Chiyo is a nine-year-old girl from a poor fishing village, sold in the 1930s to a geisha house in Kyoto's Gion district. Under the cruelty of the established geisha Hatsumomo, and the protection of the kind Mameha, she trains as an apprentice and becomes Sayuri. Her ambitions are driven by a youthful encounter with a kind man she calls the Chairman, whom she hopes to impress. Years of rivalries, patrons like Nobu, and the upheaval of World War II shape her fate.
For readers interested in Japanese culture and historical fiction, this gives a detailed look at the geisha world. It follows a woman who learns to survive in a world governed by appearances.
Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2010
- Publisher
- Humanitas Fiction
- ISBN
- 9789736893452
- Language
- RO
