Autobiography Of A Geisha Book

Sayo Masuda was born out of wedlock, and when her mother would no longer have her because of the associated shame, she was sent to work as a nursemaid. Later, when she was older, her uncle sold her to a geisha house. During this time, no one cared for her or comforted her, and no one taught her anything useful - she spent most of her young life fearing other human beings because her interactions with them had always been painful or unpleasant.

Masuda, or Little Crane, as she came to be called, was sent to geisha school, and spent several years learning the geisha's art as well as serving in the geisha house. Geishas are essentially indentured servants to the proprietors of the house until such time as they are able to pay off the fees incurred by their purchase, their training, their room and board, clothing, etc. While Masuda enjoys, at times, the perks of being a geisha (gifts, plenty to eat, some power over the men she entertains), she hates that she remains powerless to change her circumstances. Even when she leaves the geisha house, the stigma of what she has been is still upon her. People look down on her; there are no opportunities for her.

Masuda's life is a string of unfortunate events - unwanted and unloved by her mother, sold into a sex trade, loses the brother she loves to suicide, declines in health, lost love, and on and on. She attempts to kill herself several times - by drowning, through alcoholism, by neglecting her health - but in the end she finds a new purpose (at the tender age of 30). [It's interesting to note that Masuda considers her life basically over when she's in her early 20s. I'm not sure if this is because she was thinking in geisha terms (as beauty fades with youth, most geisha retire and take up other work), or because she really thought that she had nothing more to contribute.:] She finds that she can make children feel important and appreciated and that they come to value her company. She tells them silly stories, and brings them gifts, and, most importantly, spends time with them - all of the things she never got as a child. And this is where her story ends, although, not her life. She's still alive, according to a translator's note, and in her late 70s (as of 2003). But she wants no contact with publishers, or people who know anything about her former life as a geisha. She wants to be the person she is now.

Masuda's autobiography is just as readable and fascinating as Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. It's a bit less glamorous, however. Masuda definitely drives home the point that no girl chooses to be a geisha - it is thrust upon her, and how each girl learns to cope with that reality determines what her life will be. Masuda overcomes a lot of obstacles, and it would be interesting to know if she has found love or happiness - things she sought and thought she would never find when she was a young woman.