, birthname , is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki was the heir apparent () to her geisha house () while she was just a young

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

. American author

Arthur Golden Arthur Sulzberger Golden (born December 6, 1956) is an American writer. He is the author of the bestselling novel ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (1997). Early life Golden was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of Ruth (née Sulzberger) and Ben ...

interviewed her for background information when writing his 1997 book, ''

Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and wo ...

''. Iwasaki later regretted interviewing for Golden, having cited a breach of confidentiality and later sued and settled out of court with Golden for the parallelism between his book and her life. In 2002 she released her own

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

(titled ''Geisha of Gion'' in the UK and ''Geisha: A Life'' in the US).

Life and career

Born as Masako Tanaka, she left home at the age of four to begin studying

traditional Japanese dance Japanese traditional dance describes a number of Japanese dance styles with a long history and prescribed method of performance. Some of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese dance may be among those transmitted through the tradition, or folk ...

at the Iwasaki (geisha house) in the Gion district of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. She was legally adopted by the 's owner, Madame Oima, and began using their family name of Iwasaki. Iwasaki became a (apprentice geisha) at the age of 15, and was chosen as the house's , or heir. Iwasaki also received the name "Mineko", as prescribed by a Japanese fortune-teller. By age 16, she had earned a reputation as Japan's most popular and graduated to geisha status on her 21st birthday. According to her autobiography, Iwasaki worked herself to her physical and mental limits, developing at one point a near-fatal kidney condition from which she eventually recovered. Iwasaki entertained numerous celebrities and foreign dignitaries, including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. Iwasaki's fame also made her the subject of jealousy and gossip, and she was sometimes faced with sexual harassment and assault. After the death of one of her most significant mentors in 1980, Iwasaki became increasingly frustrated with the tradition-bound world of the geisha community, especially inadequacies in the education system. Iwasaki unexpectedly retired at the height of her career, at the age of 29. She hoped that her decision would shock Gion into reform; however, even after over 70 other high ranking geisha followed her into early retirement, nothing was changed. In her autobiography, Iwasaki speculated that the profession could be doomed if the industry failed to adapt to changing economic and social circumstances. She transitioned to a career in art after marrying artist Jin'ichirō Satō in 1982. They had a child, born in 1983.

''Memoirs of a Geisha''

Iwasaki was one of several geisha interviewed by author

while researching for his novel ''

''. According to Iwasaki, she agreed to speak with Golden on the condition that her involvement would be kept confidential, but Golden revealed her identity by mentioning her name in the book's acknowledgments as well as several national interviews. After ''Memoirs'' was published, Iwasaki received criticism and even death threats for violating the traditional, unspoken code of silence within the geisha profession. Iwasaki felt betrayed by Golden's use of information she considered confidential, and denounced the novel as being an inaccurate depiction of geisha life, criticising in particular the novel's portrayal of geisha engaging in (a deflowering ritual undergone by some apprentices) as a matter of fact when graduating to geisha status. Iwasaki stated that she herself had not undergone , and that no such custom ever existed in Gion. Iwasaki also took displeasure with Golden's use of a number of her life experiences, with the main character of Sayuri having a number of direct parallels to Iwasaki's career as a geisha. These experiences were at times portrayed negatively within the novel, despite their real-life counterparts having been positive experiences for Iwasaki. Iwasaki later gave public interviews stating that many established geisha had criticised her actions and decision to be interviewed by Golden, the result of which ruptured the unwritten traditions of secrecy within the geisha community. Furthermore, Iwasaki stated that she had lost friends and relationships due to the scandal of being associated with the book, along with certain inconsistencies and fallacies about Gion. Iwasaki sued Golden for

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

and

defamation of character Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

in 2001, which was settled out of court in 2003.

''Geisha of Gion''

After the publication of ''Memoirs of a Geisha'', Iwasaki decided to write an autobiography in contrast with Golden's novel. Her book, co-authored by

Rande Gail Brown Rande Gail Brown is an American writer, translator, and psychotherapist. She was one of the first women to graduate from Princeton University from which she holds a degree in East Asian Studies. Rande is a founding board member and former Execu ...

, was published as ''Geisha: A Life'' in the US and ''Geisha of Gion'' in the UK. The book detailed her experiences before, during and after her time as a geisha, and became a bestseller.

References

External links

Remaking a memoir - A new autobiography, former geisha Mineko Iwasaki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwasaki, Mineko 1949 births Living people Geishas People from Kyoto Japanese women writers