I've just finished reading 'Memoirs of a Geisha' and...?

Question

I want to know if the story is true ie. if Sayuri and Mameha really existed or if it was all just made up. Is it fact or fiction?

Answer 1

Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" is a work of fiction, but Sayuri and Mameha (as well as the others in the book) are characterization composites of the various stages undergone by the typical geishas, from the time a girl is given up to a geisha house by her parents at age 6 years, 6 months & 6 days, up to the time she either voluntarily leaves or retires from geisha life or marries (in contrast to simply being "kept" by a "danna" as a virtual concubine)..

Since the release of the book and the movie, a lot of books about geishas have come out in the market; some have been around for some time and have regained prominence. If you seriously wish to learn more about geisha history, Lesley Downer's fascinating 434-page "Geisha: The Remarkable Truth Behind the Fiction" (2000) would be a good start. Tells you a lot about their long history (believe it or not, the first geishas were men), traditions & practices (no wonder Golden was sued by his acknowledged source Ms. Iwasaki), daily routines, etc.

Answer 2

What a great book! When I read it last summer, I had a hard time distinguishing whether it was real or just good fiction. If I remember correctly, it was based on the life of a real geisha, but the characters were fictional. Doesn't the book say anything about the author?
Have you seen the movie? I haven't, but I will certainly give the book another read in the future.

Answer 3

Such a fantastic book, don't you think? I believe that Sayuri and Mameha are amalgams of geishas past. I think Goldman researched and interviewed remaining geishas in order to create their personalities, experiences, etc. If Sayuri were, in fact, real...I think people would be knocking down her door in NYC. I would!
The movie is beautiful to watch and the music is gorgeous, too. It's not as good as the book, but I recommend it.

Answer 4

Well....when I had finished reading the novel...and even after seeing the movie, I too was very curious whether characters Sayuri and Mameha were depicted on real person or whether its a creation of imagination of writer......but it seems "Geisha" is a tradition of thousand years old, and it makes no difference whether those characters were real or fictitious. We are to assume they were existed and still are in existence.

Answer 5

After the Japanese edition of Memoirs of a Geisha was published, Arthur Golden was sued for breach of contract and defamation of character by Mineko Iwasaki, a retired geisha he had interviewed for background information while writing the novel. The plaintiff asserted that Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity, if she told him about her life as a geisha due to the traditional code of silence about their clients. However, Golden listed Iwasaki as a source in his acknowledgements for the novel.

BUT it is a historic fiction writing. I loved the book. I was also curious but I have found nothing in my searches. I think that the names were made up but the history of a geisha, etc. is real.

Answer 6

Its fiction. Sure there are bits and pieces of true geisha life but the charecters are all made up. The author arthur golden got his story from mineko iwasaki, who was a geisha. But she sued him because he put her name in the book. So if you want to read a good book from which memoirs is based on read Geisha; a life by mineko iwasaki.

Answer 7

No, some guy, yeah a man actually made this up, wrote this. It is an entire work of fiction...but so realistic, eh? I guess he went to Japan and interviewed some Geisha's but all characters are totally fiction.

Answer 8

it is a work of fiction