A Cinderella romance that unexpectedly swept me away! Memoirs of a Geisha is a very picturesque and dramatic tale of a young village girl taken from her family and raised in Kyoto as a geisha.

Usually I don't go in for romance. Don't get me wrong, I love love. But I prefer my love stories to be true. There is something immensely powerful about real love. As far as I've been able to discover, much of this story is based on the actual events of the life of former geisha Mineko Iwasaki. Why do I think so? She sued Golden for defamation of character. Apparently he included details she'd told him during their interviews that were not meant for print. Well, that's good enough for me!

I was dazzled by the details and enchanted by the well-paced plot. It's not for everyone, but if you liked the movie version you shouldn't be disappointed by the book, being that the two are identical in most ways.

Around the time I read Memoirs... I got the chance to visit Kyoto and made a point, as many tourists do, of seeking out the Gion District. The preservation of the area makes it worth the effort and cost of traveling in Japan. Almost medieval in its narrowness, the main historical road is a delight to behold, with its architecture and decor stuck in time as it is and the occasional geisha shuffling to and from buildings. I highly encourage a visit. Go when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Go see a tea ceremony. Just go. You'll be glad you did.

A beautiful, sad , evocative, exciting and intriguing novel which engaged me from start to finish about a nine year old Japanese child, Chiyo Sakamoto , from a poor fishing village sold by her ill and poverty stricken parents into the world being a slave to the whims of men and more powerful women, though her sister Satsu suffered a far crueler fate being sold into an brothel and into the hellish world of forced prostitution.

Chiyo is a survivor, who uses her white, savvy and survival instincts, as well as pure strength of character to go from a basic child slave , and survive the wicked wiles of the evil supreme Geisha geisha, Hatsumomo, the cruelty of 'Granny' the matriarch and the greed of 'Mother'
A sad reflection of life for women and children sold or forced into the sex trade.Something epidemic today including in Western countries
The kindness of the Chairman of a major Japanese corporation and her mentor and so called 'elder sister' Geisha Mameha,provides her with some salvation. And her story is a fascinating one
Always against the backdrop of the Japan of the times, shows us of the country during both the glory of the 1930s Japanese empire and the deprivations of World War II. The whims of the men who become her Danna, basically sexual master and patron.
Encapsulates the sights, expounds and smells of the Japan of the time,. As we really get into the head of Chiyo who becomes Sayuri after her deflowering. And I found myself anxious for her throughout the novel, felt her trials and tribulations but also learned from the history and social issues, threaded through this excellent bestseller.

مازلت أتخبط فى رأيى.
ما بين الانبهار بحياة الجيشا و الدهشة حد الغيظ, تخيل فقط معى ما هو تعريف الجيشا "هن ببساطة محظيات الرجال فى اليابان" , طبقة إجتماعية معروفة بل أكاد أقول "راقية" , لوظيفتهن رتب و لأماكن تجمعهن مكاتب تسجيل و دفاتر و رسوم و لكل جيشا سمعة تسعى بتقاليد معينة للحفاظ عليها! !!!!!
كم الهوان فى الأمر رأيته من منظور مختلف , حيث الرجل ليس المتهم الوحيد , بل أيضا المرأة التى ترى فى كونها جيشا مدعاة للفخر و الشرف, هكذا صب فى أذنيها و هكذا آمنت على مر الأعوام.

و لأفسر كم الحيرة , لم أجزم على طول الرواية من أوصل "سايورى " إلى مصيرها كجيشا , فالدنيا فاعلة و مشاركة بدور رئيسى فى تغيير النفوس و أتت "بومبكين" فى النهاية لتخبرنى بأننا لا نكون أشرارا دائما بإرادتنا بل و أن تفسير الشر يختلف فما أفعله لأحمى نفسي شر الدنيا قد يضر آخرون و يعتبرونه ذنبا بحقهم لا يغتفر.

American author Arthur Golden studied Japanese art and history at Harvard and Columbia and did extensive research to write this fictional account of the life of a geisha in Kyoto before, during and after WW II. And it shows: The story offers a lot of information about the time and the profession, and the storyline, though rather conventionally crafted, unfolds wonderfully. At the same time, the text is clearly targeted at a Western audience that also wants to be enchanted and entertained, and this aspect of exoticism combined with a certain degree of kitsch is a little questionable. Our protagonist and first-person narrator is Sayuri who, as a 9-year-old child, is sold into slavery and forced to become a geisha - but her dream is not to be free, but to be loved by the so-called chairman, a powerful, married businessman. Maybe it is unfair to frame the story like that, because Sayuri grows up and has to survive in a world where the idea of a woman living on her own terms would be fantastical, but still, there is a degree of romanticization of the "Pretty Woman" variety, Eastern style.

Then again, "Pretty Woman" is great fun and a classic, and so is this book. And it's certainly not without its literary merits: Golden does a great job illustrating the life in Kyoto's geisha district, the dependence and fear that comes with the job, the focus on reputation and superficial traits - but the novel never gets gritty, and even when Sayuri's virginity is auctioned off, the sex scene does not make it seem like this is a woman undergoing trauma because she has to give her body to the highest bidder to get rid of her debt and because custom requires it. While the chairman is portrayed as a real romantic interest, he is de facto more of a fantasy than a real-life character, a man Sayuri hardly knows and onto whom she projects her love (the ending makes the whole thing even more surreal). This always remains a comfortable read, which isn't necessarily a plus considering what Sayuri has to undergo.

We accompany Sayuri from her childhood in a fishing village through her training in Kyoto, we learn about the occupation of a geisha and the course of history and often, it's utterly fascinating to read. Golden interviewed several geisha for this novel, among them Mineko Iwasaki who later sued him for defamation and using confidential information (they settled out of court). The movie version of the book looks stunning and won three Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction and Costume Design.

So all in all, this has the flaws of a popular book explaining complex cultural phenomena while aiming at a broad audience, but it is still intelligent and just very fun to read.

Loved this.
Don't know why it took me so long to pick it up.
Favourite of the year so far.

I remember watching the film when I was in my 2nd or 3rd year high school for a movie review. I barely remember what happened and decided to finally pick the book as it sits on my shelf for more than 3 years.

I didn't expect to like it because historical fiction isn't my usual kind of read and I find it refreshing. The premise of this book is compelling and beautiful. I was hooked from the very beginning and I can't seem to stop. The story tells about the journey of Nitta Sayuri/Chiyo being a Geisha. She came from a small town in Japan and came from a less fortunate family. Her mother became sick and her father is too old to sustain her and her sister, Satsu. They were offered to a business man and left with no choice but to take the sisters in Kyoto where they must find a great opportunity of being a Geisha/ an entertainer.

What Chiyo have been through during the course of her training to be a Geisha is really difficult and harsh. Hatsumomo, a Geisha in okiya, put her through hell because she was a failed Geisha and was insecure with Chiyo's beauty. After all the efforts, she survived. Chiyo was rewarded with many things and surpassed her. Thanks to Mameha for training her to be a refined, beautiful and well-mannered woman.

Getting to know the Japanese culture is pretty challenging but I love how Arthur Golden thoroughly explained such details and it kept me fascinated. It was a nice historical fiction to explore to. The mizuage (a deflowering ceremony) quite shocked me in some ways. It was unbelievable. There is a little love story in this book which I enjoyed as well.

Overall, it's a great historical fiction. It's nice to explore something different from my tastes.

A pleasing mix of Great Expectations and Little Orphan Annie but all mixed up in Japanese Geisha society.

Full disclosure: I, like many westerners, believed that geisha were a high end version of prostitutes. Sophisticated, talented and very excessively priced – but prostitutes all the same.

Golden’s book has afforded me some erudition and I now know that is not the full story … except, well … there are still some elements of prostitution in the story. The fictional geisha first person narrator describes her own role as akin to a mistress rather than a wife, with formal rules that for the most part established that a geisha was connected to her “danna” or patron. It’s all very complicated and I never fully understood what was going on. To be fair, looks like the intricate etiquette rules confuse many Japanese as well.

My usual genre is science fiction / fantasy so this was something of a departure for me, but honestly, the description of Japanese culture, particularly Geisha culture, might as well have been something dreamed up by Jack Vance or Robert Silverberg it was so alien to me.

Golden describes the “memoirs” of a fictional geisha, Sayuri, and her ascent to the role of geisha in a bildungsroman style. We also share in Sayuri’s animosity with rival geisha Hatsumomo and her complicated relationships with patrons and sponsors.

Entertaining and provocative, this also sheds light on a time and place, Japan before, during and after WWII.

Brilliant, nuanced, and startlingly complex for a book that I thought would just be about women who perform intricate dances and ceremonies. Little did I know it would have so much more. The story this book tells is heart wrenching and gorgeous. I happened to devour all 400+ pages in one weekend trip in the mountains of New Hampshire, just a few weeks shy of a trip to Japan myself, and I am so happy I chose this book before my trip. Arthur Golden only wrote one work of fiction that I can tell (this one) but it does not lessen the impact his prose and story had on the literary world, at least in the West (not sure how this was actually received in Japan). Historical fiction authors are often guilty of focusing so much on their settings and events that they neglect a vital part of the story - character, and a lack of inventive and smooth prose. Golden is guilty of neither, and paints a rich story that reads more like an autobiography of the protagonist Chiyo, than a regular run of the mill novel. At times, I even found myself forgetting that this was fiction. Such is the power of the story in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Also, Hatsumomo, the story’s villain, may be one of my favorite antagonists ever - once you realize the tragic societal factors at play that led to her position in life, you’ll realize that life is never so simple, something that Golden drives home in this wonderful book time and time again.

“If you aren't the woman I think you are, then this isn't the world I thought it was.”



Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha is a beautifully written novel about one of Japan's most famous geisha. I just wasn't sure I trusted the immersion into geisha life that the novel purports to represent. I enjoyed the read, but everything, all the dramatic tension from Sayuri becoming a geisha to auctioning off her virginity, fit way too nicely into a competition between Sayuri and her rival, Hatsumomo. It gave Memoirs of a Geisha a page-turning quality (and maybe that's just good writing), but here it struck me as a little false. I need to remind myself that it is fiction, but this prevents me from accepting the world of the novel. 3.5 stars

The book in itself presents an interesting story, and makes for an entertaining read, but what bothers me about this book is that the vast majority of Western readers interpret it as a historically accurate memoir, when in fact it was written by an American author for an American audience, and therefore has achieved its success through appealing to and reinforcing the stereotypes about Japanese culture in America. Another reviewer on this website writes, "It is a wonderful introduction to... Japanese culture," illustrating how many Western readers (including countless personal friends) interpret the lifestyle and culture depicted in Memoirs of a Geisha as absolute historical fact.

In the tradition of Ruth Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, Golden presents Japan and Japanese culture as "exotic" and "strange," reinforcing the major theses of the Nihonjinron (which literally means "theories about the Japanese") genre..

When looking at ever-popular images of a lone, white man in a crowded Tokyo street, many Westerners see the surrounding Japanese as identical to one another, and inherently different from that white man and his native culture, a belief that Golden's novel only serves to perpetuate. What disappoints me the most is that Golden holds a degree in Japanese History, and still the inaccuracies and stereotypes that he was raised with win out over historical fact in his writing. In conclusion, Golden presents an interesting story in Memoirs of a Geisha that should only be read if the reader is prepared to believe none of it.

Additional readings: Yellow by Frank H. Wu, Orientalism by Edward W. Said

If I hadn't paid for it, I would not have read it. Although historical fiction is not a genre I normally read or enjoy, I had high expectations for this book. Despite the controversy, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took me a long time to read and annotate it. I felt a strong connection with the characters. The author's writing style was fantastic. The characters were given more depth. The story's pace, which was languid at times, docked one star.

Overall, this was a fantastic experience. This book marked the end of my 2021 reading challenge..

I finally got around to reading this book! I've had it sitting in the bookcase for time, so I'm glad to say I've read it. I was almost afraid it would disappoint, but I'm happy to say, disappoint it did not.
This novel really is quite something. The story is told in such an exquisite style, that it captures your interest from the very beginning. The story tells us of the life of a Geisha, called Chiyo. The setting in which the story is told is beautiful and I felt as if I was with Chiyo, in her story. Japan has always fascinated me, and this has just made me feel like I'd love to learn more.

As the reader, I felt rather connected to Chiyo somewhat, or at least to a certain extent. Many of the choices she made or was forced to make, I could certainly relate to, even if I didn't necessarily agree with them. When she felt pain, the narration was written in such as way, that you, as the reader, could prominently feel that pain too.

The life of a Geisha really interests me, and this book helped feed that interest. I simply cannot imagine what it would be like to be sold as a slave by your own family, just to be trained up, to live a life just pleasuring men. It sends shivers down my spine just to even think about it.
I do disagree with a Geisha not being classed as a prostitute. That may be how it is seen through their eyes, but a Geisha's main income comes from them having sex. I think sex, especially when it involves any kind of payment, is a form of prostitution.

The ending of the story I found to be rather abrupt, and I didn't feel fully satisfied when I'd closed the book. I think I still have a few questions that will remain unanswered. Overall though, it remains a remarkable book and I can understand why it is such a classic.