Geisha

 

Continuing my Japanese studies in anticipation of a trip there for the 2004 cherry blossom season, I read Geisha by Liza Dalby which was first published in 1983. In 2008, the 25^th anniversary of the first publishing, the book was released again with a new preface to the second addition. Dalby did her research for the book as a part of her effort to complete her Ph.D. in anthropology, so she went to Japan to live there for a year as she pursued research about Geisha. She referred to herself as a geisha anthropologist.

 

Ms. Dalby wrote not only about the geisha culture in Kyoto and Tokyo, but also geisha life in much smaller towns. This is a historical, cultural, experiential, and autobiographical story. After meeting with many different geisha, she thought she would be better able to understand and write about her subject if she herself trained to become geisha. She is known as the only non-Japanese woman to undertake such training and actually become geisha. Her book was very well received, and she was interviewed extensively on television inboth Japan and the United States about her experiences there. If you’re headed to Japan or just have an interest in the country’s history, this is a very good source of knowledge.