Journal numba 6

Chiyo is now a full-fledged geisha apprentice under the watchful eye of Mameha.  She is making appearances at teahouses in order to get her name out there so that when she is named a geisha she has connections. In this section of the reading we see the true cut throat actions of Hatsumomo toward Chiyo, who will soon be a competitor of hers. Hatsumomo follows Mameha and Chiyo through Gion trying to steal their parties and customers. Upon their departure Hatsumomo proceeds to speak badly of Chiyo in order to ruin her reputation with the men for the future.

Not only are the men asserting authority over the women in Memoirs of a Geisha, but also superior women over inferior women. This industry is demeaning in our eyes as westerners but for some this is their career. They take their looks, customers, and reputation very seriously and will do anything to ensure these things are not tainted. I have, although I am reading a book from two separate cultures, to just research feminism in the US throughout the decades. I would like to research women’s roles in society as times change and society accepts different things.

Journal numba 5

                Since Chiyo was found looking for her sister she has been taken out of geisha lessons and is sentenced to life as a maid. She will forever be indebted to the oikya because of all of her wrongdoings. She decides she has nothing to lose at this point so she sneaks out to meet her sister but is turned in and returned buy the neighboring oikya who finds her in their courtyard. She is beaten and shunned. In time she learns that her mother has passed away and that her sister ran away from her house and has married back in their hometown. Chiyo has no resources to draw on so she decides she will be obedient and work in the oikya for financial stability. Granny, the oikya elder, falls to a sudden death as well in this portion of the reading so the town of Gion shows up for the visitation where Chiyo meets Hatsumomo’s arch enemy, Mameha.  Mameha seeks to take Chiyo out of servitude and mentor her to be a geisha. It is at that moment that Chiyo has a life ahead of her. She trains at a Geisha school, shadows Mameha, and learns how to act the part. Chiyo has a prosperous life ahead of her as she is about to be debuted as Mameha’s “sister”.

                Although male dominance is still an overlaying theme in both of my novels, Memoirs of a Geisha reveals an underlying theme as well. To Western culture, the art of being a geisha seems demeaning. It is almost like a glorified prostitute; females serving men for money. But, in Memoirs of a Geisha being a geisha is a well respected career path. Yes, men are still in control and men are still using the women, but to a woman a geisha is powerful and beautiful because she can make a man “swoon”. Because Japanese culture is so different from ours it is hard to grasp these activities as normal.

Journal numba 4

           Memoirs of a Geisha has been a riveting and page-turning novel thus far. I have been introduced to the main character Chiyo-chan who is working in an okiya by force, learning the ropes of being a geisha.  She is under the mentorship of one of the best geishas in town, Hatsumomo, who is intimidated by Chiyo’s beauty and potential for the industry. Chiyo has been warned by Auntie to not trust a thing that Hatsumomo does or says because her sole purpose is to destroy her. Chiyo doesn’t see through Hatsumomo’s supposed “kindness” and finds herself at the mercy of Mother, who is repeatedly beating her for her misbehavior. Chiyo’s hunt for her older sister continues as she searches through a neighboring town against okiya rules for her home. She finds her working as a prostitute against her will in a house with other women. Both of the girls plan to escape their life of misery and return to their father and mother soon.

          I have again noticed a theme of male superiority in this novel, as well as Daughter of Fortune. The life of a geisha from a western point of view is one that is demeaning. Women are there to entertain the men, some being disloyal to their wives, while making money for it. This sense of female inferiority is more severe in Memoirs of a Geisha, but none the less evident. I have chosen feminism through the decades as my theme for my research project because it is an overlaying theme in both novels.