Geisha

Geisha PDF Author: Mineko Iwasaki
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743444293
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
A Kyoto geisha describes her initiation into an okiya at the age of four, the intricate training that made up most of her education, her successful career, and the traditions surrounding the geisha culture.

Geisha

Geisha PDF Author: Mineko Iwasaki
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743444293
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
A Kyoto geisha describes her initiation into an okiya at the age of four, the intricate training that made up most of her education, her successful career, and the traditions surrounding the geisha culture.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha PDF Author: Arthur Golden
Publisher: Longman
ISBN: 9781405882675
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Captivating, minutely imagined . . . a novel that refuses to stay shut" ("Newsweek"), "Memoirs of a Geisha" is now released in a movie tie-in edition.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha PDF Author: Arthur Golden
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375406786
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable.

Autobiography of a Geisha

Autobiography of a Geisha PDF Author: 増田小夜
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231129503
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Home to the New York Yankees, the Bronx Zoo, and the Grand Concourse, the Bronx was at one time a haven for upwardly mobile second-generation immigrants eager to leave the crowded tenements of Manhattan in pursuit of the American dream. Once hailed as a "wonder borough" of beautiful homes, parks, and universities, the Bronx became--during the 1960s and 1970s--a national symbol of urban deterioration. Thriving neighborhoods that had long been home to generations of families dissolved under waves of arson, crime, and housing abandonment, turning blocks of apartment buildings into gutted, graffiti-covered shells and empty, trash-filled lots. In this revealing history of the Bronx, Evelyn Gonzalez describes how the once-infamous New York City borough underwent one of the most successful and inspiring community revivals in American history. From its earliest beginnings as a loose cluster of commuter villages to its current status as a densely populated home for New York's growing and increasingly more diverse African American and Hispanic populations, this book shows how the Bronx interacted with and was affected by the rest of New York City as it grew from a small colony on the tip of Manhattan into a sprawling metropolis. This is the story of the clattering of elevated subways and the cacophony of crowded neighborhoods, the heady optimism of industrial progress and the despair of economic recession, and the vibrancy of ethnic cultures and the resilience of local grassroots coalitions crucial to the borough's rejuvenation. In recounting the varied and extreme transformations this remarkable community has undergone, Evelyn Gonzalez argues that it was not racial discrimination, rampant crime, postwar liberalism, or big government that was to blame for the urban crisis that assailed the Bronx during the late 1960s. Rather, the decline was inextricably connected to the same kinds of social initiatives, economic transactions, political decisions, and simple human choices that had once been central to the development and vitality of the borough. Although the history of the Bronx is unquestionably a success story, crime, poverty, and substandard housing still afflict the community today. Yet the process of building and rebuilding carries on, and the revitalization of neighborhoods and a resurgence of economic growth continue to offer hope for the future.

Geisha

Geisha PDF Author: Liza Crihfield Dalby
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520047426
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : ru
Pages : 380

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Book Description
The author, an American anthropologist, describes her experiences during the year she spent as a Japanese geisha, and looks at the role of women, and geishas, in modern Japan

A Geisha's Journey

A Geisha's Journey PDF Author: Komomo
Publisher: Kodansha Amer Incorporated
ISBN: 9784770030672
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 143

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Book Description
From the cobbled streets where Komomo walks in her elaborate dress to the inner sanctums of her dressing room, these pages offer a rare look at a contemporary teen's journey to becoming a geisha, photographed in full color by Naoyuki Ogino. This is the story of a contemporary Japanese teenager who, in a search for an identity, became fascinated with the world of geisha, and discovered in herself the will and the commitment to embark on the many years of apprenticeship necessary to become one. It is also the story of a young Japanese photographer who grew up

Geisha & Maiko of Kyoto

Geisha & Maiko of Kyoto PDF Author: John Foster
Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN: 9780764332210
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
This exquisite collection of photographs and interviews focuses on four of Kyoto's most beautiful geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha). First, the geisha and maiko were photographed at Kyoto's largest geisha dance performances and other important dances. Next, portrait sessions were held with each woman to capture the kata (forms or poses) of her favorite dances. The geisha and maiko were then interviewed about their photographs, giving the reader a rare insight into their artistic training. Finally, images follow one maiko from her last few days as an apprentice through her first few days as a geisha. Never before has the change from maiko to geisha been documented so completely. The result is a collection of 149 gorgeous photographs that shed light on these exquisitely beautiful women like no other book before.

Women of the Pleasure Quarters

Women of the Pleasure Quarters PDF Author: Lesley Downer
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767909720
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
From critically acclaimed author and Japanese scholar Lesley Downer, an enchanting portrait of the mysterious world of the geisha. Ever since Westerners arrived in Japan, they have been intrigued by Japanese womanhood and, above all, by geisha. This fascination has spawned a wealth of extraordinary fictional creations, from Puccini's Madama Butterfly to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The reality of the geisha's existence, though, whether today or in history, has rarely been addressed. Contrary to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes but, literally, "arts people." Their accomplishments include singing, dancing, playing a musical instruments; but above all, they are masters of the art of conversation, soothing the worries and stroking the egos of the wealthy businessmen who can afford their attentions. It is this which imbues the geisha with such power—and which makes absolute secrecy such a crucial aspect of their work. As denizens of a world defined by silence and mystery, geisha are notoriously difficult to meet and even to find. Lesley Downer, an award- winning writer, Japanese scholar, and consummate storyteller, gained more access into this world than almost any other Westerner ever has and spent several months living among them. In Women of the Pleasure Quarters, she weaves together intimate portraits of modern geisha with the romantic legends and colorful historical tales of geisha of the past. From Sadda Yakko, who dined with American presidents and had her portrait painted by Picasso, to Koito, a modern-day geisha who maintains her own website, geisha throughout history step out of the pages of Women of the Pleasure Quarters to become living, breathing creatures. Looking into such traditions as mizuage, the ritual deflowering which was once a rite of passage for all geisha, and providing colorful depictions of the geisha's dress, training, and homes, Downer, with grace, elegance, and respect, transforms their reality in a captivating narrative that both informs and entertains. At once a symbol of a bygone age and an institution more quintessentially Japanese than any other, geisha are a society at a crossroads, struggling to reinvent their place in the new millennium while honoring the traditions of the past. Both instructive and evocative, Women of the Pleasure Quarters is an enthralling portrait of a world unlike any other.

Misfit

Misfit PDF Author: Jon Skovron
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1613122071
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
A half-demon teenager learns the dangerous secret of her true powers in this “unusually profound urban-fantasy . . . thoughtful, scary and captivating” (Kirkus, starred review). Jael has always felt like a freak. She’s never kissed a boy, she never knew her mom, and her dad’s always been superstrict—but that’s probably because her mom was a demon, which makes Jael half demon and most definitely not a normal sophomore girl. But on her sixteenth birthday, a mysterious present unlocks her family’s dangerous history—and Jael’s untapped potential. What was merely an embarrassing secret suddenly becomes a terrifying reality. Jael must learn to master her demon side in order to take on a vindictive Duke of Hell, while also dealing with a twisted priest, best-friend drama, and a spacey blond skater boy who may have hidden depths.

Geisha

Geisha PDF Author: Lesley Downer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780747264262
Category : Geishas
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Ever since Westerners arrived in Japan, we have been intrigued by geisha. This fascination has spawned a wealth of fictional creations from Madame Butterfly to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The reality of the geisha's existence has rarely been described. Contrary to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes but literally arts people. Their accomplishments might include singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument but, above all, they are masters of the art of conversation, soothing worries of highly paid businessmen who can afford their attentions. The real secret history of the geisha is explored here.