Authenticity of "Memoirs of a geisha"?

Question

I read this book some time back and was wondering about few things. Surely this is a work of fiction, but it also claims to depict real life incidences from erswhile Japan. I was thinking as to how many of these practices were really widespread or a lot in this book is plain hype to grab attention and then money from readers.

Answer 1

I have a good friend whose mother is japanese and she told us she used to dance in a tea room when she was younger. She had the pictures to prove it. She stopped when she married a young sailor and came to the US. I think theres alot more truth to it then you think.

Answer 2

I had heard that the author based the book heavily on interviews with a Japanese woman who had had very similar experiences. I bet there's a wikipedia entry on this...