Customer Reviews

Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

To those who are not familiar with Japan's traditional "flower and willow world", the geishas are inhabitants of a secluded and mysterious realm, one which provides a link to Japan's past way of life. Yet, these ornately garbed women also seem to be stuck in a time warp and are apparently becoming increasingly out of touch with modern Japanese society. Author Lesley Downer has succeeded in prying into the world of geishas (quite a feat by itself, as described in the Introduction) and given us a intimate and highly readable account of this vanishing species.

The book is divided into 3 parts. The first, and the longest, traces the checkered but colourful history of geishas against the backdrop of the Shogunate, the Meiji Reformation , the Pacific War and its aftermath up to the late 90s. This amusing historical account is further spiced up from time to time by romantic tales of legendary courtesans and geishas of the past. In tracing the development of the geishas, Downer also touches upon the shirabyoshi dancing girls, the tayu courtesans and the taikomochi (male geishas), which were early models of the breed. The interesting narrative also charts the waxing and waning of the fortunes of the various licensed pleasure quarters and geisha districts in Kyoto and Tokyo, each having its own distinctive atmosphere. This part should have now become a classic account of the history of geishas.

The second part deals with the everyday life of the maikos (apprentice geishas) and geishas of the present day and those of the more recent past. Besides descriptions of their distinctive way of make-up, their awesome kimonos, wigs and other accoutrements, as well as way they conduct themselves in tea-house parties, the author has also persuaded many geishas and maikos to talk about their past experiences, including the delicate subject of mizuage (ritual deflowerment) and their relationships with customers and dannas (principal patrons). Many of these women have spoken with unwonted frankness through which the reader can obtain deep, and sometimes startling, insights into their world.

The final part of the book examines the relationship of geishas with men, their lovers (if any) and the wives of their clients. In fact, throughout the book, one can obtain much insight about the Japanese attitude to love and sex, which, as the author noted, was untouched until recently by either the European notion of romantic love or Christian sexual morality and the role of women in Japanese society and putting the geisha into its proper social context.

It is evident that the author is fascinated by the subject matter of her research, entranced by the arts and aesthetics of geishas and intrigued by their rites and training. Throughout this very well written book, she discusses her subject matter with a sense of admiration, understanding, compassion and, above all, respect. There are also quite a number of amusing episodes concerning the author (such as her discovery that using the right form of speech and buying the right kind of cakes can make a world of a difference) which makes the book a lively read.

Comparisons with Liza Dalby's "Geisha" (which this reviewer has also read) is now inevitable. While Downer may lack some first-hand insight on the everyday life of geishas which Dalby can provide by virtue of her stint as a geisha in Kyoto, and that Dalby's book can offer more detailed information regarding the various arts of geishas and the atmosphere in Kyoto's Pontocho geisha district, Downer's book scores in its excellent account of the history and development of geishas as well as its in-depth discussion of mizuage as well as the relationship between geishas and their patrons. On the whole, Downer's book is also structurally more organised and up-to-date. As such, this new publication is highly recommended to those who are interested in this exotic subject.

Facinating account of the life of the Geisha. If you read Arthur Golden's Memoir of a Geisha and loved it, this book is a must. It gives the reader great background about information only touched on in Golden's book. Together, they are a great compliment to the full understanding of the Geisha. I enjoyed both the historical account as well as Downer's experience in the Geisha quarters. This book somewhat dispells the notion that Geisha are merely Japan's version of a high class "call girl." The Geisha are much more than that even though there is money in exchange for their companionship or entertainment. As a fast reader, this book did take me a long time to finish. I attribute this to the fact that the book combines history and story so the reader needs to focus on the information in order to fully understand concepts and move forward. I describe it as wading through chocolate pudding, entirely enjoyable just slow.

I'm probably typical in that, after first hearing about geisha, I developed a whole bunch of misconceptions about who these women are, what they do, and how important their contribution is to the long tradition that forms the Japanese culture and society. Thanks to author Lesley Downer, this fine book has given me an understanding and appreciation of a mysterious world within a fascinating country.

"Women of the Pleasure Quarters" begins with a first person account of Ms. Downer's attempts to gain the "inside" perspective to what has been for centuries a virtually secret society. Throughout the book, I found captivating her recounting of meetings and conversations with those connected with the geisha life: proprietors and "clients" of the tea houses, teachers, artists, wig makers, and the maiko and geisha themselves. The diversity of aspects woven into Ms. Downer's journalistic endeavors (mostly from time spent in Kyoto and Tokyo) are impressive, encompassing folklore, poetry, theater, music, fashion, art, and the geisha's mastery of charm and conversation. It's an entertaining read, more so than I expected, and her photos add a nice, diary-like touch to the writing.

Aside from the author's documentation of geisha life, there's also much to be told about Japanese history and legend, and the evolution of the role of geisha and maiko, beginning with the 17th century tea houses and ending with the present times. While I found the history and literature lessons to be mildly interesting, I was much more fascinated with the participation of Ms. Downer in her ventures behind the gates of the "flower and willow" world. To me, the bouncing around between first and third person story telling--present, then past, and again--upset the flow of this book, but only slightly (my only criticism). I wanted to read more about the author's tales.

All things considered, I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. By her curiosity and persistence, Ms. Downer gives us much more than just an acquaintance with the women behind the painted faces.

Lesley Downer's book on geisha is, quite honestly, one of the best out there. Whereas Liza Dalby has been incorrectly referred to as the only non-Japanese woman to be a geisha (see my review on Dalby's "Geisha"), Downer presumes few airs due to her involvement with the community. The picture of her wearing a geisha wig demonstrate a slight embarrassment but there-through her good-humour in acknowledging that she could never be associated with the fine women of Gion or Pontocho. She is an outsider and she recognises that, even if she learnt much about them.

Downer comments in detail upon the lives, both past & present, of geisha in Japan, talking extensively about how the geisha came to be, as well as how they exist today. In doing so she takes time to show that they are real Japanese women, not just dolls in kimono. Indeed they are self-confident, highly-resourceful individuals who rely on themselves alone for their income (not being allowed to get married or have a partner). This is something that is rarely stressed about geisha. Not only can they retire early, many can live well for the rest of their lives with what they earn.

Interestingly she also touches upon the tayu, once courtesans that survive in far fewer numbers than the geisha and maiko of modern Japan, as well as the taiko-mochi ("male geisha"). These are "artists" that few authors have ever discussed. This is one of the things that makes the book for me. Whereas other works have been somewhat narrow in their focused, Downer tries to be more thorough in examining other related areas.

She does a fantastic job in conveying how closed and inaccessible this world is normally, being quite honest in how her initial attempts to enter it were frustrated. She attributes good fortune rather than personal worth as to why she was able to write this book. Her lamentations over the precarious state of the survival of the geisha should also be noted. As wonderful as they seem to us, their exclusivity and inflexibility coupled with Japan's changing circumstances (less people with the money or interest to fund the communities) is the biggest threat to their future. Whereas authors have previously tried to paint an overly romantic or simplified portrait of geisha, this book thoughtfully highlights the complex and subtle nature of this aspect of Japan's culture, while also pointing out the challenges it faces.

This really is a wonderful book on Geishas! It contains lots of details and amusing anecdotes and it's extremely informative. The author has done an excellent research for the topic.

It's unreasonable and unfair of Usa Rittapirom of Thailand to give the book just 1 star because of her own ignorance. Most readers should know that an author may often have different publishers to publish his works in the UK and the US. Very often, the book published in the UK will bear a name different from the same book when published in the US. It's really a very common phenomenon. (Just see the first book of the Harry Potter series.)

This book indeed bears the title "Geisha" when published earlier on in the UK. However, Downer's US publishers have decided to publish the book in another name, namely "Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha", probably because there's already published in the US another book called "Geisha". Both the UK and the US versions, of course, carry the same contents! I hope people like Usa Rittapirom can brush up their knowledge about the publication industry instead of casting blame on other people.

I expected more from this book. Maybe i was just spoiled by knowing a lot about the subject (it's been a particular interest of mine for a number of years, before the "Memoirs" hype) and having read Liza Dalby's _Geisha_ and other factual books on the subject first, but this one just didn't live up to my standard.

Part of what irritated me about it was that Downer didn't seem to know much about the geisha culture going in. She's corrected for behavior and diction by the women she interviews and just comes across as gauche. I would assume that if you were going to write a book about this exclusive world that you'd do some heavy-duty boning up on the customs and taboos of the culture, especially in a society as structured by respect and politeness as Japan in general and its geisha culture. It doesn't say much for Downer personally, and it just reinforces the Japanese image of Westeners as boorish and not even trying to understand their culture.
(Also, this is an admittedly picky point, but some of the pictures of the author in "geisha mode" seem like she's pushing it too far, especially with the sake flask and an extremely cheesy kimono. You're a spectator, keep it at that, don't embarass yourself, especially in print.)

There is some decent information but nothing that was terribly new to me (though i may have studied more about this culture already than perhaps the average reader), and overall this book just wasn't worth the money, unfortunately. I recommend Liza Dalby's books and John Gallagher's _Geisha: A Unique World of Tradition, Elegance and Art_ in its place.

While full of interesting, little-known information about geisha and their history in Japan, there's just something about the way the author presents it that gets to me--and by that I mean it annoys me. Maybe it's because the author uses clichés seemingly every chance she gets and constantly repeats information chapter after chapter as if we, the readers, didn't understand it the first time (like how she keeps mentioning that it's dangerous for geisha to fall in love, which becomes quite annoying after about five times). Somehow the author comes off as a little haughty (for lack of a better word) at times and I found myself disliking her for no ostensible reason, which probably contributed to some of my problem with the book itself. If I didn't have a compulsion to finish every book I start, I wouldn't have finished this one. Although I learned a lot about geisha and their role in Japanese society, my prime reason for picking the book up in the first place, overall it was just tedious.

This book was timed to take advantage of Goldens' "Memoirs of a Geisha" and is (at *best*) a *very* "imitative", boring and dumbed-down version of Lisa Dalby's "Geisha". And there ain't all that much on "Pleasure Quarters".

Save your money and buy Dalby's book.

This book was great! Not only did it clear up my perspective of Geisha, but also of Japan. Reading about the history of Japan helps one understand the Japanese a little more. Some of the information needs to be re-read, or read really carefully to get a complete and full understanding of what's being said about the courtesans, so that one can understand the rest of the book. Other than that, make sure to enjoy the book and get something out of it. Since the thinking is so different from "Western" thinking, it took a little while to get used to, but it was fully worth it.

The main problem with this book is that it is catered toward the western mind. The problem with this is that the western mind already has some very firm misconceptions about what geisha are and their role in Japan. Books like this obly increase the false ideas that people have about the profession. I read this book because I am very interested in Geisha and have read a lot about them. I was very displeased that this book did nothing but confirm the western idea that Geisha are prostitutes. Even the title of the book is completely wrong, which is one reason i was reluctant to read it. The "pleaseure quarters" or "pleasure district" were terms used to describe the prostitute areas of Japan in recent and past history. Geisha do NOT live in these areas. The Geisha live in areas called hanamachi which means flower city. Geisha are not prostitutes, they are artists and entertainers. I think the author did a very poor job of explaianing exactly who these women are and what their profession involves. I suggest that if you want to learn more about Geisha, you should try a different book. There's one called Geisha: A Living Tradition that is very good.