1. Memoirs of a
Geisha
By Arthur Golden

2. Author’s Background

3. Arthur Golden
• Born in Chattangooga, • Traveled to Asia, spending a
Tennessee summer at Beijing
• Attended Harvard, receiving University and working in
a degree in art history, Tokyo
specializing in Japanese art • Earned M.A. in English from
• Earned M.A. in Japanese Boston University
history from Columbia • Currently lives in Brookline,
University Massachusetts with his wife
and two children

4. Golden’s Inspiration
• Lived in Japan
• Studied Japanese culture
• Had connections with a retired geisha
• Interested in the secret world of geisha’s lives

5. Setting

6. Yoroido
• The story begins in the small ocean side village
of Yoroido.
• “This town only had one road leading right to
the front door of Japan Coastal Seafood
Company”.

7. Kyoto
• In the city of Kyoto there is a district that also makes up
most of Kyoto. This district is Gion.
• The Shirakawa Canal, runs through Kyoto.
• “To shut out the pain… I turned toward the Shirikawa,
but cruelly, even its waters glided along with purpose.

8. Nitta Okiya
• The Nitta Okiya is the home of the Geisha:
Hatsumomo, Sayuri(Chiyo), and Pumpkin.
• Mother takes over the Okiya when Grandmother
dies.
• Sayuri and Hatsumomo have adjacent rooms in
the Okiya.
• There are several other rooms such as the Kimono
Storage Room, the pantry, the kitchen, and the
maids rooms. However those rooms are hardly
mentioned in the book.

9. Gion
• The district of Gion in Kyoto is home of many
Okiya.
• There are many Teahouses in Gion such as the
Ichirika Teahouse.

11. Characters
• Chiyo Sakamoto • Pumpkin
/Nitta Sayuri • Chairman
• Mr. Tanaka • Mameha
• Satsu • Nobu
• Mother • Baron
• Granny • Dr. Crab
• Auntie • General Tottori
• Hatsumomo Junnosuke

12. Main Characters
Nobu
Chiyo/Sayuri
Pumpkin
The Chairman Mameha

13. Plot

14. Plot
• Chiyo is taken to the • Teahouse party
geisha district • World War II
• Pumpkin and • Does she reach her
Hatsumomo goal?
• The Chairman
• Geisha Training School
• Mameha

15. Geography of Japan

16. • Japan was mainly formed by the volcanic
activity by the many volcanoes near and on the
island.
• This volcanic activity also causes most of the
earthquakes that bombard the island nation.

17. • Due to the earthquakes and erosion, the valleys
of Japan were formed.
• Each valley provides a “nesting” spot for the
future cities to be built.
• Japan being a mountainous nation however has
trouble expanding their larger cities.

18. • Japan also has many rivers in Japan.
• Such as the Shirakawa Canal.

19. Cultural Background

20. Some Japanese Terms:
• Okiya: geisha boarding • Jorou-ya: brothel, place
house of prostitution
• Danna: A geisha's • Mizuage: Sexual
patron, somewhat like a initiation of an
husband apprentice geisha, her
• Geisha: a traditional virginity
Japanese artist-
entertainer

21. Cultural Background
• Memoirs takes place during • The U.S. bombed Japan in
World War II 1945
• Japan had already been at • Japan officially surrendered
war with China in 1937 to the Allies on Sept. 2, 1945
• Japan joined the Axis powers
which included Germany and
Italy
• Japan aimed to dominate
Asia
• Japan attacked the U.S. at
Pearl Harbor in 1941

22. The Kimono
• A bright, outer kimono,
two under kimonos, and
11 obis (sashes)
• Worn daily by geishas
• Different styles on
different occasions like
tea ceremonies, parties,
funerals, and other
events.
• The type of kimono
depends on a geisha’s
status.

23. Quotes
• “But this one was a water blue with swirling lines in ivory to mimic the
current in a stream. Glistening silver trout tumbled in the current, and the
surface of the water was ringed with gold wherever the soft green leaves
of a tree touched it. I had no doubt the gown was woven of pure silk and
so was the obi, embroidered in pale greens and yellows.”

24. 20th Century Japanese
Society

25. Differences Between Fishing
Villages and Large Cities
1930’s Fishing Village 1930’s Kyoto

26. Life in a Fishing Village

27. Life in a Japanese City

28. •“The difference between life at the Tanaka’s
house and life in Yoroido was great as the odor
of something cooking and a mouthful of
delicious food” (31)
•… “she wore a soft pink kimono with white
flowers… the broad obi tied around her middle
was orange and yellow… I’d never seen such
elegant clothing… none of the women in
Yoroido owned anything more sophisticated
than a cotton robe…” (32)

29. Upper Class in Japan
“Some nights, wealthy businessmen or aristocrats
threw geisha parties just for themselves” (336).

30. Upper Class Men
Dr. Crab
Nobu
The Chairman The
Baron

31. •“Doctor Crab considered himself
something of an aristocrat…” (285)
•“But I knew what he meant; he
thought of the Baron as a relic of the
feudal age” (291)

32. Japanese Women’s Place in
Society
“I certainly can’t afford to have a powerful man upset
with me… if a powerful man makes up his mind to
destroy me, well, he’ll do it!” (344)

33. Working Class
Geisha Women
Prostitutes (being Japanese
displayed in a Marriage

34. •“They wore kimono and hair
ornaments similar to geisha, but their
obi were tied in the front… a mark of a
prostitute” (94)
•“We do not become Geisha to pursue
our own destinies. We become Geisha
because we have no other choice.”

35. Economic

36. Before Being a Geisha
• Geisha’s typically come
from a background of
poverty
• Some of them have no
option
• Domestic work in the
house first
• "I hadn't held a coin of
any kind in my hand since
coming to Kyoto" (96)

37. Geisha
• Supplies the money for their headquarters or
“okiyas”
• “…I don’t like to be associated with trash…” (56)
• They have to pay back the people that financed
them once they start working as geisha.
• They will work for the men that offer the highest
bid.
• The better a reputation a geisha has, the more
they’re paid.

38. The Men
• The men are usually very rich.
• They do it because it is the popular thing
• Danna
• They typically don’t geisha
• "You'll be very fortunate ever to become a
graphics with sufficient statues for a man like
Nobu..." (247)

39. More Economic Factors
• Memoirs of a Geisha takes place during WWII
and the Great Depression (1932)
• The Japanese currency at that time was called
yen