Ho deciso di leggero questo libro sapendo che era molto diverso da Memorie di una Geisha e quindi non posso dire di essere rimasta sorpresa dalla differenza (secondo me abissale) tra i due libri.
Storia proibita di una geisha è la testimonianza diretta di Mineko Iwasaki che è stata la geisha (termine scorretto ma per semplicità lo uso) più famosa del suo tempo: l’intento è di smontare pregiudizi e stereotipi che nella cultura occidentale circondano la figura della geisha, soprattutto l’idea che parte dei servizi offerti sono di tipo sessuale.
La scrittura, secondo me, è piuttosto piatta e, leggendo, si ha spesso la sensazione che il testo non sia stato rielaborato ma si tratta della trascrizione della risposta alle domande poste da Rande Brown, coautrice del libro. Gli eventi narrati sono interessanti perché consentono di capire meglio l’ambiente delle geishe e il tipo di vita che conducevano ma la narrazione non è riuscita ad emozionarmi, probabilmente perché il punto di vista è molto diverso da quello occidentale: in alcune situazioni la valenza emotiva attribuita agli eventi è dissonante rispetto alle mie aspettative, soprattutto in relazione alla strenua difesa che Mineko Iwasaki fa dei suoi genitori, condannando invece aspramente la sorella maggiore che non ha mai accettato di essere stata ceduta per motivi economici che, quindi, è diventata una geisha contro la sua volontà.
Memorie di una geisha invece è un’opera di fantasia, probabilmente per certi aspetti verosimile, che però non descrive l’intero mondo delle geishe (ma del resto è un romanzo, non un saggio con pretese di adesione alla realtà) e il suo autore, essendo un “occidentale”, riesce a far leva sulle emozioni del suo lettore “occidentale” con cui condivide, a grandi linee, lo stesso sistema di valori. Forse anche il libro di Mineko Iwasaki descrive solo una parte di quel mondo e, se si è curiosi di approfondire, il riferimento anche ad altri autori giapponesi può aiutare ad avere un quadro più completo (ad esempio a me sono piaciuti molto la graphic novel Una gru infreddolita: Storia di una geisha e la serie tv n  The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko Housen).

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.

I absolutely loved Memoirs of a Geisha, and I’m unrepentant! I’m sorry that it wasn’t true to Ms. Iwasaki’s intentions. But on to this book. I absolutely hung on every word of this book. I devoured it. I don’t know how it did that to me, considering it is almost documentary style. I listened to the audio, and it had a dreamlike quality. I was caught up from the first sentence to the last in the descriptions of her life, her schedule, her world, her tools of the trade. The explanations of the kimono and the dances and the ceremonies were wonderfully vivid. I loved learning that her work was a professional means to independence for women. The idea that she could work her rear end off and enjoy the spoils of her labor was really appealing. Fantastic read.

I would like to introduce you to the book you should be reading instead of Memoirs of a Geisha. Because not only is Memoirs of a Geisha incorrect, it was also based on Iwasaki Mineko’s life (just that Arthur Golden mis-represented things by portraying certain events negatively instead of positively, etc etc. You can read more about this in Iwasaki’s Wikipedia page.)

So, I first found out about this book while I was in Fukuoka and I was fascinated by the book and the fact that we got to hear from an actual Geisha vs an outsider who did not grow up in the system. But, I didn’t actually buy a copy until a friend asked me if I knew any books about geisha and I decided to buy a copy for myself!

But enough about my history with the book.

Geisha of Gion is the memoir of Iwasaki Mineko, who was one of the top geiko (the Kyoto term for geisha) of her day. She started training for this life when she was five and the proprietress of a geisha house met her and decided to make Mineko her heir (atotori). Life as a maiko and geiko was not easy, as Mineko had to change her name, endure bullying and harassment, but her love of dance kept her going… until she couldn’t.

This book is both a memoir of Iwasaki’s life and an explanation of Geisha culture post-WWII. Quite a few things caught my eye, namely:

- Geisha houses are inhabited and run by women.
- Geisha can be married and work at the same time because geisha’s are not prostitutes. By the post-WWII era, geisha’s were known for their art and whether they decided to sleep with their customers was entirely their perogative.
- This quote: “Being a geiko is not simply a matter of mastering one’s art form. One must also have passion and enthusiasm for the profession, which requires a profound commitment, an enormous amount of work, and unflappable countenance and the presence of mind to stay calm in the midst of disaster.”
- Regarding dance training: There is concept called “otome” where the teacher just stops the student due to a mistake and the student has to leave (indefinite suspension). It is up to her superiors to negotiate her return. But this otome is only given to fantastic dancers to push them one step further.
No men are allowed in the house except the otokoshi (dresser) who helps the geiko to dress. The otokoshi plays a vital role because they ensure the Geisha wear their clothes correctly and comfortable. Iwasaki mentioned that she was 79lbs (35kg) when she debuted but her kimono and accessories was 44lbs (20kg).
- Dances in Japan are split into two main categories – Mai/舞 (sacred danes) and Odori/踊り (the “dance that celebrates the vicissitudes of human life”)
- Geisha’s work at a type of establishment called “ochaya“. Traditionally, you can only be a customer through a referral. So the geikos can know generations of the same family because the father will bring the sons, etc (also, apparently women are quite often customers/guests. Sometimes it will be a family who books a party to celebrate the birth of a child and the geisha will be there to coo over the baby)
- When entertaining VIPs, the geisha’s will prepare for the meeting by reading about them, their work, etc so they can make intelligent conversation

I think it’s pretty clear that being a geisha requires a lot of work and commitment, and that they are definitely not high-class prostitutes!

Re-reading this reminded me about how much work it takes to be a geisha and increased my admiration for them. If you’re curious about the geisha culture and history in Japan, you should definitely read this book.

This review was first posted at Eustea Reads

Couldn't warm to Mineko, it could be the translation of course.....savrd from 1star by the honest revelations about the Queen and Prince Charles

This was a pretty good book, but it was a little dry, probably due to the translation. Main point: Geisha are NOT prostitutes.

This autobiography was written in response to Mineko Iwasaki's displeasure with Memoirs of a Geisha, whose story is based on interviews with her.


I greatly enjoyed the read- it was recanted smoothly and the story flowed. As it does aim to be informative, the correct Japanese/geiko terms can be a bit tough to keep up with.


For those that have commented on the author's arrogance, it's important to note that the making of a good autobiography doesn't necessarily mean seeing eye to eye with the author. I found her to be honest regarding her self-importance and naïveté.


Loved it!

Where to begin... it's not that "Geisha" doesn't have an interesting story to tell, it's just a shame that Mineko Iwasaki had to be her to do the telling.

Geisha brings to us the enchanting tale of a spoiled Daddy's girl who becomes a spoiled geiko princess after she's adopted as the heir to a prominent okiya. She thus child royalty who gets what she wants, when she wants it with very little complaint from anyone. Below is a short list of what you can expect from the book:

Mineko demands things be done this way and that. She goes to dance lessons. She works really really hard and practices more than anyone else and is by far the best dancer. She was born to dance. Nobody can touch her. She's beautiful, and gets constant adoration and attention from everyone she comes in contact with. She has maids that pick up after her wherever she goes. Soon she's the top geiko in Gion, and has her schedule booked for the next five years...

After becoming a Geiko, she makes money hand over fist by learning to milk the system and schedule herself for multiple appointments in the same evening, showing up for only a few minutes at each event. At the top of her game she makes about 3 million dollars a year, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in kimono, and thus becomes so rich that she literally doesn't understand the value of money. At the age of 21, she doesn't know what "change" is or that you have to plug in an appliance before it wil turn on. Adorable, right?

One of my favorite quotes from Mineko:
"...they were among the few who relished the fact that I was such a phenomenon."

And yet, somehow, she has a hard time making friends.

Conceitedness aside, there's also contant play of double-standards in the book. One that's particularly troubling is the question of geiko serving as high-class escorts. While it's stated time and time again that geiko are not prostitutes, so sir-ee, no funny business going on here, Mineko accepts outrageous tips from men (Japan is a no-tipping culture) for entertaining them, and builds intimate friendships with married men that sometimes turn into full blown affairs. Geiko acting as mistresses is briefly acknowledged, but because Japan is a culture that associates marriage with political ties, you know, it's all good...

Much of the text is either awkwardly translated or awkwardly edited. Next to cliche expressions like "slept like there was no tomorrow," we have a smattering of words you find only on the GRE. My kindle dictionary got a good workout. Some Japanese idioms like "the scales fell from my eyes" also appear to be directly translated, but sound awkward without further explanation.

Unfortunately I find myself unable or unwilling to believe many of the stories that told within these pages. All of it is just too unreal. Should even some of it be true, it seems to me that this kind of an account would be so limited that whose to say it's "realistic" at all?

Maybe "Memoirs of a Geisha" is fiction, but I can't help but think it hold more truth than Mineko Iwasaki's "Geisha."

I enjoyed this peek into a fascinating culture. I read the fictional Memoirs of a Geisha by Golden first (which is based on Iwasaki's life) so was looking for some additional background reading when I found this autobiography. Definitely seemed much more like real life than the novel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. I think it's a very real glimpse into a world many know very little about (but like to think they know more than they do). I liked the insight to traditional Japanese culture, something I've been interested in since my youth. Mineko lead a life that most women can not comprehend, and many would probably find appalling or undesirable, but Mineko lived it well, I think. While she was naïve in many ways, in others she was quite strong and mindful of how best to handle some difficult situations. The misconceptions about geiko are long lived and sad. It's also sad that their very own culture feeds the misconceptions with similarities between the geiko and oiran "ceremonies".

I think the geiko (geisha) life is very interesting and beautiful. It is, of course, not without its flaws. Like any other society or art form. When people are involved especially people of different personalities are involved there will always be discord in some way. Mineko's story showed me that even back in the "good old days" there were still people who did not take their jobs seriously. That they didn't value their heritage and the traditions of their jobs and cultures. That is something you could never say about Mineko. She certainly valued the traditions, even while trying to modernize and improve them (ie: more academic education for the girls especially in foreign language courses). She took her job very seriously and she expected others to as well. Mineko says herself that geiko is a dying art (for various reasons, economic not being the least of them). This is a sad fact to me. I would love to see it continue for many more generations.

There is no way in HELL,a five year old child DECIDES to move away from home because they love to dance unless its a tantrum and they're running away from home,lady please

This book, like most non-fiction, had a bit of a slow reading pace. There were a few events that truly drew me into Mineko's story, though my review is going to be mostly about about the comparison of this book to Memoirs of a Geisha.

It's kind of upsetting to me to see so many people say they changed their view of the fiction novel because of this book. Memoirs of a Geisha is a work of fiction- not everything is portrays will be straight on. The biggest confusion present is the use of mizuage-- instead of being about income, in Memoirs it follows the form of mizuage which is used for the high-end prostitutes and courtesans, where they are ceremoniously deflowered by the highest bidder as explained by Mineko. I personally believe this to have been a stylistic choice of the author. Fiction is meant to entertain-- and that was a choice the author made, still based somewhat fact, as it is a true use of mizuage, even if it is not that of Geisha. I can forgive this. It is a work of fiction- fiction does not have display full truths. That is why it is fiction. It's not fact.

I personally think this is a good that people should read after reading Memoirs, but that they should also retain their love for the fiction book because it was written to entertain. Mineko's book was written to inform, and the two can coexist. I personally hold a respect for both.