Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki

by Mineko Iwasaki, with Rande Brown | Biographies & Memoirs |
ISBN: 0743220374 Global Overview for this book
Registered by tantan of Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on 3/9/2004
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11 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by tantan from Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, March 9, 2004
From the back cover:
"I want you to know what it is really like to live the life of a geisha, a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and richly glorious rewards. It is a life in which I was a pre-eminent success; many say the best of my generation. And yet, it was a life that I found too constricting to continue. And one that I ultimately had to leave. It is a story that I have long wanted to tell. My name is Mineko."

"For more than four decades, Mineko Iwasaki has lived within the confines of powerful but invisible constraints. Bound by an ancient, unwritten code - 'by the robes of tradition and sanctity of our exclusive calling' - she and thousands of other women over the course of three centuries of Japanese history have shielded their extraordinary lives from public view. In Geisha of Gion, Mineko is the first Japanese geisha to shed light on the fascinating and arcane geisha tradition.

Captivating and poignant, Mineko's book captures her earliest memories, beginning with her move to the geisha house at the tender age of four and her initiation into the profession that she would perfect. As we follow Mineko's gradual blossoming over the years from 'Little Princess' the the brightest of stars, we learn all about the intricate training and rigid education system by which girls become geishas, the specific duties and performances required of the women and the extraordinarily vast foundation of wealth upon which geisha culture rests. Filled with moments of great strength and delicate beauty, Geisha of Gion is a brave and luminous revelation."

This is was a fantastic book to me as my interest in Japanese and Geisha culture is never-ending. Really easy to read, and I learnt so much from this.

This will be going out on a bookring as follows:
tqd (New South Wales, Australia
e-i-pi (New South Wales, Australia)
Loopylou127 (New South Wales, Australia)
groovyjoss (Victoria, Australia)
jubby (New South Wales, Australia)
Tasamina (South Australia, Australia)
gypsyrose02 (Western Australia, Australia)
Enidq (Illinois, USA)
Ilios (Florida, USA)
Ramya (New Jersey, USA)
dospescados (New York, USA)
Mokona (Michigan, USA)
Bibliocrates (Alabama, USA)
azuki (Florida, USA)
Mytilus (England)
kubchen (Ireland)
Hero (Ireland)
Dei (Singapore)
sally906 (Northern Territory, Australia)
Pixette (New South Wales, Australia)
Back to tantan in Queensland, Australia!

Journal Entry 2 by tantan from Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on Monday, July 5, 2004
Posted to tqd 05/07/04.

Journal Entry 3 by tqd from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Turned up in the mail yesterday, thanks tantan! I've got a bit of a TBR mountain at the moment, but will get onto this one asap.

Journal Entry 4 by tqd from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Finished this one on a train this morning.

What an inspiring story! And what a fascinatingly complex society!

I really liked Mineko, she knew what she wanted and got it. (With the occasional confusion over what she wanted, but she's only human.) I knew nothing about geisha culture, and now I am a lot more enlightened. If somewhat confused, it was all so complex. :)

Each japanese term is introduced well, but there are so many of them I felt that this book could have been greatly enhanced by the addition of a glossary!

On to e-i-pi next.

UPDATE 2-AUG-2004: popped in the post this afternoon!

Journal Entry 5 by e-i-pi from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, September 21, 2004
I am so slack -- I should be black-banned by bookrings! Thanks tqd, this arrived safe and well weeks ago. I've now read it and am ready to send it on to next on the list (I even have the postal address, so it's off today).

[Note to self; must do better, must focus more, must journal books!]

I really enjoyed this book -- I read Memoirs of a geisha some time ago, and the two do follow each other quite well, but I can see why Iwasaki wasn't completely happy with how Golden painted her in his book.

Journal Entry 6 by Loopylou127 from Hassall Grove, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Goddit in the post with ANOTHER RING** I will get to it as soon as I am done with the couple in front. I'll keep you all posted when it sees the light of the top of mount TBR!
I have been sooooo looking forward to this book = I got to make sure I don't get tempted to jump the pile. Don't want the BC vidulanties on my doorstep (or postbox as the case maybe):0)

EDITED 2nd Nov: The best laid plan of mice and men... I had friends come and stay over during the long weekend - 4 oct(unexpected), they helped me tidy up. Guess who's been looking for a couple of books! I have only just found them (the other night!), they put it on the ........ wait for it!!! on the .... bookshelf - duh - didn't think to look there. I'll try to read ASAP.
I'm sorry for holding up the ring.

Journal Entry 7 by Loopylou127 from Hassall Grove, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, January 9, 2005
I have finished, have been re-educated and am ready to send on. I thought I had felicia-fairy addy but I'll get it again and send it off.
****
Change in plans = FF got the book from Secret Santa so will pm groovy, now LOL :0)
******
Got GJ addy - will send 2mo (wed)

Journal Entry 8 by groovyjoss from Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on Thursday, January 20, 2005
i got this book in the mail a few days ago, i have yet to read it, but it looks quite interesting. i can't wait.

Journal Entry 9 by groovyjoss from Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on Friday, May 6, 2005
finally finally have i finished this... i really liked it, and there was interesting information contrary to memoirs of a geisha.
i must say, it was rather unfortunate, i finally finished it on my way to work last night. so the finished book was in my bag on the way home, unfortunately so was some apple juice - in one of those stupid don't-really-reseal containers. so some apple juice did get on the finally finished book, but it is only on the top left-had corner of the first 20 pages.
anyway... i'm sorry tantan :( i will send you a book for to say sorry, just have a look at my available pages :D
sorry again...
i will send this on to jubby once i get her/his address.

Journal Entry 10 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Received in the post today. I know the rules for bookrings, but my tbr pile is teetering...

Will make an effort to read and post within a fortnight.

Thank you.

Journal Entry 11 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Friday, June 24, 2005
Have nearly finished reading. Rather enjoying it, but finding that it is not as good as some others that I have read (like "Geisha' by Liz Dalby and 'Memiors of a Geisha').

Contacting the next person in the ring to post on.

Thank you for sharing with me.

Journal Entry 12 by jubby at BookRing in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, June 26, 2005

Released 18 yrs ago (6/26/2005 UTC) at BookRing in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Posted off to Tasamina.

Journal Entry 13 by Tasamina from Yankalilla, South Australia Australia on Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Received in the mail today (thank you jubby). I am looking forward to reading this.

Journal Entry 14 by Tasamina from Yankalilla, South Australia Australia on Tuesday, July 26, 2005
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The detailed descriptions of the way of life and the discipline involved for a Geisha was fascinating. Mineko's recall of her early childhood memories was incredible.The previous account of her life in Memoirs of a Geisha by Golden reads more as a novel where as this one is aimed at educating by explaining more of the culture. Thanks for the opportunity to read this book and it will be off to gypsyrose02 this week.

Journal Entry 15 by gypsyrose02 from Byford, Western Australia Australia on Wednesday, August 3, 2005
received today. Have a few to read before it, but will get to it asap.

Journal Entry 16 by gypsyrose02 from Byford, Western Australia Australia on Wednesday, August 10, 2005
sorry guys. just not in the mood for asian stories at the moment. will get it into the post when i get an addy.

Journal Entry 17 by gypsyrose02 from Byford, Western Australia Australia on Thursday, August 18, 2005
going out to Ilios today as enidq asked to e skipped.

Journal Entry 18 by Ilios from Tampa, Florida USA on Friday, August 26, 2005
I just received this book today! I am very excited about it. I read Memoirs of a Geisha sometime ago and became fascinated with the lives of these women. I can't wait to learn the real deal through this memoir.

I only have two quick rings/rays in front of this book, so I expected to start reading it within a week or two. Thanks to tantan for sharing and thanks to gypsyrose02 for sending this all the way from Australia!

Journal Entry 19 by Ilios from Tampa, Florida USA on Wednesday, September 28, 2005
This was a great book. Having read Memoirs of a Geisha some time ago, I was happy to be able to compare the two versions of a similar story. Although it is a biography, Mineko's story seems even more extraordinary than the one told by Golden, in that we can see the determination and passion in such a small child.

This book was also interesting because it goes deeper into the philosophy behind the geiko/maiko world, which is completely fascinating from the perspective of an outsider. The authors here did a great job at showing the highs and the lows involved in this traditional lifestyle, and the amount of dedication and sacrifice necessary to become a geiko. I also deeply enjoyed the description of the kimonos and other accessories worn by the performers. It made me wish this book had more pictures! I agree with tqd in that a glossary would have been of great help in reading this book. I found myself flipping through pages and pages when I forgot the meaning of a word.

Although I know that the writing style should not be as important in a biography as it is in a novel, I sometimes felt there was no real flow from one paragraph to the next. The transitions from one topic to the next could have been more elegant and I believe the co-author, Rande Brown, or the editors, could have done a better job.

Overall, this book was very good and the reading was easy. I would definitely recommend it to someone interested in this fascinating topic.

Journal Entry 20 by Ilios at post office in Mail, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Released 18 yrs ago (9/28/2005 UTC) at post office in Mail, Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Mailing to Ramya today. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 21 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Sunday, October 16, 2005
I received this a few days ago, and I started reading it right away, jumping over others in my TBR pile. I've recently enjoyed listening to Memoirs of a Geisha, so I'm especially interested in these true memoirs of a real geisha.

Journal Entry 22 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Just an update -- I started out strong with this book, then for a while, it was hard to focus on any reading at all, and time slipped away. I'm finishing it now, and I'll be sending it on to dospescados by early next week at the latest.

I have a copy of Geisha, by Liza Dalby, which I'd be happy to send out on a ring; please PM me if you're interested. (I know that there's a forum for announcing rings, but for the moment I'll just leave this announcement where readers of Geisha of Gion can see it.) Here's the journal entry: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3925486/

Journal Entry 23 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Friday, April 14, 2006
Once I got back into this book, after a gap of several months, I read through it quickly and enjoyed it very much.

I almost went to Kyoto last summer for the World Symposium of Choral Music. In order to keep costs down, I looked for accommodations other than the official conference hotels. I found a place that billed itself as a "traditional inn", and the thing that really appealed to me was that as a free extra, they offered an opportunity to female guests to try on full kimono regalia -- I would have enjoyed dressing up even for a half hour!

I'll be sending this off to dospescados tomorrow morning.

Journal Entry 24 by dospescados on Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Thanks, I'm looking forward to this!

Journal Entry 25 by dospescados on Friday, June 30, 2006
It took me a while to get to this book but just over a day to read it! The writing itself isn't much but the story is pretty incredible. I read Memoirs of a Geisha sometime in high school and after reading this it seems like the author of Memoirs just didn't get it (though it was an impressive enough work for a white American man to convincingly create a young Japanese woman character...).

I have Mokona's address and this'll be in the mail early next week.

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