Geisha

by Liza Dalby | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0520204956 Global Overview for this book
Registered by Ramya of Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on 4/12/2006
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
From Amazon.com:
In the mid-1970s, an American graduate student in anthropology joined the ranks of white-powdered geisha in Kyoto, Japan. Liza Dalby took the name Ichigiku and apprenticed in the famed Pontocho district, trailing behind "older sisters" bemused by this long-legged Westerner intent on learning their arts and customs. In Geisha, this observant ethnographer paints an intoxicating picture of the "flower and willow world" to which she gained entry. "Why are you studying geisha?" asks one slightly belligerent older sister. "Geisha are no different from anybody else." Not quite, says Dalby dryly, pointing out that geisha and wives play utterly divergent, though complementary, roles in traditional Japanese society. "Geisha are supposed to be sexy where wives are sober, artistic where wives are humdrum, and witty where wives are serious." While hardly feminists, they reap freedoms unknown to other women. Dalby illustrates broader cultural differences, too, with a million tiny details about boisterous customers, how many hundred-weight of tabi (split-toed socks) geishas go through, what defines iki (chic), why maiko (young apprentices) are drawn to the life, and what geisha wear, from the skin out. Acknowledging that her growing personal stake in the masquerade prevented objectivity, Dalby frees the reader to enjoy a fluid and fascinating look at one aspect of Japanese culture. --Francesca Coltrera

Journal Entry 2 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
This book is going out as a ring, my very first!

§ If you’d like to be added to the list, please PM me with your details (where you are, whether you will ship internationally – surface mail is fine!).

§ Please journal the book once you have received it (so we all know where it currently is) and again when you have read it (so we know what you thought of it!)

§ In rings in which I have participated, I’ve benefited from the grace of relaxed attitudes toward the time one keeps a book, so I’m not going to ask you to send it on within a certain time period. But if you haven’t read it in 3 months or so, I might send you a PM just to see how things are going. :-)

Participants, with shipping preference:

azuki Florida, USA - ship USA
MandaJo Minnesota, USA - ship int'l
affinity4books Texas, USA - ship USA
Bibliocrates Alabama, USA - ship USA
gomboggit Oregon, USA – ship int’l
AgnesXNitt Cambridgeshire, UK – ship int’l
ScottishHoosier Scotland – ship int’l

Journal Entry 3 by wingAzukiwing from Miami, Florida USA on Monday, July 10, 2006
Book has arrived this weekend. Thanks. This is the first bookring book that I actually received in hand among the many I have signed up, so I am rather thrilled!

I am finishing up a book now so hopefully should start on this one by next week. The book is thicker and more text heavy than I expected (somehow the cover gives me the wrong impression) but I did a sneak preview and the book looks very informative and interesting. I am very glad to get a chance to read it. Thanks Ramya for offering it.

And oh thanks for the lovely bookmark!

Journal Entry 4 by wingAzukiwing from Miami, Florida USA on Friday, July 28, 2006
I finished my first bookring book! And did it in less than a month too. : )
I very much enjoyed the book, but then I am a Nipponphile with some basic understanding of Japanese culture and language, which definitely help. I learned a lot not only about the history of Geisha and the "Flower and Willow" world, but of Japanese culture in general. This is a very different type of book from Memoir of a Geisha though. Memoir is a very intimate, first-person experience. Lisa is a anthropologist who donned her kimono to become a geisha for a few months. Her description is more remote, less passionate. While she knows Japanese as well as a native and her guests didn't even realize that she is American, it's likely her training to make her an observer rather than a participant. I think the two books complement each other well.

I got mandajo's address already so this will go out in the mail next week.

Journal Entry 5 by wingAzukiwing from Miami, Florida USA on Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Just mailed it out today.

Journal Entry 6 by MandaJo from Plymouth, Minnesota USA on Tuesday, August 8, 2006
I know what you mean by the cover... yikes, this book looks big. But I've already read part of the intro right after I checked the mail yesterday, and it sounds incredibly interesting. I just finished Memoirs of a Geisha a couple of months ago, so I'm really excited to read something that will allow me to learn more about the culture and lifestyle. The bookmark is adorable!

I just sent out the last of the rings and rays I had yesterday, so I'll get started on this today. Thanks!

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