Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical novel set mainly in Kyoto’s geisha districts from the late 1920s through the upheavals of wartime and postwar Japan. Told in the voice of Sayuri, once a child named Chiyo from a poor fishing village, the story follows her entry into a geisha house, her training, rivalries, friendships, and the strict social codes that shape every choice available to her. Through Sayuri’s memories, Arthur Golden explores beauty, performance, dependence, ambition, and the tension between private feeling and the roles imposed by money, status, and tradition. The novel speaks to readers interested in historical fiction, Japanese cultural history, and character-driven stories about survival, identity, and the hidden costs of belonging to a closed world.
Author: Arthur Golden
Publisher: Vintage
Publication year: 2000
Number of pages: 512
Original language: English