Mineko Iwasaki

There’s nothing quite like sitting down and reading history from a first person encounter. Though translated and written into simplistic English, Mineko Iwasaki’s words and genuinely amazing story ring through. There is an elegance, a mystique to her words that create wondrous pictures of the karyukai (districts), kimono (traditional clothing), and okiya (geisha house) in one’s head. Iwasaki creates a world that we will never see, but was all too real for her.

The Truth Behind the Geisha

Outside of Japan, people are not quite acquainted with the truth behind the geisha (or geiko) of Japan’s Gion Kobu district. The geiko – women of art – live and work inside the district, and spend their entire careers there attempting to please customers and entertain clients. This is wonderfully painted by Iwasaki in her memoir, with rich details of her first-hand experience of being the most popular geiko in the world. Her story is of love, of triumph, of success, but at the same time, she faces plenty of hardship along the way.

We begin the story with a first-person introduction to Iwasaki in her own words. Moving into a geiko house in Gion Kobu district at the age of five, Iwasaki began her rigorous training in dance and artistic endeavors early on. At fifteen, she debuted as a maiko (adolescent geisha) to Kyoto and the world. In the 1960’s and 1970’s of Japan, Iwasaki had to learn to carry on tradition as her nation was moving toward the future and modernization. Her career path was a difficult one, and she states she “finds great irony” in her chosen profession because it conflicts with her own personality.

Background of the Book

The book has a brief background of Iwasaki’s family life before living in the okiya, but the majority of her grand story focuses on life in the okiya. She tells the story of a young, hardworking woman who is destined for success, but experiences hurdles along the way. Iwasaki details such things as the way she wore her hair as a maiko, the way she was dressed, and even recalls specific customers she entertained (such as Prince Charles). The book reads like a great foreign film with simple subtitles, everything straightforward and direct. Her way of retelling her story through translator Rande Brown opens a whole world to those of us not in Japan or experienced in Japanese culture/history we never could imagine.

Iwasaki – who is now retired from being a geiko and has a family of her own – lived an incredible life, and lets the reader into her incredible past. Though somewhat off topic at times, Iwasaki’s story is one not to be missed or scoffed at. Her tale is true insight into the lives of the geiko of Gion, a world that most will never know.