You’ve requested it, so here’s the next book in our continuing series. While the closest we’ve come so far to hearing from real maiko and geiko has been the interviews that John Paul Foster conducted and the research that Dr. Dalby undertook, it is still not the same as coming from the mouth of a person who belonged to this closed world directly (although they are still fantastic sources). Today we’re taking a look inside the life of one of the most famous geisha ever and follow her story from an unknown young girl to a cultural icon.



Book’s softcover courtesy of Amazon.

Geisha, a Life by Mineko Iwasaki (ISBN 9-780743-444293)

Published as Geisha of Gion in Europe (ISBN 9-78-0743-430593)

Date of Publication: 2002, has been reprinted a few times

Language: English, French, Spanish, Polish, German, and more

Availability: Still found in most bookstores and easily online.

Price: $10-15 new

Errors: 0



Mineko Iwasaki (究香 岩崎) was (and still is) one of the most famous geisha to ever live, and easily the most famous of the 20th century. Her life from the age of 3 (her first introduction to the karyukai) to age 29 (her retirement) is chronicled in this autobiography.



Born Masako Tanaka (政子 田中), the youngest of eleven children in 1949, she lived with relative comfort with her parents and seven other siblings until the day when Oima Iwasaki, the proprietress of the Iwasaki (岩崎) okiya in Gion Kobu, came to visit her parents to inquire if her older sister Tomiko might be interested in going to Kyoto and becoming a maiko. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Masako already had three older sisters living in Kyoto - Yaeko, Kikuko, and Kuniko - all of whom were employed in the karyukai. While Kikuko joined an okiya in Pontocho, Yaeko and Kuniko both lived and worked at the Iwasaki okiya. Yaeko went through the training to become a maiko (and then a geiko) while Kuniko worked at the okiya as a maid and helped to run the house.



The Tanakas had sent their daughters to okiya in Kyoto due to a lack of funds but also to ensure that the girls got a good education in the arts and had access to the finer things in life (giving better marriage prospects didn’t hurt either). While it may sound like slavery, at the time a girl could only hold a contract with an okiya for a maximum of seven years and certain standards of living had to be provided by the okiya for the girl while she was under contract. It was a much better option than being shackled to poverty for many girls who came from the previously rich samurai class, although it still meant a life away in a strange new place with a large amount of rules that one had to learn quickly.



Oima Iwasaki was a woman for spotting talent, and she became interested in Masako from the first time she saw her. By the old standards a “true” artist would begin dance lessons by the age of 6 and Ms. Oima saw the potential for an artist in Masako. While her parents allowed Tomiko to live and train at the Iwasaki okiya, they were very reluctant to hand over their youngest daughter. However, curiosity soon won over and Masako wanted to visit the Iwasaki okiya more and more to see the the beautiful kimono and the dog (Big John). When she was told that if she stayed at the Iwasaki okiya she could attend dance lessons the young girl was adamant in moving to Kyoto and her parents relented and let her go.



In this way, she grew up as a true daughter of Gion. She learned the mannerisms of the Kyoto dialect and the myriad rules that went along with living in an hierarchical society. She was groomed to be the future heir of the Iwasaki okiya. Since the Iwasaki was a famous okiya she was known to everyone who lived in Gion and had a very large head start when it eventually came time for her debut. Her biggest change when coming to Kyoto was her name - she could no longer be known as Masako since a Masako Iwasaki (the current heir) already lived at the okiya. She was given the name Mineko (究香), one that she originally hated but then came to appreciate.



Masako Iwasaki was the daughter of Gion’s #1 geiko Yoneyu (Unknown Spelling), who was the heir of the Iwasaki okiya. While she worked as a geiko Yoneyu allowed Oima Iwasaki to take care of the business side of the okiya, knowing that she’d eventually run it upon her retirement. Much hope was placed in Masako due to her mother’s standing, but she was very resentful for being an illegitimate child (her father was rich and an heir to a kimono conglomerate) and tried to leave the karyukai during the war when she became betrothed. Her fiancé died in action and they never married, however, Masako was seen almost as a widower and they decided that they needed an heir who would be a popular geiko in Gion. This is where Yaeko, Mineko’s eldest sister, comes into the picture. She was sold off to the Iwasaki Okiya in hopes that she would be groomed to become the heir someday. She made her formal debut as Yaechiyo (八重千代), the imouto of Yoneyu, and was formally adopted by the Iwasakis. She, however, hated her life in the karyukai and left during World War II to marry her lover. Sadly, Yoneyu passed away of kidney failure in 1944 and the Iwasaki okiya no longer had a viable heir.



Around the time when Mineko joined the Iwasaki okiya her sister Yaeko’s marriage had failed and she returned to the okiya to live as a geisha once again. Oima was a bit bullied by Yaeko but allowed her to join the ranks of the Gion geisha once again so that the okiya could continue to earn money. Yaeko had broken a taboo and also brought her two sons to live in the okiya with her. They caused much trouble and eventually Oima made Yaeko get an apartment for herself and her sons.



From this time until the age of 10 Mineko attended both elementary school at a nearby public school all while taking dance lessons and involving herself in the intricacies of Gion. It was at this time that she had to decide whether she wanted to officially be adopted as an Iwasaki or return to her parents. The first time she went to the courthouse she became ill and the judge could not make a ruling. The second time the judge made her declare her intentions even through her sickness and she officially became Mineko Iwasaki, daughter of Masako Iwasaki and the eventual heir to the Iwasaki Okiya. At the age of 15 she passed the test to become a maiko and was finally set to enter the ranks of Gion’s working elite. Sadly, before her debut Oima Iwasaki passed away, but she was said to have been happy to know that Mineko was about to become a maiko. Mineko debuted as Yaeko (Yaechiyo)’s younger sister under the geimei Mineko (峰子) and, after only being a maiko for a year, found herself at the top of Gion’s highest earner’s list. She kept this spot until age 21, when she had her erikae and became a geiko (as a geiko she had a bit more freedom to choose when to go to banquets).



Her time as a maiko and a geiko are truly fantastic parts of this book and I really don’t want to continue to lay out everything as I believe it is best read from its primary source. If what I’ve said so far has got you hooked then great! If it hasn’t, then I suggest reading the first chapter from the author’s perspective. Either way, you’ll find this story to bring a very human side to the karyukai - all that glitters certainly isn’t gold, but, with perseverance and dedication, you can rise higher than you ever imagined.



Like Dr. Dalby’s book I could find no errors.



Also like Dr. Dalby’s book you can find this one at your local public library if you cannot afford to buy a copy. It is a rare glimpse into a hidden world as told by one of its biggest stars and an opportunity to learn about the karyukai may never happen again.



Rating: ✪✪✪✪✪ (out of 5)

