Geisha

by Dalby, Liza

• ISBN13: 9780520204959
• ISBN10: 0520204956
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

In this classic best-seller, Liza Dalby, the only non-Japanese ever to have trained as a geisha, offers an insider's look at the exclusive world of female companions to the Japanese male elite. Her new preface considers the geisha today as a vestige of tradition as Japan heads into the 21st century.

Table of Contents

PREFACE: GEISHA AND ANTHROPOLOGY	xiii	(5)
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS LATER	xviii
PART ONE RELATIONS	3	(162)
1 SISTERS	3	(14)
Death of a Geisha	3	(1)
The Geisha Family	4	(3)
Sons and Lovers	7	(5)
The Dance	12	(5)
2 KYOTO	17	(18)
Gerald Ford and the Maiko	17	(6)
Bonchi	23	(3)
Pontocho Reunion	26	(5)
The Last Cognac	31	(4)
3 TIES THAT BIND	35	(14)
Names	35	(4)
Elective Affinity	39	(2)
Three Cups Thrice	41	(3)
Minarai: Learning by Observation	44	(5)
4 PONTOCHO OF LONG AGO	49	(28)
Bridges and Rivers	49	(5)
Legal Prostitution	54	(8)
The Golden Age	62	(3)
Regulation	65	(1)
Standardization	66	(3)
The Paradox of Modernity	69	(8)
5 GEISHA RENOVATION	77	(20)
Geisha in Rivalry	77	(4)
Geisha Are the Navel of Society	81	(1)
The Geisha Reader	82	(4)
Updating the Geisha	86	(2)
Cost Benefit	88	(2)
Helpful Hints for the Prudent Geisha	90	(2)
Wartime Geisha	92	(5)
6 THE BEGINNING OF THINGS	97	(22)
Greetings	98	(1)
Ichigiku's Debut	99	(5)
My First Banquet	104	(5)
The Deflowering Arrangement	109	(3)
Food and Drink	112	(2)
New Geisha in Town	114	(5)
7 GENERATIONS	119	(20)
Setsubun: the Spring New Year	119	(2)
Pontocho's Big Three	121	(9)
Blind Doves	130	(4)
The Little Dragons	134	(5)
8 GEISHA PARTIES	139	(26)
The Zashiki	139	(1)
The Beer Ceremony	140	(2)
Futami, the Little Mother of Dai-Ichi	142	(5)
Alone in Gion	147	(6)
Dinner Dates	153	(2)
Cocktails Versus Oshaku	155	(3)
Casual Zashiki	158	(7)
PART TWO VARIATIONS	165	(86)
9 THE ELUSIVE GEISHA	165	(12)
Flower Wards	165	(2)
Geisha and Wives	167	(3)
Wives Versus Geisha	170	(3)
Service	173	(4)
10 THE RISE OF AKASAKA	177	(14)
Blooming in Rivalry	177	(3)
Akasaka, Prejudice and Prestige	180	(6)
Success, Akasaka Style	186	(5)
11 DOWNTOWN GEISHA	191	(20)
The Geisha House Yamabuki	191	(3)
A Geisha Lifetime	194	(4)
The Art of Having Fun with Geisha	198	(3)
No Illusions	201	(5)
Cold Cash	206	(5)
12 ART AND LIFE	211	(18)
Lady of the Cherry Blossoms	211	(2)
The Warp of Morality	213	(3)
Art as Life	216	(2)
Women Who Become Geisha	218	(1)
Geisha Daughters	219	(6)
Geisha Brides	225	(4)
13 COUNTRY GEISHA	229	(22)
Atami Hot Springs	229	(4)
Shallow River	233	(6)
A Socially Recognized Profession	239	(3)
Ichigiku in Atami	242	(9)
PART THREE SENSIBILITIES	251	(63)
14 THREE STRINGS	251	(18)
The Shamisen	251	(3)
Geisha Musicians	254	(3)
Divertimenti	257	(3)
The Pull of Three Strings	260	(9)
15 GEISHA CHIC	269	(12)
The Floating World	269	(2)
Iki	271	(4)
The Grand Performances	275	(4)
Some Prefer Geisha	279	(2)
16 KIMONO	281	(22)
The Language of Kimono	282	(2)
Kimono Wearers	284	(4)
Historical Layers	288	(2)
Kimono Schools	290	(3)
A Kimono Grammar	293	(10)
17 EXOTICS AND RETROSPECTIVES	303	(11)
The Temple of Great Virtue	303	(3)
Lanterns	306	(4)
Cross-Currents	310	(4)
NOTES	314	(15)
GLOSSARY	329	(8)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	337	(4)
INDEX	341