The story follows Chiyo Sakamoto, who is taken from her home at the age of nine and sold to an okiya (geisha boarding house) to become a geisha. We follow her progress, from first wanting to run away, to her meeting with the chairman and becoming determined to be a geisha. I found it really fascinating to learn all about geishas, and the training the girls take to become one. The characters in this book are fictional, but the things that happen really did happen to young girls in Japan. The life of a geisha can be portrayed as glamorous attending many parties, and meeting wealthy, important men. However as we see from Chiyo's story the reality is quite different.
Geisha have to forget their past, and change who they are. This starts with their name, Chiyo is called Sayuri. She then has to lean how to act, and how to treat men as a geisha.
Through Sayuri we watch a possible career path of a geisha, from the innocence of youth to the life of a geisha, where every move you make is analysed for fear of how it could appear to the clients.
Sayuri is taken under the wing of Mameha, who nurtures her talents and grooms her to become the most sought after geisha in Japan. She is the one who renames her Sayuri, and starts a bidding war for the right to take her 'mizuyage', her virginity.
I did feel quite sickened by the fact that girls as young as 13/14 were forced to lose their virginity to much older men. And also the fact that they have to flirt with them, in order to find a wealthy 'danna', a man that would fund a lavish lifestyle for them in exchange for 'favours'. But as you see in the book this is the only option for the girls, without their life as a geisha many would be on the street. If Sayuri couldn't bring in enough money she would have been left as a maid in the house, or even worse thrown out onto the streets.
As it is she goes on to become one of the most successful geisha in Japan, making enough money to support herself.
Rating 10/10
No comments:
Post a Comment