This article has been taken in from the collection of a magazine titled “Characteristically Sketched” by the Junior Committee (2019-20) of Mantavya (The Literary and Quizzing Cell) of SBM, NMIMS Mumbai.
I rarely pen down Book Reviews or Character Reviews, but I had to write this. I got to learn so much about Japanese culture, and I am hopeful that after reading the book, you would fall in love with the character too. This also reiterates the fact that women, no matter from which part of the world they belong to, were, are, and will always be subjected to subjugation.
Chiyo Sakamoto (Nitta Sayuri) – Memoirs of a Geisha, By Arthur Golden
Chiyo, a 9 year old Japanese girl from the countryside, suddenly finds herself in the pleasure district of Kyoto. Her parents, old and disease stricken, sell her and her sister off in the hopes that the kids’ survival would be taken care of. However, the survival comes with a price: Chiyo is sent off to a geisha house and her elder sister is sold off as a prostitute. The siblings make a desperate attempt to escape, but Chiyo is left behind and never hears of her sister again. Shortly after the incident, she learns that her parents are dead. To punish her for trying to escape from the house, she is demoted to perform servitude till she repays her debts of training. But, as things turn around, she is intrigued by a gentleman’s kindness one fine evening. She decides to become a geisha to get back that love, and proves her mettle by being one of the most eminent geishas in town….
The story of a simple Japanese peasant girl, whose life has been reduced to rubble: a choice for others and a compulsion for self, this narrative is much more than cultural enlightenment for the reader. Chiyo makes us realise that life often leads us to the most unexpected destinations, at times even some unpleasant ones. Still, it is up to us to decide how we build our existence around it, despite a lack of motivation to drag on to the misery.
Chiyo holds on to the unkind truth-that life has been unfair to her, yet she tries to find and create happiness in the midst of all the chaos. Because even if you never find happiness and perhaps you believe that you don’t even deserve it or that it wasn’t destined to happen, you never stop looking for a purpose in life, that is to seek your own little peace of mind. Chiyo manages to invoke the seeds of love in her wistful gardens to help her survive the ordeal and hopes to witness the full blossoms of her sincerest dedications.
The story presents various dimensions for the reader to relish on. Set against the backdrop of a World War era, it portrays the true visualisation of a woman in a Japanese society, about how her societal position is determined by the choices the culture makes for her; she has no say in her predestined fate. Entertaining men with art becomes the sole purpose of a Geisha; her beauty and talents sustain her livelihood. She is debarred from entering into romantic relationships, and has to suffice with being a sort of a consort-a half wife, a mistress. How can a society establish such a discrimination for its inhabitants, all made up of same flesh and blood? How can it devour upon a sect of its own womb to satisfy the other end?
Sprouting from such a negative environment, nevertheless, the character of Miss Chiyo Sakamoto is an amalgamation of optimism, determination, courage, kindness, hard work and perseverance- a concoction that we all must acquire to pull through this graveyard of unborn dreams and unspoken stories.
THE FUNKY WRITER 