1

Kakutani Michiko. “BOOK OF THE TIMES; A Woman’s Tale, Imagined by a Man.” The New
York Times. 14 Oct. 1997. Web. 1 Oct.
2010.http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/14/books/books-of-the-times-a-woman-s-tale-imagined-
by-a- man.html?scp=1&sq=%20Michiko%20Kakutani%20memoirs%20of%20a
%20geisha&st=cse

Summary: This newspaper article spreads the news about Arthur Golden’s stellar debut book,
Memoirs of a Geisha. The article gives a basic recap of the story, sans the ending of course, but
importantly catches onto to the fact that the author is a white, Ivy League educated man.
Evaluation: The article’s most spectacular features are not in the discussion of the book itself,
but rather the points made about the author. Most notably, Arthur Golden broke the unspoken
rule of writers to “write what you know”, and instead opted to center his book on a topic that
nearly no Westerner is familiar with. If that wasn’t radical enough, the article points out that he
even decides to write the book in first person perspective from a female, and yet does so in an
intimate and sympathetic way that captures the reader’s attention. As described as in the article,
this “ventriloquism” is pleasantly surprising to see from such a highly educated author who could
have invested in writing in much “safer” and more Western topics.
Reflection: The article is significant to the book in that it calls the author’s credibility into
question. Yes, he did major in Japanese studies in revered Ivy League school Columbia, but is
that enough to qualify him as fully credible is the question. Actually, this whole ordeal puts an
interesting twist on the book as it adds to the multiple layers that it places over its realistic
setting. The setting is Japan in pre and post World War II, but we the reader view it from a
seriously obscured position. We view it from a young geisha, who in turn is talking to a
translator, who in turn was created by Golden, and finally it comes to us to interpret all that
information. Nevertheless, it is hard to deny that Golden went through extensive research and in
the end managed to create something seemingly authentic about a very foreign culture and the
obscure activities within. For example, page 167 involves an analysis of the main character’s
name, Sayuri. “Sa” means together, “yu” is the zodiac sign for Hen, “ri” is understanding. But
given the complexities of the Japanese language, can one be certain that a white man actually got
all this correct? It’s things like this that this article calls into question and adds another layer of
depth as to the actual authenticity of the book. For the most part though, Golden seems to have
done well.

Shikibu, Izumi. “Although the Wind” Poetry Foundation. The Ink Dark Moon (Vintage Books,
1990). Web. 1 Oct. 2010. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=178441
 2

Summary: “Although the wind blows terribly here, the moonlight also leaks between the roof
planks of this ruined house.” Attempt at literal translation: Although misfortune and misery
prevails here, there is yet a small glimmer of hope visible from the smallest corner.
Evaluation: A poem is a source capable of doing one thing that others cannot. Cram a boatload of
multiple meanings into one (usually) tiny package. More often than not, they are abstract to the
point of being painful. This quality allows them to be seen through a many different lenses, and
in this case there is a lens with my book’s name on it that looks at this poem quite clearly.
Reflection: The way I saw it, this book was specifically referencing the life of Chiyo Sakamoto,
despite the authors of these two works having probably never met before or even heard of each
other in their entire lives. The “ruined house” refers to Chiyo’s “tipsy house up on the cliffs”
(15). The terrible blowing ends can easily be interpreted as the misfortune that her family was
facing at the time. Her mother had bone cancer and was on the verge of imminent death, while
her father was about to face the second time he has lost a wife. His own health was at risk as
well, being an incredibly aged fisherman. However, the moonlight leaking between the roofs of
Chiyo’s humble abode refers to opportunity (for lack of a better word) that Mr. Tanaka gave her.
Her father agreed to sell Chiyo off and she was sent away from the quiet fishing village of
Yoroido and brought into the thriving urban city of Kyoto. But moonlight describes this
situation well. The ‘light’ part of the word encompasses her chance at a new life well. With
both her parents dead, there is not much she could do. But now in a new environment and with
new owners, she at least had a chance to escape a lonely life in a poor fishing village. However,
the ‘moon’ part comes into play because the moon is connotative of the night. And night is
connotative of darkness. The darkness is this ordeal emanates from the fact that she was
practically sold into slavery. The price that the geisha house paid for her was accrued as debt for
Chiyo to later pay off. And if she didn’t she’d be indebted to them forever. So the poem
captures Chiyo’s situation well, as well as serving as a becoming description of her hometown.

“red dead redemption dutch's death *SPOILERS*.” Rockstar Games. 7 June 2010. YouTube
online video. 1 Oct. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzZjt-2ZwRk
 3

Summary: In this scene, John Marston confronts his former comrade, Dutch, atop a snow
covered mountain. After exchanging brief, but powerful words, Dutch takes the liberty of
killing himself and leaving John with the bitter realization that Wild West Era has effectively
come to an end.
Evaluation: Video games? In my literature? It’s more likely than you think. For full
appreciation, a small synopsis of the game should be noted. The game revolves around John
Marston, an orphan found and raised by Dutch van der Linde. As such, he grew up in the
company of criminals and became one such man himself. Though later, he ends up settling
down on a farm and raising a family. But he cannot abandon his bloodstained, murderous
past so easily. The government finds him and rather than killing him, kidnap his wife and
son to force him to do their dirtywork – specifically kill his own gangmates that are still
causing trouble in the West, including Dutch. The story deals largely with the end of the
Wild West Era and the inevitable change that takes place as a result of World War I strolling
into view. Believe it or not, video games can have a story as legitimate as any book.
Reflection: As farfetched as it may sound, John Marston and Chiyo have a few major features in
common. Firstly, they are both subjected to elements beyond their control. John was born
an orphan and raised by the wrong crowd to become a murderous cowboy. Chiyo was born
to a poor, dying family and had no say in the matter when she was sold away to become a
Geisha. Secondly, they were both oppressed by the government. Marston had his family
kidnapped and was forced to perform the government’s arduous tasks. In the end, they
ungratefully murdered him. Even though he did everything they asked. Chiyo’s life as a
geisha was nearly ruined by the government. The Gion district was shut down, as well as
her geisha house. It was only thanks to rations from her patron in the military that she was
able to hold onto the business. However, the government pressed further and was nearly
enslaving people to work in factories to produce weapons for the war effort. Women and
children were not exempt. Nor were geisha. Lastly, the two were heavily affected by
changes that they barely understood. John witnessed the end of the mythical Wild West Era
as a result of the advent of technology and World War I. Things that as an illiterate outlaw,
he could not hope to understand. Lawlessness came to an end as the government swept west
to gain control over all its territory. New weapons developed for the war made traditional
revolvers obsolete. Cars invalidated horses. The West was fading. As for Chiyo, World
War II brought an abrupt end to many aspects of geisha life, among other things. “The pace
of change never slows” (427), and the number of geishas in Gion after WWII became 60
compared to the 800 plus before. And it continued to decrease further. The ritual of
mizuage changed from a selling of virginity to a mere party reminiscent of typical American
sweet sixteens. Chiyo’s early life was a major change of pace, going from village girl to
slave maiden at a geisha house. They may have come from different time periods and may
seem to be entirely different people, but in the end they are not too different after all. The
Wild West Era and pre-war Japan may, too, not be so different. Their fates were both met at
the hands of the start of a war, and the new entity that arose from their ashes was completely
changed from what it once was before. The West was tamed by law and order, while Japan’s
capital cities rested in atomic ruins, its people with pride dashed and hearts scarred.
 4

“[Eng Sub – Higashi no Eden (東のエデン) Op] Oasis – Falling Down.” Oasis. 20 May
2009. YouTube online video. 1 Oct. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=4pdqeu9LW2c

Summary: A Britpop song centering on oppression and the oppressed, used for an opening
sequence of a show with a prominent theme regarding the morality of possessing
unlimited power. It makes various mentions of dying screams, having limited
knowledge, and appealing to God for aid even with the preconception that he is
powerless to help. This is meant to be my audio source, although some portions of the
video and important to my analysis too.
Evaluation: Sometimes, songs may even be more abstract than poems. It’s not often that
songs receive the same analytical treatment that poems do. Most people just enjoy
listening to music rather than probing it endlessly like what happens to poems and
literature. That makes it all the more fresh a playing field for some digging. This song
in particular has some strong lines. “Catch the wheel that breaks the butterfly” refers
to a quote made in a letter from Alexander Pope. “Please don’t waste my time”
addressed to God, is as just as well a controversial and thought provoking line,
intended to emphasize the disillusionment of the oppressed.
Reflection: So how does this relate to Memoirs of a Geisha? The lines from the song and
the juxtaposed images that went alongside it relate heavily to the book. For example,
one scene at 33 seconds video time displays the phrase “the abuse of greatness is when
it disjoins remorse from power.”, juxtaposed alongside the song as it says “if you know
what I mean”. Clearly, the song and picture combine to send the message that when
someone with power becomes a tyrant unbound by morals, and does whatever they
please, that is when they have overstepped their boundaries and have begun to abuse
their power. Chiyo, as a Geisha, has more power than one might come to believe,
especially over men. This opens the possibility of Chiyo having abused her power as a
geisha in the book. One such example is when she used a man named Nobu for
protection during the war. He was also the one that paid such a high amount of money
for the rights to her virginity that it paid off all of her massive debts. Clearly, he loved
her. But she did not reciprocate those feelings. Instead, she wanted so badly to
separate the ties between them that she resorted to creating a set up where he would
see her having sexual relations with a man he despised. In the end, Chiyo abandons
Nobu to marry his best friend and business partner Ken, or the Chairman as he is
often referred to as. Out of fairness though, she had met the Charimen many years
before she became a professional geisha, and in fact their meeting was what gave her
the confidence to proceed in life. But the facts remain. From my eyes, she abused her
power to suit only her needs, and only her happiness. One line in the song says to
“catch the wheel that breaks the butterfly”, possibly interpreted as that one who wields
power should alleviate the pain of those who don’t. Butterflies could refer to the
fragile, powerless peasants, and to catch a wheel, or lift the burdens of oppression from
the powerless, is something only one with the power of a king could do. Chiyo,
certainly wielding kingly power and influence, made no such effort to catch any wheels
for any butterflies, except for herself. Instead, she let Nobu break.
 5

Starr, Krystin. “Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden,” Nabou.com The Big Site Book Reviews.
1 Oct. 2010. http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/memoirs_of_a_geisha.html

Summary: The author was intrigued by the topic of the geisha. She praises the book for its
vivid characters and excellent pacing. However the author expresses disappointment in the
ending. It was abrupt and shallow, and unbefitting of the all the build up to that point. It
was appropriate perhaps, but still a letdown. The author praises the use of metaphors and
setting and believes that the rest of the book makes up for the ending.
Evaluation: Book reviews are, for the most part, just another opinion on the book. Sometimes
however, book reviewers may express opinions or ideas or touch upon themes that other
readers may not have picked up at first glance. This presents an opportunity for such readers
to go back and reevaluate their opinion of the book.
Reflection: It did not occur to me that the ending sucked. Yet, to this person, it did. What can I
say about that? For one, they are partially correct. The ending was somewhat of a letdown
because of how simple and happy it turned out. The chairman dies, but it was a satisfied life
he lived so there was no problem. Where’s the drama? Suspense? Surprise? Not there.
But it’s actually okay. Chiyo continued to live in New York without a problem. But I think
that this is where it should have ended, and it did. Because after this point, there are
basically no more challenges for her. Her dream was achieved. Keep in mind that 95% of
the reason she wanted to become a geisha was for the sake of being able to be in the
company of kind, wise men like the chairman. And coincidentally she found that exact
person and spent years with him, even bearing his child. With her dream completed, it’s
natural for the book itself to come to completion as well. This source also mentions build
up. Indeed there was build up. Build up from her jumpstarting her career, pursuing the
chairmen, the obstacles in her path. But they were all resolved. There was nearly nothing
left to build on, aside from the child she would birth to, but beyond that would have nothing
to do with being a geisha anymore. Her life as a full fledged geisha ended pretty much upon
her leaving Japan and moving to America. The story’s ending is fine I’d say. It’s also likely
that Golden, while interviewing some ex geishas, came to the conclusion that their life post
geisha was not exciting enough to warrant further writing.
 6

Naomi Graham. Immortal Geisha. Web. 1 Oct. 2010.

http://www.immortalgeisha.com/index.html

Summary:
Evaluation:
Reflection:
 7

Bussey, Jennifer. "Critical Essay on 'Memoirs of a Geisha'." Novels for Students. Ed.
Jennifer Smith. Vol. 19. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Oct.
2010. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE|
H1420057382&v=2.1&u=mlin_b_maldenhs&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&authCount=1

Summary:
Evaluation:
Reflection:
 8

Norma, Caroline. "A past re-imagined for the Geisha: Saviour of the 1950's Japanese sex
industry." Traffic [Parkville] 10 (2008): 37+. Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Oct. 2010.
http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.bpl.org/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-
Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=AONE&docId=A192853048&source=gale&s
rcprod=AONE&userGroupName=mlin_b_bpublic&version=1.0
Summary:
Evaluation:
Reflection:
 9

“Interpersonal Attraction – Psychology Essay.” Free Online Research Papers. 2 Oct. 2010.
http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/interpersonal-attraction

Summary:
Evaluation:
Reflection:
 10

T., Kimberly. The Effects of Jealousy. Livestrong.com. 2 Oct. 2010.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/95463-effects-jealousy/

Summary:
Evaluation:
Reflection: