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Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha used to be my favorite book...
Review: That might be the only way to describe it. I felt as if Iwasaki-san was speaking right to me, telling her life's story. It was touching and a really good book overall. If you've read Memoirs of a Geisha, read this. It explains about "mizuage"... Mr. Golden was kind of off on that one. Mineko-san is a better main character than Sayuri in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a read if you care about facts and the truth
Review: The only reason I'm here reviewing this book is because Rande Brown is a relative of mine. That's how I know about the book in the first place. However, I promise my review will not be biased.Let me start by saying that this is not as "interesting" a read as "Memoirs of a Geisha", but that is a consequence of the truth being told. Nothing was made up here to make the story more interesting, but if you're interested in knowledge and facts as much as drama, you'll enjoy reading the book. As fascinating as Golden's interpretation of a geisha was, the real truth about what a geisha is is just as enthralling. If you read and enjoyed "Memoirs of a Geisha", then this is a must-read. Enjoy that book for being what it was- historical fiction. This is simply a biography, but a very good one. Not captivating in any way but truly fascinating.
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Summary: We sell art, not bodies
Review: This autobiography gives us not only an insight into the education, the working conditions and the social status of a geisha, but also into the Japanese society as a whole.
To give a few examples: selling children for sex slavery became forbidden only in the year 1959, or, the existing extreme differences of wealth (some people could pay nearly every day extremely expensive geisha parties, while poor people were forces to abandon their children). Besides more personal intimate confidences, the author sketches a good picture of the hardship (sometimes only one hour of sleep per night) of the education and the working conditions, the extreme jealousy and fierce competition inside the geisha guild, the sexual morals (allowance of extramarital relationships) and the colossal sums involved in the geisha business. Not to be missed by the Japan aficionados. I should also recommend the works of Ian Buruma, Lisa Louis and Nicholas Bornoff for a broader perspective on the Japanese entertainment culture.
Rating: 
Summary: GEISHA 'mysticism'
Review: This book as well as many others did nothing more than reaffirm the fact that 'geisha' is the Japanese equivalent to 'prostitute'.
Sure, they are 'trained' in 'art' and 'dance' etc, but all in all are the equivalent of the western world's 'high end' hookers. Nothing more. Sorry to disturb anyone's fairytale. A [***] is, in the end, a [***].
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Summary: Clears up misconceptions
Review: This book gives a full picture of a geisha's life from the beginning of a career until the end and shows the ups and downs. Mineko Iwasaki tells an interesting story of a exotic life, one that is commonly misconstrued in the west. Sometimes its difficult to keep track of all the Japanese names, because they all sound and look the same to me! Otherwise, a nice book! Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Long on melodrama, short on good writing
Review: This book is an easy read, and the subject matter - a geisha's life in her own words - is not only extremely fascinating but is also unavailable anywhere else; Mineko Iwasaki is the first geisha to tell her own story. However, despite the enrapturing subject matter, this book is deeply flawed. To begin with, Iwasaki's writing is simplistic and not closely copy-edited - there are minor grammatical errors starting in the second chapter. In addition to these annoying errors, the author's attitude is blatantly self-serving, self-righteous, and (in my opinion) the factual details of the story are highly unlikely. For instance, Iwasaki details crystal clear memories begining before age three and credits her infant self with complex thought patterns that would be unusual in an adolescent, much less a toddler. At every possible opportunity, the author ascribes emotions to others without supporting evidence in order to make herself appear better and to blacken others, including her own sisters. While I do not expect much more from autobiography, the sledgehammer bluntness of this self-serving process is offensive as it unfolds. Many of the conclusions she draws insult the intelligence of the reader with their obviousness and it just goes on and on and on. My advice would be to read this book only if you are a big fan of Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" (Golden based his book loosely on Iwasaki's life and picking up on the similar points and the changes he made is enlighting for fans of the novel) or you just can't read enough about Japanese culture. But wait for it to come out in paperback - it's not worth the cash and not engrossing enough to reread. And take the "facts" of the story with a grain of salt. If you haven't read "Memoirs of a Geisha," do so instead of reading this book, then decide. And if you are looking for something a bit more realistic and gritty, I would reccomend "Sandakan Brothel No. 8," by Yamazaki Tomako. It's an excellent memoir of one of the karayuki-san - poor rural Japanese women sold into overseas prostitution between the 1860s and the 1930s.
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Summary: Excellent book! Tambien en castellano
Review: This book is excellent. Straight forward and entertaining, you can really see things from the inside of the Geisha craft, and learn a lot. Arthur Golden's book is a novelized version of her story. Both are excellent, one being real, the other fictional. I did not care for Liza Dalby's book, if you don't read the aforementioned 2 books first, Dalby's book does not make sense. NOTA: este libro esta traducido al castellano.
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Summary: Memoirs of a REAL Geisha
Review: This book makes a wonderful counterpoint to Memoirs of a Geisha. Although the author was the main source for that book here she tells her own story which, rather than being a girl from a poor area, sold to a geisha house and forced to prove she was worth the money spent, she is a girl that the house begged for, requesting for years that her family let her come and become the heir to the house and the adopted daughter of the owner. This is not the story of a geisha that was having businesmen bid for her virginity but one who's house was so wealthy that having sex play a part in the business made no sense. In a quote from the book she estimates that in the 1960's just from attending parties as a chaming guest she was bringing in over $500,000 per year to her house and states "Why would geisha resort to sex for money when you had that type of earing power?" You get the idea that in certain parts of the book she is correcting some of the artistic liscence taking in "Memoirs" but rather than being a distraction it just makes for more interesting reading. The childhood training, her drive to be perfect, her disputes with the traditions and the surprising descisions she makes at the end bring to life that small secluded part of the world that is fast dissappearing.
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Summary: True Ancient Art...
Review: This book was incredible. This book is a true story about the life of a Geisha. It has cleared up so many of my misconceptions. I always thought from other books I had read that these women were basically well trained prostitutes. This is not so. The Gion Kobu is a city of true art and traditional japanese culture. These women go through more training in dance and music and other art forms than I ever would have imagined. In addition it also gives you insight into the japanese world during a time of war and during times of peace. You can really learn a lot from this book. How their makeup was done, how to open a door, what they wore from head to toe and even the importance of tea! So, if you are interested in a book about sex scandals and viscious plots look elsewhere, but if you want an amazingly true story of the most recognized symbol of a fascinating culture, this book is for you. ^_^
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Summary: frank and powerful
Review: This is a great bit of light reading for it describes in the most straightforward manner the geisha society and Japanese culture. I liked the fact that this book feeds and feeds you information on those aspects and it keeps intriguing you with every new bit of information. It is not too abstract, for it doesn't have to be. After what seemed like a lifetime of being asked to analyze "critically" everything you read in school, to dig miles deep to conjecture what the author might possibly mean by saying something ambivalent, "Geisha, A Life" struck me as a refreshing breeze. You don't have to write something that no one understands to sound smart, and Mineko Iwasaki has done just that.
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