Many people mistakenly equate the concepts of "geisha" and "prostitute". However, it is not. The word "geisha" means "men of art." For Japanese geisha is comparable with the ideal woman who knows how to sing, to dance, to maintain an interesting conversation and to be hostess.
Mineko Iwasaki was the most famouse geisha. Her biography was the basis of the book, which later became a bestseller.
Until the XVIII century geisha could only be men, because women are were not allowed to participate in public life. Male geisha entertained with dance and games which involved drinking. After the 1700s female geisha gradually appeared in Japan. They became a serious competitor to prostitutes, offering a wider range of services. After some time, the government has introduced clear rules of procedure concerning the sexual life of geisha, their way of dressing, and working conditions.
The more popular geisha became, the more villagers began selling their daughters to study this profession. The girls had to live in a special place 6 years (Okiya). They were taught dance, music, tricks conducting tea ceremony. Not all the girls could keep up with tight schedule and become geisha.
During World War II craft geisha was banned. Only in 1950, their activities began to revive. Mineko Iwasaki became the most famous and highly paid Geisha. Parents sold Mineko when she was only five years old. The owner of Okiya, Madame Oyma officially adopted the girl, making her the heir. At 15 years of age Mineko became a student (maiko), and at age of 21 she was the most famous geisha in Japan. Mineko Iwasaki was invited to entertain the highest personages, among them Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles. Her earnings amounted to 500, 000 dollars a year.
With these revenues, she decided to live outside the geisha okiya. She took off for a luxury apartment, but soon realized that she is not quite adapted to that lifestyle. Mineko did not even know how to turn on a gas cooker. A year later, she moved back to the okiya.
Other geisha envied Mineko's popularity. A lot of needles were pinched into her kimono, she was beaten on the streets. Only when Mineko began taking other geisha with her to banquets, the side stopped the attacks. Mineko slept only three hours a day and seven days a week and worked without brakes. It affected her health. At the peak of her popularity (just 29 years), not being able to go beyond the regulated behavior geisha Mineko Iwasaki decides to finish her career.
The life story of Mineko Iwasaki was the basis of the works of Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha." The book was published in 1997 and immediately became an international bestseller. Before writing the book Mineko Iwasaki has agreed to give an interview to the author under the condition that her name not be mentioned anywhere. But Arthur Golden has placed her name in the Acknowledgements section. After the "Memoirs of a Geisha" has been translated into Japanese, Mineko began to receive threats for violating the rules of silence. The woman filed a lawsuit against Golden for misrepresentation of her life, the author paid the full amount requested.
Mineko Iwasaki decided to publish a book, tellingabout her real biography. "True Memoirs of a Geisha" had no less success than the publication of Arthur Golden.