Memoirs of a Geisha

Chiyo goes swimming outdoors the next day in an attempt to take her mind off her troubles. Her sister joins her and the other children but leaves early with a boy (the son of Mr. Tanaka’s assistant). Chiyo did not expect to see her sister again until dinner time, but she spots her leaning against a tree, being kissed and fondled by the boy with whom she had departed. 

Suddenly, Chiyo is interrupted by a voice asking her what she is doing, and she turns to see Mr. Tanaka. Chiyo is deeply embarrassed because, as a nine-year-old with no bodily “shapes or textures” (15) to conceal, she had been swimming naked. Chiyo says that she is waiting for her sister and Mr. Tanaka starts asking about her mother’s illness, also observing that her father is old. He consequently asks who takes care of her, and she replies that she takes care of herself.

Mr. Tanaka says that his childhood had been similar to Chiyo’s in that his parents died when he was young and his sister had run away. He was taken in by another family when he was twelve, going on to run the family’s seafood company. Addressing Chiyo, he suggests that maybe something similar could happen to her, and she reflects that he seems “the wisest and most knowledgeable man on earth” (16). She begins to fantasize about being adopted by him. 

Around a week later, Chiyo comes home to find Mr. Tanaka talking with her father. Her father says that he cannot picture his daughters living anywhere but at home, while Mr. Tanaka assures him that his own proposal would be better for all concerned. Upon seeing Chiyo, Mr. Tanaka invites her and Satsu to stay at his home overnight and meet his daughter. Chiyo’s response is partly one of excitement at the thought of being adopted following her mother’s death. On the other hand, she feels ashamed of such thoughts; especially when she notices her father crying.

Mr. Tanaka escorts them to his house the next day, with Satsu bearing “her usual muddled expression” (19). Chiyo has spent her life in Yoroido and, as they enter the town of Senzuru, her impression is that it is a dirty, foul-smelling place. They then find themselves in an office of the seafood company’s headquarters. To Chiyo’s surprise, this office is the most beautiful room she has ever seen.

An old woman sits in the office, and Mr. Tanaka introduces her to Chiyo and Satsu. The woman notices that Chiyo is pretty and has unusual eyes, deeming her clever and attractive. However, after having made her initial observations, she instructs Chiyo and her sister to remove their clothes. They both find this distressing and confusing but do as instructed, allowing the old woman to check between their legs. She concludes that both girls are healthy and that, while Satsu has too much wood, Chiyo has plenty of water. She also reaffirms that Chiyo is much prettier than her sister. 

After the old woman and Mr. Tanaka step outside, Satsu begins to cry. Chiyo then reassures her that the woman must be a fortune teller and that Mr. Tanaka is planning to adopt them. Upon hearing this, Satsu seems as though she is trying to process this information, “in the same way you might squeeze water from a sponge” (24). 

Chiyo tries to fight against the emptiness she feels when contemplating leaving the “tipsy house” behind, though Mr. Tanaka’s house is grander than anything she has ever seen. She also quickly becomes friends with Mr. Tanaka’s daughter, Kuniko; this is the first time that she has ever met a new friend other than the children in her village. They enjoy playing in the woods, and Chiyo is delighted at the prospect of having a new sister. As she explains to the reader: “The difference between life here at the Tanakas' house and life in Yoroido was as great as the difference between the odor of something cooking and a mouthful of delicious food” (25).

After dinner, Chiyo accompanies Kuniko as she follows her father in secret—something she does regularly. They then observe Mr. Tanaka entering a house and sitting with some other men on mats while an old man tells a bawdy anecdote. Though everyone else seems to enjoy the story, Mr. Tanaka is starring intently at a woman wearing an elegant kimono. Chiyo consequently asks what kind of place this is, and Kuniko tells her that it is a teahouse where geisha entertain. She adds that her father goes there every night, though she does not know why.

When she returns home, Chiyo observes that her mother seems sicker than ever. She tries to imagine what her life will be like after her mother’s death—even if Mr. Tanaka were to adopt Satsu and herself, what of her father? She finally convinces herself that Mr. Tanaka would adopt her father, too.

One morning, Chiyo runs into Mr. Sugi, Mr. Tanaka’s assistant, who tells her that Mr. Tanaka wants to see her and her sister in the village. Chiyo informs her father of this, and he nods gravely while her mother cries out in her sleep. Satsu does not seem to realize that this trip is different from any other, but Chiyo feels frightened; even though she has been imagining this day for weeks. When they reach the Japan Coastal Seafood Company, Mr. Tanaka seems surprisingly cold, and, in retrospect, the narrator feels that she should have seen this as a sign that things would not pan out as she hoped. 

Chiyo focuses on reaching Mr. Tanaka’s house and being adopted, but, during their journey, she realizes that they are heading in the wrong direction. The wagon they are travelling in stops beside some train tracks, whereupon Chiyo sees the old woman they met previously, whom she had dubbed “Mrs. Fidget”, and a man named Mr. Bekku, whom Chiyo finds frightening. No one answers when Chiyo asks where they are going, so she formulates a scenario in her head: Mr. Tanaka had been displeased by what Mrs. Fidget concluded in her assessment of Chiyo and Satsu, so he had asked Mr. Bekku to take them somewhere where they could have their fortunes told more completely.

Mrs. Fidget leads the two girls along the train tracks, and Mr. Bekku ushers them aboard a train shortly afterwards. Satsu asks Chiyo if she knows where they are going, but Chiyo does not know and Mr. Bekku will not provide any answers. When an old peasant woman enquires as to where they are going, however, Mr. Bekku replies, “Kyoto.” Chiyo now feels sick with worry; this name sounding as foreign to her “as Hong Kong, or even New York” (33).

The journey lasts for hours, and, when they near Kyoto, Chiyo is struck by the hugeness of the city—even today, she remembers the “terrible emptiness and fear” (33) she felt when she saw it for the first time. After disembarking from the train, Mr. Bekku leads them to a rickshaw and Chiyo imagines that he is afraid they will try to escape. He is wrong, though, as she would rather go with him than be cast out and left alone in this strange city. Chiyo again plucks up the courage to ask where they are going, and Mr. Bekku replies, “your new home” (34). Hearing this causes Chiyo to well up with tears, but, after seeing Mr. Bekku hit Satsu for crying, she manages to retain her composure.

As they make their way through the city, Chiyo feels as though her senses are being assaulted. She has never seen cars before and has rarely seen electricity. She is terrified, yet this is also the most astonishing experience of her life. They turn down an alleyway of wooden houses, whose continuous facade disorients Chiyo. 

The worst experience of all occurs when the rickshaw halts and Mr. Bekku instructs Chiyo to climb out and orders Satsu to remain behind. The two sisters look at each other, and Chiyo believes that this may be a rare moment of mutual understanding. Chiyo feels like collapsing in despair, but Satsu’s eyes are drawn to doorway where a beautiful young woman wearing an exquisite kimono stands. This woman is Hatsumomo, one of the most renowned geisha in the district of Gion. Chiyo cannot help staring at her, but Hatsumomo refers to Chiyo as “garbage” (36) that should be taken away.

An older woman then appears, telling Hatsumomo that she is insufferable. Nonetheless, she takes a piece of flint and strikes it so that flecks fall onto Hatsumomo’s back. Chiyo does not understand at the time, but, “geisha are more suspicious even than fisherman” (36) and will not go out until this ritual has been performed. 

After Hatsumomo departs, Mr. Bekku hands Chiyo over to the older woman. Chiyo then collapses in a fit of tears as her sister departs in the rickshaw. The older woman allows her to grieve before helping her up and drying her face with her handkerchief, telling her that there is no need to worry. She tells Chiyo to call her Auntie, adding that “Mother” will be thrilled to see such a strikingly beautiful girl. 

Auntie leads Chiyo through the courtyard, where she notices the maids’ quarters and a small but elegant house. With the arrival of Chiyo, the residence houses nine people. When Auntie disappears into the kitchen, a servant girl around Chiyo’s age appears, and Chiyo notes that she has a tongue that often curls out like the stem of a pumpkin. After a few days, Chiyo takes to calling her “Pumpkin.” 

Auntie reemerges and washes and clothes Chiyo, while telling her that Mother and Granny had disliked her predecessor and that it would be in Chiyo’s best interest to make a good impression. She explains that the house is an okiya, which is where geisha live, and that Chiyo will grow up to be a geisha if she is lucky. 

When she is introduced to Mother, Chiyo is first struck by the beauty of her kimono, but then by the hideousness of her face. She learns that Mother is Auntie’s younger sister, though they are not biological sisters. Rather, “Granny” adopted them both. Granny herself is not only old and shriveled but seems to have “spent her years stewing herself into a state of concentrated meanness” (43). She says that Chiyo looks like a fool, but Auntie and Mother assure her that Chiyo is clever and adaptable. 

Mother informs Chiyo that she will need to behave; otherwise, she will be beaten. She also advises her to work hard and never leave the okiya without permission. Mother has not brought Chiyo to the okiya to be a maid but to become a geisha and will throw her out should she fail.

During this exchange, Chiyo wonders whether her sister is receiving similar instructions in another house. She then imagines her ailing mother looking around to see where her daughters are. Chiyo’s instinct is to cry, but she strives to hold back her tears, as she does not want to displease Mother.

Chiyo feels awful and lost during these first days at the okiya, and she constantly wonders if she will see Satsu again. After a couple of weeks, though, the thing that surprises her the most is that she has survived. She feels detached from her former self: when drying rice bowls in the kitchen, she reflects, “I could scarcely understand that this person drying bowls was actually me” (45). As all the girls studying to become geisha take classes at the same school, she feels sure that she will be reunited with Satsu if she is obedient. Still, she struggles to make a good impression, as her chores are excessive and Granny proves awkward and cantankerous. 

Chiyo hardly sees Hatsumomo during this time but is scared of her nevertheless. Her room is the largest in the okiya, and she is the only geisha living there at present. When Chiyo does encounter her, she is rude and makes a reference to Chiyo’s “ugly sister” (48) having visited the okiya to relay a message. Chiyo is desperate for this information, but Hatsumomo says that she will only reveal it once she had thought up a way for Chiyo to earn the privilege. When Chiyo asks Mother whether anyone might know of her sister’s whereabouts, Mother simply replies, “Why on earth should I tell you such a thing?” (51).

During a conversation one day, Pumpkin reveals that her mother died when she was five and her father sent her to live with her uncle. He lost his business the previous year, which is why she has ended up in the okiya. She adds that her father died the previous year as well. Chiyo says that when she finds her sister, the three of them can run away together. However, Pumpkin replies that her uncle had told her that she was a nice girl but was stupid and had no chance of making her own way in the world. She has now come to feel that she would rather throw herself from a cliff than soil her chance of becoming a geisha. 

When she and Pumpkin first arrive at school, Chiyo is disappointed to find that her sister is nowhere to be seen. They sign up for their classes, with one class requiring students to assemble and play a shamisen (an instrument somewhat like a small guitar). As Pumpkin tries out her instrument, Chiyo observes that her ear is very poor. She is also clearly nervous and, to make matters worse, their teacher is very unfriendly. However, dance class is much less awkward.

Pumpkin introduces Chiyo to the teacher at the end of each class, one of whom asks her if she is from the same okiya as Pumpkin. Chiyo replies in the affirmative, referring to it as the Nitta okiya (Nitta being the family name of Granny, Mother, and Auntie).

When they visit the school registry office, Chiyo is struck by Hatsumomo’s ability to turn on her charm when addressing a male clerk. The clerk also notes that Chiyo is pretty and possesses eyes the color of a mirror, but Hatsumomo insists that a mirror has no color. Chiyo uses this meeting as an opportunity to find information about Satsu, but the clerk says that he has not encountered her. Hatsumomo smiles, as she knew that this is what the clerk would say, and Chiyo now feels sure that her sister is in one of the other districts of Kyoto.

Chiyo observes the elaborate ritual whereby Hatsumomo dresses and applies her makeup. As Chiyo explains, a geisha wakes up looking like any other woman, and she only becomes a geisha—physically and mentally—during this process. When Hatsumomo asks Chiyo if she knows why she is observing, Chiyo replies that it is to learn how to put on makeup. However, Hatsumomo says that she wants to show her that no amount of makeup could make Chiyo beautiful. Chiyo feels intense jealousy and shame at this remark, knowing that men will stare awestruck at Hatsumomo while she herself remains “in the okiya, looking sweaty and plain” (65).

During this process, Chiyo learns that Mr. Bekku is not merely employed to drag girls from their homes: he is a dresser who helps Hatsumomo put on her intricate kimono. As she watches, Chiyo is aware of just how elaborate this process is and why Mr. Bekku’s help is necessary. Chiyo also continues to feel envy, observing that Hatsumomo’s outfit probably cost more than a shopkeeper might make in a year but that she looks unearthly in her glamorousness.