Rating: 
Summary: karyukai
Review: "I want you to know what is really like to live the life of geisha, a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and richly glorious rewards. Many say I was the best geisha of my generation; I was certainly the most successful. And yet, it was a life that I found to constricting to continue. And one that I ultimately had to leave."
The story of Mineko Iwasaki captures the glorification of the rich, aristocratic and burden behind all the fame and admiration. Reading this book has helped clears the myths and assumptions of what being a geisha is all about it. It's eloquently emphasizes that geishas are a work of art and the whole business is the exploitation of art and not bodies. Personally, I'm highly recommended this book for people who are interested in the Japanese lifestyle, culture and values. Though it also has a universal theme where one has to give up other's hopes dreams no matter how hard they work for and to live and pursue their own dreams and reclaim back their life from the people. Overall, I really couldn't put this book down, and was completely fascinated by the beautiful details of the different elements needed for a rising geisha, and a maturing woman.
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Summary: No. 1 Geisha
Review: "Geisha, A Life" Mineko Iwaski's autobiography is not scandalous nor is it particularly revealing. Perhaps there is a cultural chasm or translational difficulty, but bluntly, Mineko does not come off as particularly truthful, likable, or appealing. The aspects she chooses to display show her great love of dressing up, dancing, and her almost frenetic energy.The most interesting part of the book is her early childhood that was in a semi-rural part of Japan and was idyllic. The reader has to swallow that Mineko had an almost photographic memory from age three plus great insight into people's characters. She was an odd little girl who preferred to be alone, spent most of her time (by choice) in closets, and did not like to talk to people. She nursed (or tried to nurse) until she was almost 10 years old, long after she had left her mother. Maybe this is a Japanese custom. She left her family for good by the time she was six-years old to live permanently in the Iwasaki okiya (geisha house). She insists throughout the book that her father, an aristocrat in reduced circumstances, was not, as accused, a baby-seller; yet he did just that with three of his four daughters. His eldest never forgave him and ran away to get married before the debt to the geisha house was paid. Mineko heaps scorn upon this eldest sister throughout the book because she "dishonored" the family and caused her father grief. Mineko was not typical because she was heiress-apparent of the house, and was always treated with a great deal of honor. To most American readers, it might seem this "honor" turned her into a spoiled, arrogant brat. She complains the other girls did not like her and were jealous of her attainments and superiority. It was likely they had more genuine reasons for their dislike. There is no doubt that Mineko worked hard and earned her number one status. Her schedule is almost unbelievable (she says she only slept a few hours a night). It is interesting the amount of celebrity she occasioned as the top geisha (geiko) in Kyoto. Crowds gathered round, autograph hunters were everywhere; she had commercial endorsements. To us, she had the life of a rock star. She retired at the height of her fame at age 29. Since that time, she has been successful in business (why does this not surprise me?), married and has one daughter. "Geisha, A Life" is interesting and the author is very good at giving us small vignettes of her experiences with her peers. Her descriptions of her beautiful attire and the backbreaking work of making up, hairdressing, and donning the various garments to ready herself for public appearances are fascinating. I really wished I could have liked her more.
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Summary: Superbly Done
Review: A wonderful story! I couldn't wait to read this book when I found out about it, because I was anxious to read this story through the eyes of a Native Japanese woman and geisha. Being extremely interested in Japanese culture and society of course influenced my reading the book, but I would recommend this book to anyone who would be interested in learning about these extraordinary women.
Ms. Iwasaki likens the geisha movement to operatic divas in the west. I found this quite an interesting analogy. I was also impressed by how she handled the common western idea that geisha are simply high-end prostitutes. Effectively, she noted that there was indeed a difference between courteseans and geisha, and that it was common for romantic or sexual relationships to exist between a geisha and her clientele, but that the geisha were never meant to be and neither are they now "call-girls".
Rande Brown is adept at the translation and makes good use of the language differences.
All in all, this book is educational, enjoyable, humorous and tear-jerking. Anyone who thinks they are getting an "education" from reading Arthur Golden's book 'Memoirs of a Geisha' is kidding themselves. It is fiction, not a biography (as Ms. Iwasaki's book).
I recommend it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Painful
Review: After reading "Memiors of a Geisha" and loving every minute of it, I was very excited to read "Geisha a Life" to get more of the truth behind what it is like to be a Geisha. Well sadly, I was very dissapointed. It was a very easy read but so boring that it ccould not hold my attention. I actaully read a few books inbetween. As far as writing styles goes, it felt like it was written by a child. Although she was an adult at the time of writing this book ,it still seems to be told through thte eyes of a 5 year old. All in all , I would not recomend this book to anyone. If you are under the age of 12 you may enjoy it. i think I will take the fictious verion over this one any day!
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Allright, so this book may not be presenting much historical facts on the generations of geisha, but focuses more on self-glorification and the glamour of her own successes.. with a touch of arrogance on the side, as well as a sense of pride... but cmon, admit it.. she displayed great work of being a geiko and surely earned her way to the top. For some of you to ask "WHO CARES" simply doesn't justify your interest in geisha life. Geisha life is a question of outer surface and glamour presented every single minute... not the inner-personalities inside.
Her arrogance is well justified to the point where her honesty on the cruelty of other geiko as well as hers are balanced. It's the way that geiko societies work; perhaps I could not have found a more "survival of the fittest" athmosphere than this. Over all, this book is beautiful, the story, the plot.. the characters are not only interesting but quite surprising to the usual American mind who would stupidly mistake it for simple "Arrogant, Spoiled Brat"... that's foolishness.
Read this book with the intent of seeing it from a Geiko's perspective, not an average conscientious individual. I most loved the situation with how she resents Prince Charle's autographing her folding fan... and how she resents the rude "i'm-not-eating-foreign-food" by the queen.. leading to a conversation witht he Duke of Edinburge and arouses jealousy between the two royal couples. Intense! True.. it should not have ended so quickly, I'm sure there were many more details. but hey... it's satisfactory enough for a thorough read of 2 days.
and her principle was most inspiring.. "the samurai betrays NO weakness... even when starving.. Pride above all".... well!! doesnt the so-called "spoiled arrogant brat" admit it! Well done!
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Summary: A self-important autobiography
Review: Although flaunted as a novel connected to Memoirs of a Geisha it proved to be a sorely disappointing read. Geisha, A Life was neither as interesting or as intelligent as "Memoirs". While the fictional Sayuri captured my interest and heart in Memoirs, Mineko the nonfictional character did nothing for me. Instead she came off as self-important and somewhat unbelievable. Certainly the only emotion that I felt for this woman was pity to have put her name on such an emotionally immature piece of work. It seems that if she were such a great geisha of her time she could have conveyed that through better narration rather than beat the reader over the head with it tirelessly. If you are truly interested in some good information about the life of a real geisha there are MANY other good books out there (ie, by Liza Dalby and others). Most other books out there tend to go into better detail without all the nonsense. Forget this arrogant woman who tells overly sensational stories and explains her life as a mere laundry list of expensive kimono and famous people.
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Summary: The "flower and willow world" from the inside
Review: Excellent! At the age of five, Mineko Iwasaki was sent by her parent's to an okiya, a geisha house, as the house's atatori, that is, the intended successor. She studied dance, and became very well-known. This is a very interesting description of the life and training of geiko, as the Kyoto geisha are known.
At the age of twenty-nine, having inherited, she shut down the Iwasaki okiya. This was a rather disturbing action to me. The author describes her dissatisfaction with the way the "flower and willow world" was run, and her decision to close the house was intended to jolt the system. Of course, it did nothing of the kind. She does not say anything about what happened, following her action, to the people who were dependent on the house for their livelihood, and I found that omission disturbing.
Having also read Arthur Golden's extremely popular Memoirs of a Geisha, I was intrigued by the differences between the two descriptions. But I don't know whether the differences are attributable to the different eras about which the two were writing (Iwasaki was born in 1949, Golden's book covers the period from just before to just after WWII), or if Golden was exercising "artistic license".
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Summary: Finally! A book written from a geisha's point of view
Review: I am a big fan of Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" and Liza Dalby's work as a cultural anthropologist, especially with her book "Geisha". Thanks to "Memoirs of a Geisha", I have been completely fascinated with the concept of geishas. They are definitely misunderstood by western culture as well as the Japanese. Geishas are definitely not prostitutes. Unfortunately they have always been confused with prostitutes for hundreds of years. After reading Arthur's fictional tale of love and deceit and Liza's experience as a geisha, I was hoping to read a book from a professional Japanese geisha's point of view. With the bruhaha over "Memoirs of a Geisha", one of the most famous and celebrated geishas in the past century Mineko Iwasaki satisfied my insatiable appetite on the subject by writing her autobiography. I simply loved the book from start to finish. Unlike some reviewers, I had no qualms over the fact that the author talked about herself. I was expecting that she would. Since this is book is an autobiography, I expect the author to have talked about herself and her experiences as a geisha. As I read the book, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Mineko and Sayuri (from "Memoirs of a Geisha"), and Yaeko (Mineko's oldest sister) and Hatsumomo (the deliciously wicked older 'sister' from "Memoirs of a Geisha"). It is pretty obvious to see the similiarities between Mineko and Sayuri's lives as geishas. The inclusion of pictures was a nice added touch. I wish there was more but they did allow me to see what the people in Mineko's life looked like. I found the book overall compelling and fascinating to read.... it was nice to read a book from a (former) professional geisha's point of view.
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Summary: Deserves a better translator/editor
Review: I enjoyed the story all right, but the many, many grammatical and word usage errors were so distracting that I was forcing myself to keep reading after only the first two chapters. As a Japanese translator and meticulous editor myself, I was deeply disappointed by the quality of this book; as a rabid reader, I don't think I'd ever seen such shoddy workmanship make its way to press. I'm not sure a better translation or edit would fix the problems other reviewers mentioned, but it would have helped keep me focused on the story, rather than on its poor presentation. Shame on Ms. Brown and Ms. Bestler for not doing a better job.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but somewhat incomplete
Review: I first got interested in geisha reading Arthur Golden's MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, then decided to go hunting for more information on geisha to see how accurate his account was. I started with Liza Dalby's GEISHA, and then came to read this.
Mineko delivers an absorbing account of her life and training as a very top geisha in Gion, the most exclusive of Kyoto's geisha districts. For those who are comparing her tale to Golden's, keep in mind that Golden is writing fiction, in fact, almost fairy-tale-esque fiction (complete with wicked stepsister, wicked stepmother, fairy god-mother, handsome prince, etc.) Mineko's tale is true, and archly told; Mineko herself comes across as a very strong, in some places almost domineering personality, as one would expect given her position in the family she was adopted into and her family's high-status position in Gion. The strength of her personality makes reading this book a wonderful pleasure.
However, Mineko's position within the geisha hierarchy was very atypical. She was at the very top of the heap, with all sorts of perks and privileges due to her station that many other geisha did not have (atotori so everyone respects her from day one; she gets personal access to the Big Mistress, tremendous financial and professional support in launching her career from her very-high-status okiya etc.), and it's not clear in the book that she understood this at the time, or indeed understands this now. For example, when talking about sexual matters (such as mizuage and whether a geisha's patron was entitled to sexual favors--Dalby and Golden say yes, Mineko says no), Mineko talks about her earnings, which were at the time she was working somewhere on the order of hundreds of thousands of yen a night in goshugi alone, and says something to the effect of "This is another reason why the idea of geisha selling sexual favors is so ridiculous. Given that geisha earn so much just by performing, why would they?" Well....most geisha, especially those who didn't have access to Mineko's advantages, probably *didn't* earn that much. Not that they necessarily sold sexual favors, you understand, it's just that Mineko doesn't seem to realize that her earning status was quite extraordinary and that there were probably a *great* many geisha who were a lot less fortunate.
(It may be worth pointing out here that Liza Dalby worked in Pontocho, a slightly-lower-status geisha district of Kyoto than Gion, where Mineko was located. Of course, Dalby also suggests that a great amount of the "sex" aspect of the concept of geisha may have come from the conflation of many different types of geisha and female entertainers.)
All in all, this is an entertaining book, well-written and highly readable, by turns sad and funny, as well as a great look inside the world of very-high-status geisha. In a way, this book is a tragedy as well, as by the end of it Mineko gives up her career and closes the okiya that had been entrusted to her by her adoptive family (an act that would have made Mineko look a lot less sympathetic if we hadn't seen just how hard she had been pushed as a child, even though her family cared for her.) Those reading it for information, however, should keep in mind that Mineko's account of geisha life is, while wonderfully detailed, also quite narrow in scope and that it may not be representative of all or even most geisha. For a look at a very different kind of geisha experience, I suggest AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A GEISHA, by Sayo Masuda, who was a hot-springs geisha around 1940 or so.
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