and parises Chiyo’s appearance and seemingly to be worried about Chiyo, having not seen her at school for some time. Mameha argues with Mother saying that it would be a waste of talent to keep Chiyo as a maid. She sucessfully convinces Mother to continue Chiyo’s training as a geisha under her and promise Mother that Chiyo would able to pay her debts before age 20. As a result,Chiyo becomes the “little sister” of Mameha.

       When Sayuri first meets the Chairman, she is still only two years old and he is a little bit over fourty. The Chairman’s elegance and kindness inspires her to be a great geisha. For years, she dreams about him and fantasizes about impressing her with her talent and charm. Years later, when she finally meets him again, she finds that he is the head of Iwamura Electric, a large company in western Japan. She’s also happy to find that he is still the kind man that she remembers. Through reading the articles, Chiyo finds out that the Chaiman has gone to work at a small electric company in Oaska at age 17. His job at there is to supervise the crew that install wiring for machinery for machinery at factories in the area. In his spare time, he would try to design a fixture to allow the use of two lightbulbs in a socket built for only one. At the age twenty-two, in 1912, shortly after marrying, the Chairman left that company to establish his own company. For the first few years, things were difficult; however, things turn good when his new compnay won the electrical wiring contract for a new builing on a military base in Oaska. Besides being a hard-working man, the Chairman deeply loves and respects his wife and his daughters.

       The one word I can say about these three chapters is AMAZING! I think the story line is extremely good. My heart almost melts when Sayuri meets the Chairman. The Chairman is being so nice to Sayuri: he comforts her, buys an snow-cone for her, and he even gives her his handkerchief to wipe her tears. I almost cry when I read this scene because since Chiyo is sold to the okiya, the only thing she faces is the critisisms from Mother and Hatsumomo and this is her very first time when someone really notices and cares about her feelings. The description of the Chairmans’s kindess is also amazing. I thought that I almost fall in love with the Chairman as well.

Entry 3 (Chapter 6-8)

Chiyo begins her new life as a geisha in training. As the youngest and most recent addition to the Okiya, one of her roles is to wait at night for Hatsumomo to return from her appointments. Chiyo is also responsible helping Hatsumomo with any tasks, such as removing her socks or preparing a snack for her. Hatsumomo often returns extremely late at night and Chiyo finds it difficult to remain awake. One evening, Hastumomo and her friend forces Chiyo to vandalize an expensive kimono that belongs to Hatsumomo’s rival, Mameha. Unable to say no, Chiyo does what she has being told to do. The next day, Mother finds out that Chiyo has destroyed Mameha’s kimono, and she is really angry at Chiyo. She harshly punished Chiyo and tells her that she can never be free until she has repaid all of her expenses, such as her purchase, schooling, medical expenses, food, and the replacement of the kimono. A few days later, Hatsumomo tells Chiyo where her sister is, and Chiyo sneaks out to find her sister working as a prostitute. Together, Chiyo and Sastu plan their escape. Chiyo, however, is caught while she escapes. Mother is extremely angry at Chiyo, and she tells Chiyo that she could no longer study to be a geisha; she will have to work as a maid instead. A few months pass, Chiyo receives a letter saying that both of her parents died and her sister has returned to Yoroido who has run off with Tanaka’s assistant.

       The theme in this novel is that although we have limited control over our destiny, the choices we make determine who we are. For Chiyo, her destiny is to become a geisha, and she can’t control it. However, she decides to work hard because if she doesn’t work hard, Mother would kick her out and by that time, she would be real homeless and has nothing. When Chiyo faces the harsh criticisms from Hatsumomo, she still chooses to be herself. Chiyo does not just give in her principles; she still tries to be happy and she still believes in herself that she would become a geisha one day.    

        The story has developed very much in these three chapters, and the story becomes more and more exciting. In these three chapters, it’s said that Chiyo could be no longer a training geisha because she has broke several rules, such as destroying kimino and trying to runaway. It makes me really want to read the following chapters and to see how she overcomes it. I also find that Hastumomo really disturbing because she is just so wicked and makes me wonder how she could do those harmful things to a kid who is only about 10 year old.

Entry 2 (chapter 4 -5)

Chiyo's life in the Okiya soon settles into a routine and time passes in a blur of daily tasks. Her misery and fear is no less than before and she worries that she will never be able see her family again. Chiyo works very hard, because she thinks that this is the only way she can be reunited with her sister, Satsu. Chiyo's main tasks are menial. They involve cleaning and running errands. She tries her best to be unobtrusive, but Granny likes company, and she makes many demands on Chiyo's time which often makes Chiyo late doing other tasks and this get her into trouble. When Hatsumomo tells Chiyo that Satsu came by to see her weeks before, Chiyo is upset that no one had told her and she’s desperate to know where her sister is. However, Hatsumomo knows where Satsu is, she holds this information over Chiyo’s head, and forces Chiyo to listen to her and do whatever she tells her to do. Fortunately, after working several months in okiya, Chiyo and Pumpkin are finally sent to training school. There, Chiyo has to take four classes – shamisen, dance, tea ceremony, and a formal Japanese style of singing they call nagauta. One afternoon, Hatsumomo takes Chiyo to the registry office in Gion where she is registered as a geisha. Chiyo tries to find out if Sastu has been also registered there, but she’s disappointed to find out that Sastu has not and Chiyo realizes that Hatsumomo has been lying to her about her sister. While Chiyo is registering, the registry clerk comments on Chiyo’s beauty, and Hatsumomo is immediately jealous.

Sakamoto Chiyo is an ordinary girl who lives in the fishing village of Yoroido. In her ealier years, Chiyo is very much like her mother; she resembles her mother’s unsual translucent grey eyes and she resembles her mother’s beauty. Chiyo is a really sweet girl, when she is still a kid, she would help her mother do the house chores and listen patiently to her mother’s stories. Even when Chiyo moves to the okiya, she still remains to be the same girl back in Yoroido. She is still that innocent, naïve, warm-hearted, and curious girl. Even though Chiyo is miserable from being away from her family, she never cries or complains because she knows that her complains wouldn’t bring her back to her family. She knows that the only way she can find her sister back is to work hard and become a geisha one day.

       I really like Arthur Golden’s writing style. The descriptions are really clear and detailed. If makes me feel like that I could really hear Chiyo’s voice, and her unsual expression she wears while she is telling me her story. While reading these two chapters, my heart broke once again. I just can’t believe how badly Hatumomo is treating Chiyo. At that point, Chiyo is only a nine-year old girl, and she has been so respectful to Hatsumomo, but still, Hatsumomo treats her as her rival and always treats her badly. However, from reading these two chapters, I learn that a young girl’s first step toward becoming a geisha is to apply and be accepted into an okiya, a geisha house owned by the woman who will pay for her training. Training to be a geisha takes about as long as it takes to train to be as a doctor; Typically, a young woman spends about six years studying the arts of music, Japanese traditional dance (nihon-buyoh), tea ceremony (sadoh). Through this book, I think I would learn a lot about geishas’ culture. I just cannot wait to read the next chapter!

Memoirs of a Geisha Entry 1 (Chapter 1-3)

The Memoris of a Geisha starts out with the reader being addressed directly by the narrator. The narrator is a geisha who is known as Sayuri. Sayuri narrates the story of her life as she explains that she wasn't always a geisha and starts to tell the story of her childhood. Sayuri is born in a poor fishing village of Yoroido (at that time, she is called Sakamoto Chiyo). Chiyo, Satsu (her older sister), and her parents live a simple life. When Chiyo is nine, her mother becomes very ill. Chiyo is very worried and one day, on an errand, she falls and hurts herself badly. Tanaka Ichiro, a wealthy owner of the Japan Coastal Seafood Company helps her and Chiyo tells him about her family’s difficult situation. A few days later, Tanaka Ichiro visits Chiyo’s father, and Chiyo thought that Tanaka is going to adopt her and her sister after their mother dies. However, when Tanaka takes the two girls on a train trip to the faraway big city of Kyoto, Chiyo and Sastu are separated; Chiyo is sent to train to become a geisha in the district of Gion, but Satsu is rejected and later becomes a prostitute. Chiyo begins her new life in an okiyaor the place where geisha lives. She begins work as a maid working under “Mother”, “Granny” and “Auntie”, the three older women who run the okiya. Later, Chiyo meets Hatsumomo, the only geisha in her okiya. However, Chiyo soon realizes that Hatsumomo is not as nice as she has imagined; Hatsumomo has terrible temper and a mean heart, but she is one of the most renowned geishas in the district of Gion. Chiyo is miserable being away from her family and fears that she will never see them again; however, is lucky to becomes friends with Pumpkin, another girl her age who is currently working as a servant while she is waiting for geisha training. Auntie tells Chiyo that if she works hard, she might get the same opportunity.  

 Personally, I think the first three chapters are really exciting because it sets up the things that we need to know. My heart almost broke when Chiyo was separated from her sister, Sastu. I think I really could feel her pain, especially by that time, she is only a nine years old kid.However, at the same time, I really like the part where Mr. Tanaka takes Chiyo to Gion in where she is going to train as a geisha because it indicates that Chiyo’s life is going to be dramatically changed. I have always been fascinated about the lives of geishas. Before I read this book, I had always thought that geishas were no different from prostitutes. However, after I read this book, I learn that there is a huge difference between being a geisha and a being prostitute. A geisha is a Japanese woman trained to entertain men with conversation and singing and dancing. The training for a geisha is a rigorous two years and geisha don’t sell their bodies. This book is a great book to read if you’re interested in historical events or the mysterious geishas’ lives.

       The Memoirs of a Geisha is a colourful and interesting book. The novel is written in first person of view. It is told from geisha’s point view: she tells the readers the events leading her to become a successful geisha starting from her childhood days. The story also gives the readers a vivid and intriguing account of Japanese culture, especially of geisha culture. The author, Arthur Golden, creates a perfect image of the city of Gion through his writing. Arthur Golden also describes his characters in direct presentation; he has clearly described the hardships that Chiyo is facing and how she deals with them.