Over the weekend I finished reading Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki, who was arguably one of Japan’s most famous geisha. The story of her upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (geisha house) is fascinating, although perhaps atypical as she entered the house at the young age of five years old as the chosen atori, or heir. In the Gion Kobu, a district of Kyoto where the Iwasaki okiya was located, the more specific term of geiko is used to describe a “woman of art.” Mineko had the beautiful gift of dance, which she shared with royalty, presidents, and Japanese patrons during her short career as a geiko.
This book ended up being an educational lesson for me in Japanese culture. I learned about the graceful yet somewhat grueling study of dance, the traditions of tea ceremonies, intricacies of kimono design, as well as the exclusivity of the geisha world. Author Arthur Golden supposedly based some of stories in Memoirs of A Geisha on Mineko Iwasaki’s life. I haven’t read his book yet but cried my eyes out when I watched the film a few years ago.
Here are some photos of modern day geisha in Kyoto by Velco, Toshio, and mboogiedown.
When we extract the predominant colors from the photos, we end up with a very unusual palette. The black and deep red ground the otherwise delicate scheme of the palest pink, icy blue, and a vanilla cream. I’m not sure how I would use this palette but I find it intriguing nonetheless.
If you have any interest in Japanese culture then I definitely recommend this book. I have two more books sitting on my nightstand but neither of them really appeal to me at the moment. What are you reading now? Does anyone have any recommendations? From silly to serious, I’ll read anything…
24 responses so far ↓
1 Mabel + Lola : Apr 15, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Geisha, A Life is one of favorite books!!!!!! There is some great geisha art on Etsy. What color lime green to you have in your home? Thanks for commenting on my blog!
2 Bridget : Apr 15, 2009 at 5:02 pm
The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favorites…and anything by Michael Pollan.
3 Shannon : Apr 15, 2009 at 5:32 pm
“Memoirs of a Geisha” is great. For a modern, fun read, you should check out “I Was Told There’d Be Cake”, by Sloane Crosley.
p.s. Your blog is so beautiful!
4 COCOCOZY : Apr 15, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Thank you for the book recommendation!
5 bandelle : Apr 15, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Yay for book recommendations! Thank you, Bridget & Shannon. My husband has converted me into a Half Price Books lover so that’s where we’ll be going this weekend to search for these recommendations.
6 bandelle : Apr 15, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Mabel + Lola — it’s kinds of a yellowy-lime green that’s scattered throughout our living room and some of my paintings.
7 Bridget : Apr 15, 2009 at 8:15 pm
The author of The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) is a book arts professor in the MFA program at Columbia (in Chicago) and she used that as inspiration for Clare–so she talks about a lot about the techniques of paper arts, which is simply fascinating to me! It’s also told from the perspective of Henry and Clare, so you start hearing the two voices as you read…it’s simply one of my favorite books. I hope you enjoy it!
8 Ann Marie : Apr 15, 2009 at 8:23 pm
What a wonderful post. I’ve not heard of this book, so I’m glad you shared it. The color palette you pulled is stunning. Actually, I’m quite inspired by it. I’m already thinking of a piece of artwork I can create around these colors. Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I only have two more iris buds, and will miss them when they are done blooming. To me, iris are such a regal flower.
9 Rebecca @ Harmony and Home : Apr 15, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I loved Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book first and then saw the movie and loved them both. I will have to pick up Geisha, A Life now and read it. Shortly after I read Memoirs, I also picked up Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. It was good too. Water for Elephants is very good too. Thanks for stopping by my blog… Also loved that you pulled the color palette out of the photos!
10 Fifi Flowers : Apr 16, 2009 at 12:32 am
If you liked the movie Memoirs of a Geisha… you will LOVE the book… I liked the movie… but the book was soooooooooo much better! Read it!
11 Kylie : Apr 16, 2009 at 6:30 am
Aren’t they just exquisite? I adored the movie Memoirs of a Geisha just to see the costumes and makeup, it’s beautiful.
12 Amanda : Apr 16, 2009 at 7:21 am
You should definitely read Memoirs if you liked this book and the Memoirs movie. It’s beautifully written. One of my alltime favourite books, I couldn’t put it down.
The book I can’t put down at the moment is in fact Time Traveler’s Wife which is funny as it was mentioned here already.
It’s the first book I’ve loved as much as Memoirs of Geisha since I read that a couple years ago!
13 Jen : Apr 16, 2009 at 10:26 am
There is nothing better than a good book and a glass of champagne! I absolutely love reading and would highly suggest:
Truth and Beauty by Anne Patchett
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows
“Words are the axe for the frozen sea within us.” Kafka
14 Diva Style : Apr 23, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I was just thinking that the book seemed akin to Memoirs of a Geisha, as I read. I LOVED that movie!
15 Arai Helmets : Apr 29, 2009 at 10:58 pm
it is the over all view of the Japanese culture i really like these kind of book who reflected the tradition or culture of the country.
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17 CrisBetewsky : Jul 6, 2009 at 1:25 pm
It’s a pity that people don’t realize the importance of this information. Thanks for posing it.
18 The Time Traveler’s Wife : Aug 4, 2009 at 9:38 pm
[...] I asked for book recommendations both Bridget and Amanda suggested The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I picked up [...]
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