Japanese Geisha
Geisha first appeared in Japan during the Genroku period (1688-1704) and has a history of more than 300 years. The formation process of Japanese geisha was influenced by the teaching workshops in China during the Tang and Song Dynasties. However, in modern society, this ancient profession can still be preserved, and it still maintains the ancient style in clothing, performance and behavioral norms, which is a major characteristic of Japanese geisha. In the early Edo period, they mainly served the samurai, the ruling class, and later the emerging merchant class as their patrons. After the Meiji Restoration, they served the upper class of society. This feature has enabled them to endure for a long time and continues to this day. The professional characteristics of geisha determine that geisha must maintain a sense of mystery. In principle, geisha do not sell their bodies. They try to appear far away from the world, as if they are living in a paradise of love. A geisha must develop a special temperament. Usually geisha cultivate classical noble temperament through training in classical arts. They received the influence of singing, dancing, calligraphy and painting, learned the tea ceremony and flower arrangement, and mastered the extremely complex honorifics of the upper class. Their words, deeds, and manners all revealed a classical upbringing, trying to show all the elements of female beauty in people's minds.
In the ancient city of Kyoto, there were more than 800 geishas in the 1960s and 1970s, but now there are only about 100. There are only a few hundred geishas in Japan, making it a typical sunset industry.
Author: Li Ming
The American Hollywood blockbuster "Geisha" is produced by Spielberg, directed by the famous American director Rob Marshall, and starred by Chinese actors Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and others. "Memoir" is scheduled to be released worldwide on December 9, 2005.
For a long time, the relatively closed-off Japanese geishas have been full of mystery in the eyes of Westerners. This is why the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" and the movie of the same name have become popular around the world. However, the Japanese have little regard for the film and its original work. Not buying it.
Mineko Iwasaki stepped forward and triggered an international lawsuit
In 1992, an American student named Arthur Gordon (with a master's degree in Japanese history) became very interested in Japanese geisha and decided to write a book Books about geishas. After many twists and turns, Gordon found Iwasaki Mineko in Kyoto who resolutely quit the geisha circle when she was popular. He stayed at Iwasaki Mineko's house for two weeks, interviewed her around the clock, and recorded 100 hours of audio material about Mineko's life. Five years later, Gordon became a hit with the publication of the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha". The novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" sold 4 million copies in the English version alone and was soon translated into 32 languages ??and published.
However, this book, which is popular in Europe and the United States, is not liked by Japanese readers because of the vulgar plots in the book. Its Japanese translation has mediocre sales and has been resolutely resisted and besieged by the Japanese cultural circles. When Hollywood decided to film "Memoirs of a Geisha", some Japanese even published notices in American newspapers, calling it cultural rape of Japan. The film faced objections when it was shot in Japan, and only a few locations were shot in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. Most of the scenes were shot in California.
Mineko Iwasaki, who had been interviewed by Gordon, resolutely filed a lawsuit with the U.S. judicial authorities against Gordon and his publisher, Puff Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Random Publishing Group, accusing Gordon of publishing in the book Confusing geishas with brothel girls to cater to the curiosity of Western readers and "insulting" "all geishas" is a wanton trampling on the innocence of geishas. Given that the book's global sales revenue was close to 14 million pounds, Iwasaki Mineko requested compensation for 7 million pounds on the grounds that Gordon violated the confidentiality agreement signed with her.
The story told in Gordon's novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" takes place in Kyoto before World War II, and the background of the era extends from 1929 to the end of World War II. The 9-year-old farm girl Nitta Sayuri was sold by her poor parents to study in a geisha house. The climax of the novel is when the owner of the geisha house auctions off Sayuri's virginity. Later, Sayuri, who endured the humiliation and endured the heavy burden, finally became a legend in the geisha world like Iwasaki Mineko. Iwasaki Mineko accused Gordon of making irresponsible remarks, claiming that this plot of the novel was completely adapted from Iwasaki Mineko's personal experience. Mineko Iwasaki said angrily: "There is absolutely no such thing as sacrificing color in our circle. Geisha houses are not filthy places where bodies are sold." For this reason, she demanded a public apology from Gordon and ordered him to republish the book. At that time, Fengzi's name was erased from the preface of the book.
As the most famous geisha in Japan in the mid-20th century and the prototype of the novel version of "Memoirs of a Geisha", she sued a popular American writer and attracted the attention of the world. But for Iwasaki Mineko's accusation, Gordon responded: "Memoirs of a Geisha" is purely fictional. "I have made great adjustments to the interview materials. The novel is not about her, it just wants to present a picture of life." The book's Publishers also took a tough stance, claiming they would "do all we can to defend" the rights of authors.
With little chance of winning, Iwasaki Mineko declared that she would write a real memoir of a geisha herself, "to correct people's prejudices against Japanese geishas."
Publish Iwasaki's "Geisha" Memoirs" and Geisha Culture Book
In July 2001, Kodansha, one of the largest publishing companies in Japan, grandly launched the memoirs written by Mineko Iwasaki. After the first edition was released, it received a great response and was reprinted in September 2002. By June 2005, it had been reprinted more than 10 times and was continuously selling well in Japan. According to the Japanese Amazon online bookstore, more than 160,000 copies of the English version and more than 250,000 Japanese copies had been sold through the website alone. . At present, the book has been translated and published in 17 countries and sells well in Europe and the United States.
Mineko Iwasaki has the most say in the world of geisha. In the 1960s and 1970s, she was the richest and most famous geisha in Kyoto. At that time, international dignitaries including the Queen of England, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles all appreciated her performance. Mineko Iwagai was born in 1949. She began receiving dance and etiquette training from geishas at the age of 5. At the age of 15, the girl Mineko became a trainee geisha. At the age of 21, Mineko obtained the qualification of "collar change", that is, she was qualified to change the color of the kimono collar from red to white, and was officially promoted to a full-time geisha. Eight years later, Mineko, who was at her peak, quit her career as a geisha, which was a big news in Japan at the time. After becoming successful and retiring, she married artist Iwasaki Hitoshi and now lives a peaceful life on the outskirts of Kyoto with a pair of daughters.
Mineko Iwasaki also published many books such as "Kizono's Lessons" and "Kizono's Amateur Education" and became a famous Japanese female best-selling author.
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Summary of the story of Iwasaki's documentary version of "Memoirs of a Geisha"
Iwasaki's documentary version of "Memoirs of a Geisha" published by Kodansha, literally translated as "The Geisha Mineko" "The Cardamom Years", the English version is translated as "Geisha, a Life". This literary autobiography mainly describes how "I" was forced to enter the Qiyuan geisha at the age of 5. After rigorous training, I became a geisha at the age of 15 and was later promoted to Qiyuan. The 64th geisha in history to be officially qualified as one of the best in a hundred, and has become the highest earner in the industry for 6 consecutive years. While successful, "I" had to face the unimaginable pain of training as a woman, and truly reproduced Kyoto Kien real life on the street. Iwasaki wrote this book to tell people that geisha is a part of traditional Japanese culture and a self-reliant profession for women, not a "prostitute" as Americans misunderstand. (Source: Youth Reference)
The main plot is as follows:
When I was 10 years old, my parents took me to a prayer street called Iwasaki's "Zhuya" (a family that specializes in training geisha) Officially signed to receive geisha training. My family lives in poverty. I have four brothers and three sisters. My third sister has been sent to the Home Ownership Scheme. In fact, when I was 5 years old, the Iwasaki family persuaded my parents to let me go to the Home Ownership Scheme for training. There was no formal " When I passed away, I went there to learn skills. I have loved cherry blossoms since I was a child and wore beautiful kimonos. In addition, my eldest brother had a job and could earn money, and was praised by my parents. I also determined to be a geisha and support myself in the future. I promised my parents to "buy a house" because I could still wear a kimono there. My original name was Masako, but later I was renamed Mineko Iwasaki. I started learning music, dancing and practicing very hard, and I also had to clean toilets. Some "sisters" began to bully me, and I regarded it as a "devil's house." Later I learned to live in harmony with everyone.
One day when I was 13 years old, my body bled a lot. I thought I had "hemorrhoids" and was frightened. My sister said I have grown up. When I was 15 years old, I took the formal maiko exam and came first in the exam. I was successful in one fell swoop. The first time she entertained was an American film director, and she used the English she learned. After rigorous training, she was promoted to the 64th officially qualified geisha in Kien's history at the age of 21 (qualified to change from wearing a red-collared kimono to a white-collared kimono, we call it a "passenger change"). She has been the highest-paid geisha in the industry for 6 consecutive years. people.
Some people in society think that we are not good-natured girls. Once, a bad guy teased me on the street. I fought hard and scared him away. I think geisha is an art, and we entertain both men and women, and sometimes whole families. A customer asked me to drink, but I refused to drink. I said that if we are under 20 years old, we cannot drink. Our work is intense and tiring, and it goes unnoticed. My work is very busy, and I usually visit a dozen teahouses or food kiosks every night. Working from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. late at night, I can only rest for 3 hours a day. But no matter how tired I am, I always pay attention to my appearance in public places. For example, no matter how sleepy I am on the train, I don't squint my eyes.
I have never been in love. Some of us here suffer from "androphobia" and don't dare to interact with men. The movie actor Leaf often comes to my place. He has a wife and children. He likes me. I decided not to fall in love with a married man because it would be detrimental to his wife and children.
There is a "water raising" ceremony. In the past, it was the ceremony for spending the night with a man for the first time, but now it is just a ceremony. Three years into our close relationship, Leaf stayed in my room one night. He wanted to sleep, but I kept sitting still. He asked me for a "first night", but I firmly refused him.
Leef traveled to the United States and asked me to meet him in New York. I went there during my vacation. We had a great time, and I dedicated my "first night" to him in a grand hotel in New York. But our love cannot be made public, nor can we take pictures with him.
The Iwasaki family's business is getting worse and worse, and the geisha industry is in decline. Everyone's life is also very difficult. I recommend redecorating the house and changing the look. It turns out that the property rights of the Iwasaki family's house belong to others and cannot be renovated. I contacted the bank and bought it within a week. It was decided to build a building on the original site.
I proposed to quit my job, and everyone in Qiyuan Street tried to persuade me to change my mind. Since 1982, I have opened a women's beauty salon. There is a painting of "Seven-tailed Fox" hanging in the beauty salon, which was given to me by the painter Sato Shinro. A few years later, this painter became my husband, and he changed his surname to Iwasaki because he had barged in on me.
Leeve later became addicted to drugs and later got cancer. He was a self-destructive person.