Geisha, a Life

By: Mineko Iwasaki, Rande Brown

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only 5 years old when she left her parents' home for the world of the geisha. For the next 25 years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form.

In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of 29 to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past."

Geisha, a Life is the first of its kind, as it delicately unfolds the fabric of a geisha's development. Told with great wisdom and sensitivity, it is a true story of beauty and heroism, and of a time and culture rarely revealed to the Western world.

©2002 Mineko Iwasaki (P)2020 Tantor

VERY INFORMATIVE LOOK AT THE LIFE AND ART OF GEISHA

This book gave great insight into the life of a geisha. I was quire surprised at how very young training begins for young girls and just how demanding that training is. I had no idea that a child had to give up the home of their birth and their biological parents and be formally adopted into the geisha house.

Mineko-San was very, very talented, but if she lacked for friendship, I suspect it was because she was rather taken with herself. She was often indignant and sometimes hard to get along with if her self-description is accurate; however, to balance that Mineko-San was also an extremely dedicated worker and extraordinarily talented. Perhaps she had a bit of an excuse to be taken with herself.

Underneath the boasting was an insecure young girl who just wanted to fit in and be like all the other girls. Instead others were often jealous of Mineko-San’s talent and popularity amongst her clientele. Even her young fellow geishas liked to play tricks on her, often to educate or just to plain needle her out of jealousy. All her life, beginning at a very early age, Mineko-San was a private person; someone who preferred her own company and the company of books and music. When overwhelmed by emotion or noise, she would spend long hours in the quiet of her closet. The choice to become a geisha, a career that required her to be outgoing and “on” all the time, was diametrically opposed to her natural propensity for quiet and solitude. Mineko-San struggled mightily between the two sides of her life.

There was so much history of the art, traditions and dates provided, that I found myself rather lost at times.

I found her description of her first and only time living in her own to be very amusing (calling home and having a service person come immediately to her apartment because none of her appliances worked. She had no idea she actually had to PLUG them INTO a socket…everything thing was done for geisha’s in training, absolutely everything. One day Mineko-San had a friend over for tea. She filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove. Eventually the friend came into the kitchen to find out what was taking so long…no one had shown or told Mineko-San that in order to heat the water, she had to actually had to twist the knob on the stove top. Living on her own was a real eye-opener for her.

Still, I found the book entertaining. The narrator’s voice was very pleasant to listen to (although it lacked passion).

Overall, “Geisha, a Life,” was a good read and was worth the credit I spent.

A Great enlightenment

A Great education and enlightenment of Japanese culture as well as the true understanding of the true life of a Geisha and dispels the misconceptions that we, in the west have come to erroneously believe about Geisha and their role in Japanese society.

Beautiful Insight

I learned so much from this first hand account of the Geisha. I found it fascinating.

Geisha, A Life

I started out by really not caring for Mineko. She seemed to be very spoiled and rude. However, it’s easy to forget that the Japanese culture is not Western culture. This book is a beautiful representation of Japanese culture, the demands of it, and the way it is different from my own. I listened to it in audiobook form, and the narrator had the perfect voice for it.

Mineko does an excellent job of describing the world of the geisha. It seems both hauntingly beautiful, but also incredibly demanding. I will say the movie that was supposedly based on this book is not an accurate representation of the geisha culture or Mineko’s experience. I strongly recommend this book if you have an interest in both Japan and geisha. You will not be disappointed!

Transcendent

This biography was truly beautiful. There was a raw honesty that I gratefully appreciated. Like many, I came across this book after reading Memoirs of a Geisha. In truth, they are not comparable though. I feel one was written with the intention to entertain and the other was shared to give us a truth.

Wonderful story

The narration was a little flat but perhaps that is how it’s intended to be.

Better than the movie

Like way better than the movie it’s self my guy. You will not regret this order

Excellent

Very much enjoyed hearing the true story of a Geisha's life rather than fictional characters. Easy to.listen too.

1000 times better than Memoirs of a Geisha

This book is so rich, so real. True armchair travel. I bought two of her paperback books while hearing this book. An historical treasure. Refinement, beauty, and savvy. I will be revisiting this book again.

Beautifully written. Great narration.

This is how her story was suppose to be written. I'm glad she finally has her true story recorded.