Stories Alive! Memoirs of a Geisha
An inaccurate tale, but we're here to help you discover the truth
Zemii Tours is honored to present the fourth in many Stories Alive! Tours. The fourth tour is based off of the novel Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Published in 1997, this debut novel takes you to the world of the geisha in Kyoto, Japan in the early 20th century. Don’t let debut deter you, this book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 58 straight weeks!
The Story
“Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it.
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable.”
The Author
Arthur Golden spent six years writing his first book, Memoirs of a Geisha. The book endured three full re-writes before the viewpoint chosen was from the character Sayuri’s perspective. Not only a debut novel, it appears to be his only published novel. A smashing success that brought rave reviews from the New York Times, PBS, and others, it also sold more than four-million English language copies and has been published in thirty-two other languages. In 2005, the book was turned into a feature film, which won three Academy Awards. He received the Golden Plate Award in 2000 from the American Academy of Achievement.
Born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a well-known publishing family, he accomplished a considerable amount of solid scholarly education through his degree in Art History from Harvard College, with a specialization in Japanese art. He furthered his education with a Masters of Art in Japanese History from Columbia University. There, he also studied Mandarin Chinese. He received an additional Masters of Art in English from Boston University. He then spent a summer at Peking University in Beijing and subsequently worked in Japan before settling with his family in Massachusetts.
He did extensive research for his novel while in Japan. This involved interviewing many geisha and one of the most famous ex-geisha, Mineko Iwasaki. Mineko was the primary influence of his main character, and this would later prove to be a scandal. Once he published his book in Japanese, Iwasaki sued him for breach of contract since he violated the anonymity she had contracted with him as well as defamation of her character in relation to his decisions to violate her and her family’s privacy, former client privacy, and twisting the tale in directions that never happened. The lawsuit was settled in 2003.
According to Mineko, photos she supplied Golden of her kimonos and other private possessions began appearing in promotional articles for the book without her consent. She was mentioned prominently in interviews Golden gave to the media in which he said Mineko had been sold by her parents to a geisha house and her virginity had been auctioned off for the sum of 100 million yen, things she said are patently false. But in the public's mind, the link between the book's main character and her had been established. ~The Japan Times
As a result of this breach of contract, Mineko Iwasaki published her own book to set things straight. You can learn more about her and her story by watching this video.
Why A Tour?
Kyoto is an extremely popular tourist destination. One of the main reasons is because there are working geisha there and people from around the world can experience them first-hand. There are many rules around the geisha, one of which is no photography. The geisha are private entertainers and artists. They are not meant for public demonstrations without the protection granted them by their status. That does not mean that tourists cannot experience a geisha performance.
This tour is not only designed to take you to one of the most beautiful destinations in Japan, it is also designed to help you learn the history of this former capital of Japan (for over 1000 years!) and to learn more about geisha first-hand. Along with your tea ceremony, dinner and performance with a geisha activities, you will also experience glorious tours that include palaces, shrines, and more that were inhabited by those the geisha regularly entertained.
The Tour
Discover the beauty of Kyoto as lived through the pages of Memoirs of a Geisha. Stay in a 5-Star hotel in the Kyoto where you will be taken on an adventure of nature bathing, gastronomy, and Japanese culture. Spa experiences are always included in addition to unique tours of the area.
The tour is centered around Kyoto, but includes travel to regions nearby. There, you will experience the Arashiyama bamboo grove, a samurai experience, Jōjakkōji Temple, Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, Tenryuji Temple, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Daikaku-ji Temple, Okochi Sanso Garden, Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji Temple, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Todai-ji Temple, and Kasuga Shrine. As consistent with all of our Stories Alive tours, you will visit several onsen and have gastronomy and sake tours.
