Memoirs of a Geisha 廓の女

Through this biography, the author invites the reader to follow Kuni Yamaguchi (1892-?), a young girl who was sold at the age of eight by her father to be trained to become a geisha. The image of supreme Japanese refinement, this being with immaculate white skin, however depicts a surprisingly dark picture. Learning an unsuspected rigor, the life of this girl in the geisha district of Kanazawa quickly turns into a nightmare. This documentary novel (it is not fiction) goes behind the scenes, which are too often idealized.

Ted Smart Publishing, 1999.