Memoirs of a Geisha - Response #2

English Translation

Covered in dirt, In an unfamiliar city

I didn't smile like usual

I just walked hanging my head

To all the people hurrying quickly past me

"Have your dreams come true?"

I'm still struggling

Rather than going back to my childhood

I want to live happily now

I'm a coward by nature

If I try to leave for a place where the sun shines

With open arms

I think, "I wonder if I could cross the sky?"

I still can't see 

my wings for flying

Because I can't just go on, I continue to live

Just by picking up a wet puppy

Enough to smile a little

My tears came pouring out

I want to be loved; I just want to be loved

I've said it 

It's no good just wishing for it

There were also days in my childhood

Where I had hurt my mother

I want to change it all now

I tried to leave for a place where the sun shines

Gripping tightly

Destroying that time and place

I can change my life

But, I can't communicate everything

In my heart

Because I can't just go on

I continue to live

Going to a place where the sun shines

I try to open a map, but

I know... you know... 

There's nothing I can do even if I'm lost

I can change my life

With everything that's gone by lately

I'm only the me I am now

Because I can't just go on

I continue to live

This song seems to describe Sayuri’s life and things she goes through and what she is feeling. When the lyrics “Covered in dirt, In an unfamiliar city” are said, it described how Sayuri was a poor girl coming from a poor household in the town of Yoroido. She was taken to the Okiya/Geisha house and was separated from her sister, Satsu. The area the Okiya was in wasn’t familiar to her. “I just walked hanging my head” describes when Chiyo was helpless when settling in the Okiya and was forced to go to geisha school and yelled at for getting into trouble. “Rather than going back to my childhood, I want to live happily now” shows that Chiyo/Sayuri is determined to become a geisha now because of the confidence she gained when she me the chairman and dreams of a future with him. He encouraged Sayuri to go back home so she went back to the Okiya instead of running away. “I want to be loved, I just want to be loved” is similar to Sayuri longing for the attention of the chairman to notice her but she believes he may only remember her as Chiyo instead of Sayuri. “I tried to leave for a place where the sun shines” could also be an explanation of when Sayuri was young she tried to run away to a better place with her sister one night (but failed and her sister got away alone, without her). “I can change my life” would show the determination Sayuri has to become a geisha. She practices her dancing a lot and listens carefully to when she is being given geisha advice from Mameha. By doing this Sayuri shows an effort in trying to change her life to make it better for herself. 

Memoirs of a Geisha - Response #1

Reading Response #1

Theme: Themes this book could go under are deception, destruction, or falling in love which has occurred the most in this book. [In this case love occurs more so this is what was chosen as the theme.] The main character, Sayuri reveals that she has feelings for the Chairman. It all started when ‘Chiyo’ met Chairman Ken Iwamura who was kind enough to give her money in his handkerchief. Inspired by the Chairman’s kindness Chiyo goes back home and continues her training to becoming a geisha in hopes that one day she could be with the Chairman, ever since Chiyo has secretly loved the Chairman. ‘Sayuri’ obtained many chances to spend time with the Chairman but they were ruined because her clients needed her. After World War 2, Nobu (business partner of Iwamura Electric and close friend of the Chairman) who sends Sayuri to stay with a friend’s family comes to see her. He mentions that when the company is restored he will become her danna (teacher in Japanese). Sayuri returns to Gion. One day Iwamura Electric called and told her to come, thinking she was going to meet Nobu at the company, the Chairman shows up instead which surprised Sayuri because the Chairman told her about him knowing that she is Chiyo and he was responsible for having Mameha training her to be a geisha. In the end, when Sayuri is finished with her story of her life she mentions that she had a son with the Chairman. Showing his love and affection for Sayuri and his son, the Chairman takes care of them until he dies.

"Memoirs of a Geisha". wikipedia 2009.Wikipedia Foundation, Inc.. 5 Nov 2009.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_a_Geisha>

Character: The main character of this novel is about Chiyo Sakamoto’s (otherwise know by her geisha name – Sayuri Nitta. The name Sayuri comes from ‘sa’ meaning together, ‘yu’ from the zodiac sign for the Hen – in order to balance other elements in her personality. And ‘ri’ , meaning understanding.) life from what her childhood was like to how she became a geisha to her current state and everything else in between. Sayuri’s husband is also another character to take note of because of the relationship they had together such as when they met to the end of the book when they confessed all their feelings. Nobu is the Chairman’s good friend and business partner of their company, Iwamura Electric. He is also Sayuri’s danna. Hatsumomo was at first the only working geisha at the okiya when Sayuri first came and she was the one who made most of the money. Hatsumomo disliked Sayuri very much because she was in training to be a geisha and tried to tell lies about Sayuri which made her end up getting kicked out of the okiya. In Sayuri’s view, Mameha is her ‘older sister’ or Mameha’s appretice. Mameha is Hatsumomo’s rival because she is a well known geisha in Japan and also makes more money then Hatsumomo. Mother is the one in charge of the okiya. She constantly thinks about money and is quick to never turn down an offer involving money. Auntie Nitta is in charge of the staff in the okiya. Granny Nitta is the adoptive mother of Mother and Auntie Nitta. In her younger days she was a geisha and she dies by being electrocuted by a heater. Pumpkin was at first a servent in the okiya but then she became Hatsumomo’s apprentice. Satsu is Sayuri’s biological sister who was sent to a different okiya and one night they planned to escape but Sayuri did not make it and so Satsu was the only one who escaped and so Satsu returned to Yoroido and escaped is Mr. Tanaka’s son. Mr. Tanaka was the person who brought both Satsu and Sayuri to Yoroido.

Beech, Hannah, "A Tree Grows in Kyoto," in Time International, Vol. 150, No. 31, March 30, 1998, p. 49.

Brownstein, Gabriel, "Memoirs of a Geisha," in New Leader, Vol. 80, No. 17, November 3, 1997, pp. 18 – 19.

Giles, Jeff, "Memoirs of a Geisha," in Newsweek, Vol. 130, No. 15, October 13, 1997, p. 76.

Golden, Arthur, Memoirs of a Geisha, Vintage, 1997.

Hooper, Brad, "Memoirs of a Geisha," in Booklist, Vol. 96, No. 15, April 1, 2000, p. 1442.

Wilkinson, Joanne, "Memoirs of a Geisha," in Booklist, Vol. 94, No. 1, September 1, 1997, p. 7.
<http://www.answers.com/topic/memoirs-of-a-geisha-characters>

Mood: This novel’s atmosphere seems to be emotional because of Sayuri falling in love. Telling her story about becoming a geisha and expressing the way she felt about every situation she was in.

Conflict: The basic conflict was what Sayuri wanted to happen in her life and how she struggled to deal with situations in the novel for example when she didn’t want to hurt Nobu’s feelings by telling him she didn’t love him so she made a plan to embarrass herself and in this way he wouldn’t like her anymore but she instead embarrassed herself in front of the Chairman because of Pumpkin, or the before that when she tried to plan out her escape from the okiya with her sister but wasn’t successful and had to deal with living in the okiya. She shows the conflict of Man vs. Self….well Woman vs. Self.

Setting: The setting of Memoirs of a Geisha takes place in Yoroido, Japan at an okiya before and after World War 2.

Book Overview

Memoirs Of A Geisha is told by Sayuri who is the main character. Although her real name is Chiyo Sakamoto, Sayuri is her Geisha name which is similar to a stage name. Right away she tells her story, explaining what her family is like and where she comes from. Sayuri explains that she was born in a small village called Yoroido located on the Sea of Japan. She admits that she's never told anyone about her family, the village she comes from and especially how she came about becoming a geisha. She goes on to clarify her unusual appearance. She had the same peculiar translucent grey eyes as her mother. Minoru Sakamoto - who is Sayuri's father and is a fisherman currently - was married many yeas ago to a woman named Natsu and had a son named Jinichiro and a child named Masao who had all passed away. Satsu is then introduced. Satsu is Sayuri's Older sister - older by six years - and while Sayuri reassembles her mother, Satsu was much like their father. Satsu had the advantage over Sayuri because she was the older sister, she could do things that Sayuri could not. Once at the age of seven, Sayuri's mother grew very ill with bone cancer (she didn't know that at the time though). Following after this A doctor by the name of Dr. Miura explains to Sayuri and her father that her mother may only have a few more weeks to live....

While I still have more to read this book is very interesting so far and I look forward to finding out what happens to Sayuri/Chiyo's mother!

~Rafeena S.