Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki

I enjoyed this! Its not the fairy tale story Memoirs of a Geisha tells but it gives an excellent insight into the traditions of Gion and what life was like for Mineko, one of the top Geiko of her generation. Following her transition through being a maiko and then geiko her experiences and opinion highlighted the disciplines and commitment required to succeed. I quite enjoyed her account of...more

I enjoyed this! Its not the fairy tale story Memoirs of a Geisha tells but it gives an excellent insight into the traditions of Gion and what life was like for Mineko, one of the top Geiko of her generation. Following her transition through being a maiko and then geiko her experiences and opinion highlighted the disciplines and commitment required to succeed. I quite enjoyed her account of meeting Prince Charles and opinion of the queen.   hide

so beatifully written, nice to have the rare chance to see behind closed doors in such a secretive community. nice photos in the middle section were a nice touch also

So much better than memoirs of a geisha. It's much more accurate and insightful.

Nicely told... leaf by leaf the story unfolds how a cute little child is progressing towards the path for becoming a GEISHA.... still lot of pages left....

way good... fascinating

A very interesting story of being geiko and living life in the Gion. Not romantically written like "Memoirs..." as this is an autobiographical look of her life.

Fantastic read - amazing story. Made me want to meet Mineko Iwasaki. Totally recommend.

this book got me totally hooked, i read all 300 pages of it in one day, could not put it down. Apparently Mineko was one of the many geishas whom Arthur Golden interviewed when he was doing research for his novel Memoirs of a Geisha. Later she sued him for breach of contract and defamation of character, which I totally get. Golden seems to have twisted her words, and mixed up two completely...more

this book got me totally hooked, i read all 300 pages of it in one day, could not put it down. Apparently Mineko was one of the many geishas whom Arthur Golden interviewed when he was doing research for his novel Memoirs of a Geisha. Later she sued him for breach of contract and defamation of character, which I totally get. Golden seems to have twisted her words, and mixed up two completely different concepts, that of the geisha, and that of the courtesan or high class prostitute, which is completely different from the geisha.   hide

Another super book if you like this type of thing.