Customer Reviews

Geisha : A Living Tradition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must admit that I saw the outline for this book at a publisher long before it came into print and I was really looking forward to seeing a Japanese women's view of the geisha world. However, this book presented a good deal of specific information, such as festival names for certain events and aspects of geisha life that would confuse a reader that is not familiar with Japan and especially Kyoto. Having been living in Kyoto for the past number of years and having access to many sources of information (in Japanese and English), I find the information that she gives just a tranlation of one or many of the books on geisha published for Japanese tourists that come to Kyoto. The are also many incorrect photo titles mixing up geisha and maiko(apprentice geisha) not to mention a photo of a tourist dressed as a geisha labled as a geisha. About the " original " photography, I think that it speaks for itsellf with the many amatuerish mitakes such as bad lighting and focusing.( There are a few semi-professional) nice shots I might add. Overall, the author tries to lead the reader into thinking that they are getting some real original and unique information from a "well connected" insider into the geisha world, when actually they are getting a semi-informative original tranlation of the information that the author( being Japanese) was able to pick up at the local bookshop, read and rewrite into English. It is obvious that she is a journalist (definetely not a photo-journalist) and knew when to time her hop onto the "geisha book bandwagon" and get published. I salute the idea and layout of this book but it was obviosly rushed and has too many fine details without an original perspective from the author. The use of a professional photographer ( and maybe a different printer) would have helped to hide some of the other weak points and maybe given me a chance to write a more positive review .

The pictures of the geisha and maiko were gorgeous. Unfortunately I have seen a couple of these pics in other books on geisha too. I think that was a dead giveaway that the author was a journalist and did not know what it was like being a geisha firsthand unlike Liz Dalby who was only a grad student when she became a geisha briefly in the 1970s. I found this book pretty to look at but lacks the substance that Geisha by Liz Dalby had.

I really recommend this book to anyone interested in Geisha. Though the text is admittedly not as detailed as "Geisha" By Liza Dalby, the pictures are all in full color and there are many of them. Of all the books I have about geisha and maiko, including the ones in Japanese, I love the pictures in this book the best, as they are large and with many close ups. I especially enjoyed the pictures of all the kanzashi, kimono, dance classes, and different hairstyles. It is nice to see pictures of geisha and okaasan, as well as maiko. Most of my other books concentrate on pictures of maiko while talking about geisha. The text is very easy to read and is pretty informative. I think the picture on page 123 (of a tourist dressed as a maiko) is actually the author herself (compare the picture with the picture of the author on the back flap), which seems perfectly acceptable to me.

Kyoko Aihara's journey into the world of the geiko of Kyoto is an interesting start for anyone who would like to learn more about this time-honored profession. I only received the book tonight as a gift, and so have not had much time to look it over, but the pages that I have leafed through reveal a good grounding in the flower and willow world. Much of the information I already know from my research into the topic and from Memoirs of a Geisha, a superlative book. However, it is somewhat of a database, filled with charts, tables, and interesting sidelines about everything from the correct flowers to wear in one's hair to the complex hierarchy of okiyas.

I greatly appreciated the pictures, and found them to be the best part of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Kyoto geiko.

This book is really well done. There are lots of very large full color photos and pictures. The author does a really fine job of explaining the ins and outs of becoming a Maiko and Geisha. The photography is really first class! You won't be disappointed with this book. Highly highly recommended for those who are interested in Japanese culture, arts, history and anything having to do with Geisha!

Memoirs of a Geisha is a poorly written piece of work that somehow got published and made into an equally bad movie. A bad book whose writer has connections. But at least it has inspired interest in the subject.

For those interested, this book is quite informative and most insightful. Well written and well illustrated.