The story begins in 1929 with nine year old Chiyo Sakamoto from a poor fishing village named Yoroido, who is taken from her family to be raised as geisha in Kyoto. A sad reflection of life for women and children forced into the sex trade, but Chiyo is a survivor with such strength of character to endure the wicked wiles of the evil supreme Geisha Hatsumomo, the cruelty of 'Granny' the Matriarch,hand the greed of 'Mother'. But the kindness of the Chairman of a major Japanese corporation and her mentor and so called 'elder sister' Geisha Mameha, provide her with some salvation and her story is a fascinating one. Against the backdrop of the Japan of the time, it shows us of the country during both the glory of the 1930s empire and the deprivation of World War ll. The whims of men who become her Danna, basically sexual master and patron. The book is based on the actual events of the life of former geisha Mineko Iwasaki, who sued the author Arthur Golden for defamation of character. Apparently he included details she had told him during their interviews that were not meant for print. Mineko asserted that Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity if she told him about her life as a geisha, due to the traditional code of silence about their clients. However, Golden listed Iwasaki as a source in his acknowledgments for the novel, causing her to face a serious backlash, to the point of death threats.In his behalf, Arthur Golden countered that he had tapes of his conversations with Iwasaki.Eventually, in 2003, Golden’s publisher settled with Iwasaki out of court for an undisclosed sum of money. Mineko also went on to write her autobiography which paints a completely different picture to his novel. If you have visited Kyoto you will know that the Gion District is worth visiting. Almost medieval in its narrowness, the main historical road is a delight to behold, with its architecture and decor stuck in time, cherry blossoms and tea ceremony.
