THE CHARACTERS SACRIFICE, STRUGGLE,

COMPETITION AND EROTICISM IN FINDING THE TRUE

IDENTITY OF GEISHA DEPICTED IN ARTHUR GOLDENS
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
Irin Widyarini Warasthi
Student Number: 014214140

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2006

ii

iii

If you think you have given enough,

Think again.
There is always more to give,
and someone to give it to.
(Norman Vincent Peale)

iv

I dedicate this thesis to:

My beloved Father and Mother
My Big-Brother and my Lil-Sister
And also my lovely Nephew

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank God the Almighty because without His blessing I cannot
finish my writing. For all English Letters lecturers in Sanata Dharma University,
thank you so much for giving me a lot of know ledge and experiences. Thanks for
the best lovely family in the world, my farther Dalmanto Bsc., my mother Sri
Widyastuti, my big-brother Atut Satria Darmanto, my lil-sister Indah Ari
Widyasari (Iin) , my funny nephew Ariel Sukma Mahendra Darmanto, and my
cousin Yan Nugraha Pratama. You are my never ending love. Without your love
and supports I cannot finish my study. Bibi Asmonah who becomes my nanny
since I was a baby, thank you for your caretaking. And also for my cat Sella-rong
thank you for your cheerfulness.
My new family in Yogyakarta: mBak Oktama Dian Har janti, mBak Ary
Setyo Wati, mBak Dani Kusuma Harjanti, Ari Mulyanto (Achong), and Dodi
Gunawan, I love you all. I will never forget what you have given to me. Love,
care, and supports, those are making me stronger and enjoy my life. The world is
spinning and we keep on laughing. My unforgettable gang cipika-cipiki I hate
the name butwhatever!!they are: Inten P uspito (01-139), Yovita Un (Vitoen,
01-125), Anysia Ferdita Wikantayu (01-132), Irene Suryo Putri (Puput, 01-144),
and Carolina Novel Paramita (01-123). I love you all, sisters, you are coloring my
life. In the world of relationships, probably the most complicated, uncommon,
hard to find hard to keep, and most rewarding has got to be friendship.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITTLE PAGE ..........................................................................................................i

APPROVAL PAGE .................................................................................................ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...........................................................................................iii
MOTTO...................................................................................................................iv
DEDICATION PAGE..............................................................................................v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................vii
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................ix
ABSTRAK...............................................................................................................x
CHAPTER I
Introduction..............................................................................................................1
A. Background of the Study..............................................................................1
B. Problem Formulation....................................................................................5
C. Objective of the Study..................................................................................5
D. Definition of Term .......................................................................................6
CHAPTER II
Theoretical Review ..................................................................................................8
A. Review on Related Studies...........................................................................8
B. Review on Related Theories ...................................................................... 12
C. Theoretical Framework .............................................................................. 18
CHAPTER III
Methodology .......................................................................................................... 20
A. Object of the Study..................................................................................... 20
B. Approach of the Study................................................................................ 21
C. Method of the Study ................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER IV
Analysis .................................................................................................................. 24
A. Sayuris Sacrifice and Struggle ..................................................................24
a) Sayuris Sacrifices .......................................................................... 25
b) Sayuris Struggles .......................................................................... 30
B. Competition Among Geisha ....................................................................... 34
C. Sexuality Depicted in the Novel.................................................................40
a) Mentioning the Sex Organs ............................................................ 40
b) Describing Flirtation Scenes .......................................................... 42
c) Sexual Intercourse Scenes .............................................................. 44
d) Describing the Body Parts which are Sensual................................ 47

vii

CHAPTER V
Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................55
APPENDIX
A. The Pictures................................................................................................ 58
B. Questioner for Arthur Golden.................................................................... 59
C. The Art of Geisha ....................................................................................... 65

viii

ABSTRACT

Irin Widyarini Warasthi (2006). The Characters Sacrifice, Struggle,

Competition and Eroticism in Finding the True Identity of Geisha Depicted
in Arthur Goldens Memoirs of A Geisha. Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

The Western people have sometimes wrong perception about geisha, for
they sometimes think that geisha are like prostitutes and courtesans. After the
World War II, the U.S. soldiers came back to their country after occupying Japan,
and brought with them the wrong perception about the role of geisha to the world.
It is because during the occupation, the soldiers were entertained by prostitutes
who introduced themselves as geisha. In fact geisha are artists, they are taught to
sing, dance, play the instruments and hold tea ceremony since they were little
children. They entertain their customers in parties and banquets that are usually
held in tea houses. They also perform their skills of art on stage when the annual
events are held.
Arthur Golden, in Sayuris voice, speaks the real life and role of geisha
through his novel Memoirs of A Geisha . Sayuri as the main character represents
the life of geisha in 19th century. She was sold by her father to the geisha house
because of the poverty since she was nine. She then becomes one of the greatest
geisha with amazing journeys during her effort to be geisha.
The problems to discuss in this thesis are:
1) Sayuris efforts and struggles to get a better life thought her profession as a
geisha, shows the positive side being a geisha.
2) The competitions that happen among geisha give more values on this
profession.
3) The sexuality issues in this geisha profession which always become people
wrong conception about the role of geisha in entertaining men, is explained
in this thesis in the positive way.
These problems are discussed to put back the original perspective about the
profession of geisha, the real role of geisha in the Japanese society, which are
revealed in the novel.
Applying the sociocultural-historical approach, this thesis is made by
collecting data from the internet and several books to support the facts of the
Japanese geishas life. The writer uses the character Sayuri in this thesis to help
the writer in explaining and picturing the life of geisha to answer the problems.
The finding of this thesis is that there are many positive values can be
found in this profession. The positive values which are mentioned support
Goldens effort to straighten the wrong perception of geisha, that geisha are not
prostitutes.

ix

ABSTRAK

Irin Widyarini Warasthi (2006). The Characters Sacrifice, Struggle,

Competition and Eroticism in Finding the True Identity of Geisha Depicted
in Arthur Goldens Memoirs of A Geisha. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris,
Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Orang-orang dari Barat kadang memiliki persepsi yang salah tentang

geisha, mereka menganggap geisha sebagai pelacur. Setelah Perang Dunia ke-II
tentara-tentara Amerika pula ng ke negara mereka setelah menjajah Jepang dengan
membawa anggapan yang keliru tentang geisha kepada dunia. Hal ini terjadi
karena selama penjajahan mereka dihibur oleh para pelacur yang mengaku
sebagai geisha. Dalam kenyataannya geisha adalah artis, mere ka diajar menyanyi,
menari, memainkan alat-alat musik, dan mengadakan upacara minum teh sejak
mereka masih kecil. Mereka menghibur para langganan di pesta-pesta dan
pertemuan-pertemuan yang biasa diadakan di rumah-rumah minum teh. Mereka
juga mementaskan ketrampilan mereka dalam berseni di atas panggung saat
diselenggarakan acara-acara tahunan.
Arthur Golden, melalui Sayuri, mengungkapkan tentang kehidupan dan
peranan sebenarnya dari geisha melalui novelnya Memoirs of A Geisha. Sayuri
sebagai tokoh utama me representasikan kehidupan geisha di abad ke-19. Dia
dijual ayahnya pada rumah geisha akibat kemiskinan sejak dia masih sembilan
tahun. Dia kemudian menjadi salah satu geisha terhebat dengan perjalanan yang
menakjubkan dalam usahanya menjadi geisha.
Permasa lahan-permasalahan yang dibahas dalam tesis ini adalah:
1) Usaha dan perjuangan Sayuri untuk mendapatkan penghidupan yang lebih
baik melalui profesinya sebagai geisha menunjukkan sisi positif dalam
menjadi seorang geisha.
2) Persaingan yang terjadi antar geisha memberikan nilai lebih dalam profesi
ini.
3) Masalah sexualitas dalam profesi geisha yang selalu membuat orang
menyalahartikan peranan geisha dalam menghibur para pria, dijelaskan
dengan cara yang positif dalam tesis ini.
Permasalahan-permasalahan ini dibahas untuk mengembalikan persepsi awal
tentang profesi geisha, peranan sebenarnya dari geisha dalam masyarakat Jepang,
yang terungkap dalam novel.
Dengan menerapkan pendekatan sosiokultural dan sejarah, tesis ini dibuat
dengan cara mengumpulkan data dari internet dan sejumlah buku untuk
mendukung fakta-fakta tentang kehidupan geisha Jepang.
Yang bisa diperoleh dari tesis ini adalah bahwa ada banyak nilai positif
yang bisa di temukan dalam profesi ini. Nilai positif tersebut mendukung usaha
Golden dalam meluruskan persepsi miring tentang geisha, bahwa geisha bukanlah
pelacur.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Every country or nation in the world has its own culture and social rules.
When we talk about a particular place with its tradition and culture at a particular
time, we will perhaps talk about it again in a different point of view several years
forward. It happens because tradition and culture are born out of the situation of
the place and the people themselves. What people did long time ago when they
had to face something is not always exactly repeated by the next generation of the
same society. Humans thinking will always develop together with the changing
of time. An example of the development in humans thinking together with the
changing time is the perception about the profession of the Japanese geisha. In
this thesis the changing happens to the peoples perception about geisha . The
common understanding about geisha now is that geisha is a similar profession as
that of a prostitute.
The perception about geisha before the World War II, however, is very
traditional as the Japanese saw geisha as an artist. In the pre-World War II era,
geisha became the biggest commodity seen from the social and cultural aspects in
Japan. Geisha was also a role model in art and tradition in Japan.

Either in singular and plural the spelling of the word geisha is the same.

The then geisha studied and learned Japanese traditional culture in geisha
schools such as singing, dancing, playing instruments, and doing tea ceremony.
They learned everything they needed to improve their good manner and attitude.
Moreover, they applied everything they got from geisha schools in their daily life
and, of course, on the stage when they had to perform their skills in annual events
as well. Whatever people thought about it, geisha was a respectable profession. In
many aspects of life, geisha were mannered more than the ordinary women. They
were also more educated than ordinary wives, as geisha were taught mannerism
and art, whereas not all married women were educated that way.
To speak further about the old perception of geisha, it is not easy to be a
geisha, usually a girl becomes a geisha because her mother is or was a geisha also.
It is like continuing the family tradition. But in certain cases okiya a lodging
house for geisha during their period of servicealso buys a little girl from
ordinary family whom they think appropriate to be a maiko, maiko is the name
for the apprentice geisha. Lots of efforts are needed to be geisha; they have to go
to school every early morning, and even up until they become popular geisha.
Lots of sacrifices and struggles are needed as well. Maintaining the existence is
very important, therefore, they should be careful in keeping their name. There are
a lot of competitions also, be they fair or not, and all these make geisha much
more aware of their situation and behavior than the ordinary women.
But the main point is that geisha cannot be underestimated easily by
people because they are not prostitutes; in fact they are artists. It is more
appropriate to name the geisha as mistress than prostitute. As stated in the article

Geisha, many people assume that geisha is just a Japanese word for prostitute and
courtesa n or something similar to it. But in fact, such does not fit with the history,
should we consider about their history. The word geisha has a literal meaning, i.e.
person of the arts. The early geisha, according to the site, were men. They
performed dance, music and poetry. It is actually what they did when they spent
most of their working time. (http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/geisha.shtml)
After the World War II, this traditional understanding of geisha has
changed. Geisha are equated with prostitutes. During the World War II, the geisha
stopped their activities and left the hanamachi to get a job and survive from the
war after the government ordered its closure. Hanamachi is the licensed area of
Japanese city in which the geisha and maiko lived and entertained. The empty
hanamachi was used by the prostitute and poor geisha who desperately could not
find a jobto sexually entertain the U.S. soldiers. When the war was over, the
U.S. soldiers came back to their country and brought the wrong perception to the
world about the role of geisha in Japan. It is stated in Geisha and Their Role in
Japanese Society, that people in the United States and other Western countries are
often confused about the definition of the word geisha. They assume that geisha
are prostitutes and courtesans. It is because the U.S. soldiers came back from the
occupied Japan after World War II with the incorrect perception about geisha
girls

who

they

know

as

prostitutes

and

courtesans.

(http://www.geocities.com/fluff_freak/geisha.html)
In this thesis, the writer tries to put back the old view about geisha by
analyzing Sayuris role as a geisha in Arthur Goldens Memoirs of A Geisha. This

thesis will look also at how hard to be a geisha is. Through the character of Sayuri
we will see how she sacrifices and struggles to get a better life as a human being
with the profession as a geisha. Obstacles and temptations are in the way of
making her get what she wants to get.
People assume that geisha are similar to prostitutes and courtesans because
sex is involved in this profession. From this incorrect assumption, the writer will
analyze also the different point of view about sexuality depicted in Arthur
Goldens Memoirs of A Geisha. People always think that the sexuality which is
involved in this profession leads to pornography. But in fact it deals with no
pornography at all. It is about eroticism, and geisha learn about it for the sake of
art. This whole analysis will straighten the wrong perception about geisha by
analyzing Sayuris life and role in the novel to find the positive values of geishas
life, and also by describing the way sexuality is revealed in the novel to find the
positive point of view about geishas life as well.
The novel Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden tells about the life of a
nine year old little girl named Chiyo who lives in a poor fishing village in 19th
century, and later is known as Sayuri. She was sold by her father to an okiya in
Gion to be a geisha. She has unordinary blue -gray eyes on her beautiful face.
During her efforts to be a successful geisha, she has to pass lots of obstacles and
temptations. Her struggle to be a geisha is supported by Mameha, a well-known
and successful geisha at that 19th century. Mameha teaches her how to behave in
front of men. She is taught how to show her sexual appeals and her erotic parts of
her body to men with no vulgarity. She studies traditional Japanese arts such as

dancing, singing, playing instrument, and holding tea ceremony. Mameha also
helps her to survive in the wild competition in the geisha world. This Sayuris
story of life becomes the instrument the writer uses to picture the condition of
geishas life in that 19th century.

B. Problem Formulation
Three problems will be elaborated in this thesis. They are formulated
as follows:
1. How are Sayuris sacrifices and struggles as human being to get a better
life depicted in Memoirs of A Geisha?
2. How is the competition among the geishas characters in Memoir of A
Geisha depicted?
3. How is the theme of eroticism as the basic issue in the profession of geisha
depicted in Memoirs of A Geisha?

C. Objective of the Study

From the problem formulation above, the objectives of the study are as
follows. The first is to analyze how Sayuri faces her life as a geisha, what she
sacrifices and struggles for. The second is to find out the competition that
happens among the characters in the novel. And the third is to find out how
eroticism is depicted in the novel studied.

D. Definition of Terms
There are some definitions of terms used in this thesis. They are
explained as follows:
1. Sexuality
Sexuality consists of a large social contexts circumstances. The
whole human itself is sexual. Through the anatomy and physiology people
are able to differentiate between male and female. People base their
behaviors always on the sexual identity, which is the gradation between
manly male and womanly female (Gunawan, 1993:1).
2. Eroticism
Originally eroticism is sex, and sex is natural for alive-things to the
reproduction. Sex here means action, so eroticism means sex in action.
Eroticism comes from sex. Sex is the oldest and basic nature than love and
eroticism. Primordial people already knew about sex like they knew about
eating. They knew sex in order to regenerate. People had known sex
before they invented eroticism. Eroticism becomes culture function in
society. It means that since human invents eroticism, human practices
eroticism and it becomes their part of lives, becomes their culture. (Paz,
1993:7-10)
3. Geisha
The literal meaning of geisha is woman of art. Geisha is the
Kyoto term for female entertainers, who are trained in the traditional
Japanese arts. Commonly known as geiko, the standards of training of

geisha in Kyoto are far more stringent than in other Japanese cities.
(Aihara, 2000: 124)
4. Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the giving up of some thing of great value to oneself for
a special purpose, or to benefit someone else (Hornby, 1974). To give up a
thing for the sake of something you think more important (Roderts, 1970).
5. Struggle
Struggle is a part when someone does some effort by overcomes
every problems wisely to get everything he or she wants to get without
looking back to what ever he or she already left behind. According to
Roderts struggle is to try very hard under difficulty to make a great effort
(Roderts, 1970).
6. Competition
Competition is such contests in which a number of people all try
their hardest to do something better than the others do it. Those taking part
are competitors (Roderts, 1970).

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review on Related Studies

There have been many works discussing Japanese ideas about the life of
geisha and the Japanese culture, especially on the object of this thesis, the work of
Arthur Golden, Memoirs of A Geisha. Theories and other works discussing the
novel studied are very helpful for the writer to do this present study.
Memoirs of A Geisha is Arthur Goldens first novel, but it becomes a very
popular book. Spotlight Reviews in (http://www.cnn.com) stated that this novel is
on the New York T imes Bestseller List for more than a year. More than five
hundred

thousand

copies

are

sold.

In

the

Editorial

Reviews

(http://www.amazon.com), it is stated that the novel has been translated into 21

languages. Steven Spielberg is the producer of the film and it was already sold in
over a dozen countries. Also mentioned in User Comment (www.imdb.com) is
that this film is stared by Asia's most celebrated movie stars who are Zhang Ziyi
(House of Flying Daggers; Hero) as Sayuri, Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) as
The Chairman, Gong Li (Raise The Red Lantern) as Hatsumomo, and Michelle
Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as Mahema, and Yoji Yakusho as Nobu.
They are all perfect in their roles. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/).
Further, Heller McAlpin from The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book
Review in Customer Discussions says that this novel provides and offers a very

common issue like prostitution which always gives big interest to readers. Golden
is fortunate because he can get such material which is easily accepted by the
reader because most people are concerned about this issue. This geisha world is
doubling the readers interest because most people do not know exa ctly what
geisha is. Next, she stated that Memoirs of A Geisha is amazing as it is the first
novel that provides a vivid view into a largely lost and secret world. However,
Golden as an American white male writer, successfully makes a brilliant book
because he does it in Asia womans voice. It is a remarkable achievement for any
writer, according to McAlpin, especially for a white male from a markedly
different culture. Goldens talent and intelligence in formulating the Japanese
historical, cultural, and social life of geisha gives a very great value in writing this
novel. (http://www.amazon.com)
Book Discussion and Questions; Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden:
About The Book stated that Arthur Goldens Memoirs of A Geisha is about how
Golden reviles the life of geisha with their role in society and culture. In this
novel, Golden brings the readers to the true life of geisha and shows how a girl
becomes a geisha. Golden respects the geisha very much; it can be seen through
the way he wrote the story. He thinks that with the struggle and effort that geisha
have, people should not look down of them (http://www.manitowoc.lib.wi.us
/readers/guides/geisha.htm). It is also stated that this novel tries to represent the
myste rious world of geisha the world which is now almost forgotten and even
not known by most people. Picturing the secret life of geisha, Golden uses the
first person voice in the novel. In order to speak up about geishas life through his

10

work, Golden interviewed directly the traditional Japanese geisha named Mineko
Iwasaki, who spent years charming the very rich and famous as geisha in her 19th
century era, and makes it as a memoir book. Like stated in Questioner for Arthur
Golden by Golden.
I read everything I could find on the subject, in English and in
Japanese, and ended up writing an 800 page first draft focusing on
five years in the life of a Kyoto geisha shortly after World War II.
Then as I prepared to revise the manuscript, a longtime Japanese
friend of my grandmother's offered to introduce me to a Kyoto
geisha named Mineko--retired already at the age of 42 and
evidently willing to talk to me. (http://www.readinggroupguides.
com/guides/memoirs_of_a_geisha. asp#aboutthisbook).
Kate Tuttle in her article Arthur Golden; Memoir of a Geisha
(www.weeklywire.com) says that Memoirs of A Geisha explores the weirdness of
the world of geisha that should be hidden from common people. This is such a
tradition for geisha as a young woman uses her charming appearance and teasing
ability to attract older men. This girl uses her ritual performance in acting
subservience to ease away the customers tensions. Tuttle also says that romance,
adventure, and atmosphere that Golden shows on this novel are not psychological
exploration. According to Tuttle , if the books foreground is the plot, the
background of the work is where emotional and philosophical energies meet.
Golden cleverly challenges the readers aesthetic assumptions by giving the detail
descriptions of the costumes, ornaments, and daily lives of the geisha
(http://weeklywire.com/ww/10-13-97/boston_books_2.html).
As an American, Golden has a different perspective about geisha then the
most American have. Most westerners are believed that geisha is similar to
prostitute. Golden stated it in her novel through Sayuris voice:

11

Since moving to New York Ive learned what the word geisha
really means to most Westerners. From time to time at elegant
parties, Ive been introduced to some young woman or other in a
splendid dress and jewelry. When she learns I was once a geisha in
Kyoto, she forms her mouth into a sort of smile, although the
corners dont turn up quite as they should. She has no idea what to
say! And then the burden of conversation falls to the man or
woman who has introduce us because Ive never really learned
much English, even after all these years. Of course, by this time
theres little point even in trying, because this woman is thinking,
My goodnessIm talking with a prostitute (Golden,
1997:291)
Golden, through his novel Memoirs of A Geisha, does not think the same about
the similarity of geisha and prostitute because the eroticism that geisha show is
part of the art. Golden through this novel tries to put the ideas of traditional geisha
on the first place. It means that he wants to tell the world that geisha are not
prostitutes. It can be seen that Golden tries to open the worlds eyes about the
traditional artistic role of geisha. Golden states it in Questioner for Arthur Golden.
Is this prostitution? Not in the exact sense we mean it in the West,
where prostitutes turn "tricks" with "johns," and so on. To my
mind, a first-class geisha is more analogous to a kept mistress in
our culture than to a prostitute............... You have to look at how
well they play the shamisen, and how much they know about tea
ceremony, before you determine whether they ought properly to
call
themselves
geisha
(http://www.readinggroupguides.
com/guides/memoirs_of_a_geisha. asp#aboutthisbook).
The writers position in this thesis is to continue Goldens goal to
straighten peoples wrong perception by analyzing the good values of the geishas
life. In this thesis the writer shows how a geisha named Sayuri fights for her better
life as a human being. The writer also analyzes the role of sexuality that the geisha
apply to entertain the customers. The sexuality here is connected to eroticism for

12

arts sake, not pornography and the discussion of it is presented to support the
positive views on the geisha.

B. Review on Related Theories

1. On Character
Characters are what and how the person do or think about
anything. A person would consider as a kind person if he or she acts and
thinks of the humans good values. This character is usually called
protagonist. Meanwhile, a person would be considered a bad person if he
or she acts and thinks of the bad things. This character is usually called
antagonist. From the characters, the readers understand about what the
writers want to say in their works.
According to Abrams, characters are the person presented in
dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being
endowed with moral, disposition, and emotional qualities that are
expressed in what they say, do, and also their temperament, desires, and
moral nature for their speech and actions. (Abrams, 1971:23)
2. On Characterization
Characterization in a novel is not only related to the selection of
personality but to the way it is described to facilitate the whole
understanding of a story. As each character has particular personality and
physical attributes that distinguish them from other characters, we need to
know how the author makes us understand his characteristics and their

13

personalities. For the purpose, the writer usually employs some techniques
of characterization.
The presentation of a character is thus known as characterization.
Gill says that characterization is the way in which a character is created.
He adds that we shall be looking at how the identities of a character are
present in the individual elements that make them what they are.
(Gill,1995: 135)
3. On Culture
Kitano says that culture means different things in different
contexts. Some people think of art, plays and books. The archaeologist
finds evidence of it in the artifacts, pottery and statues, left behind by
extinct peoples. Culture may mean the behavior and personality of certain
current groups. All the aspects of behavior, products, achievements and
personality are of importance in defining a culture in its widest sense, that
is, to relate to the social heritage of human (Kitano, 1976:120).
4. On Eroticism
In an article Eroticism As Education, it is stated that the word
eroticism is derived from the Greek word Eros, the Greek god of physical
desire. Eros is the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. In
ancient Rome, Eros is known as Cupid, the son of Venus. He is a boy
armed with bow, arrows and piercing hearts. The arrows represent desires
and emotions of love. Once he releases the arrows to gods or humans, they

14

will fall in love. ( http://English3.fsu.edu/~kpicart/humfilm/student/lectures

/Lec06-Robin-html).
From the word Eros comes the term erotic, which widely means all
kinds or types of expressions of life between male and female, between the
same sexes (homoerotic), or love to the individual it self (autoerotic). In its
narrow meaning, erotic does not refer to the physical sexuality but
mentality as well, and it develops the stimulant emerged by the sexuality.
(Utomo, 2001: 3)
Eroticism in a text is pictured through language that consists of
attitudes or actions, and conditions or atmospheres which are connected to
the sexual desire. The descriptions of the se xual actions are not seen
visually but verbally. If a reader feels the sexual desire after reading the
text or literature it is only because of in his or her mind appears
interpretation and association of thought as a result of his or her erotic
fantasy (Sitanggang, 2002:9).
The term eroticism is also found in a web site entitled Making
Japanese. Chapter Five: Making Japanese by Taking Off Clothes,
Eroticism is extensively about nudity, how the shape of the body and the
nude skin looks like, even when appearing in the design of cloths worn.
That is why cloths are often designed to emphasize the presence of nude
skin. In Western traditions of erotic, the picture of skin itself is sexy, in
ordinary life, there was very little skin to be seen on the streets of Europe.

15

That

is

why

the

display

of

skin

became

sexually

charged.

(http://www.east-asian-history.net/textbooks/MJ/ch5.htm)
According to Zaidan, Abdul Rozak and friends there are several
techniques used by an author in presenting eroticism, they are:

Mentioning the sex organs.

Describing / depicting sex organs.

Describing flirtation scenes.

Describing sexual deviation.

Describing sexual intercourse scenes.

Describing parts of body which are sensual (Zaidan, 1998: 14)

These six techniques of presenting eroticism in literature will be applied in

the analysis. Given that not all of them are present in Memoirs of a Geisha,
the writer will only borrow four of them in doing the analysis, i.e.
mentioning the sex organs, describing flirtation scenes, describing sexual
intercourse scenes, and describing parts of body which are sensual.
5. On The Difference Between Pornography and Eroticism
Karene Howie and Geoff Haselhurst in Introduction on the
Philosophy of Eroticism; Pornography Vs. Erotic Art state that
pornography is always sexually explicit. It is not necessarily arousing
(particularly if the people involved do not appear to be truly enjoying
themselves); pornography is not also ge nuinely interested in artistic merit.
Good quality eroticism, unlike pornography, is generally less sexually
explicit and always sexually arousing. Eroticism is more artistic than

16

pornography in capturing the beauty, shape and form of the human body
and its deeper portrayal of our emotions, lust and desire. Good erotic art
portrays good healthy sexuality and sex; which is joyful, exciting,
intimate, interesting and pleasurable. (http://www.spaceandmotion.com
/Sex-Erotica-Free-Gallery-Erotic -Art-Pictures.htm)
6. On Geisha
Amanda Ferguson in her article Arthur Golden: Memoirs of a
Geisha stated that geisha is a girl who is trained to entertain men in public
and private events, her white face and red lips have become the image of
Japan visible in travel books and posters, and Geisha is synonymous
with prostitute for many ways (http://www.citypages.com/databank
/8/882/article2041.asp).
Further, the historical term of geisha is stated in History of the
Geisha that geishas profession is based on preserving the traditional arts
such as dance, singing, music and entertaining in a non-sexual manner.
The confusion about whether geisha are prostitutes or not, is because the
nearness relationship that geisha have with courtesans from Edo era (16001868). In fact, the courtesans in Edo era technically were indeed from the
red light districts of Japan. The red light here knows as prostitutes quarter.
The thought of this nearness relationship appears in post -Wor ld War II
occupied by U.S. service men or soldiers.
Many U.S. services came home from Japan with wild and
pornographical stories of Gee-sha Girls. In fact, what the U.S. services

17

consider as geisha are most of them not the real geisha. They are just
ordinary women or prostitutes who masquerading and calling them selves
geisha. It is because easiest for the service men to understand. The large
majority of service men did not know the difference. They also did not
know that there are some geisha districts survive, even after the
enforcement of the prostitution laws in 1957, and when was the time of
closing the red light districts. The misconception still influences people
assumption about geisha until now. (http://www.immortalgeisha.com
/ig/faq_geisha.cfm#).
7. On The Role of Geisha in Japanese Tradition
It is stated in What is the Role of Geisha? that geisha have to train
and learn some traditional arts of Japan such as classical dancing, playing
instruments for example shamisen, and several style of singing in the
hanamachi. Geishas hair style is usually set in a bun or a uniform style
with a single comb or two pins. They paint their face, neck and also the
back of the neck in beautiful white, and they wear expensive elegant
kimonos.
Geisha work by entertaining the guests and customers at expensive
tea houses. They will be paid by the teahouse owner on the basis of how
long they attend and entertain the customers. They serve drinks, talk with
the customers, and perform art. Geisha maintain many different
relationships with men. They are not prostitutes but in fact they are
mistress. It is appropriate for geisha to have a patron (danna). They will

18

emotionally, economically, and sexually involve with the danna. However,

it is up to the geisha whether she is ready to has a danna or not, but who
the proper man to be her danna is decided by to owner of the tea house and
the mother of the okiya.
Geisha attend and entertain the guests in personal parties or
business banquets for a considerable amount of money. They engage
themselves in a conversation with the customers so that they must be
cle ver and always update their knowledges from newspapers or
magazines. Geisha either perform Tachikata the traditional Japanese
dance, or Jikata which is singing or playing an instrument. Tachikata are
usually done by maiko girls (the apprentice geisha) while Jikata are
usually done by geisha women. Geisha pay a very big attention to the
guests of honor. When they have the conversation with the customers in
the parties, they keep it inside. They do not discuss anything that was said
at a party or business mee ting outside. Geisha are not servant or maid, that
is why they do not prepare or serve food. And the important thing is that
geisha never have a one-night stand, except with their danna.
(http://marian.creighton.edu/~marian-w/academics/english/japan/geisha/
geisha.html)

C. Theoretical Framework
In analyzing this study, those theories, which have been discussed
previously, support one another. It is necessary to combine the theories in order to

19

answer the problems in this study. The use of the theory of character is to describe
and to explain the characterization of the character in the novel. To show the
geishas life portrayed or described in the novel, it is very useful also because it
supports the analysis on Sayuris character.
Sacrifice, Struggle, and competition in the world of geisha shows how the
Japanese culture is very involve in the life of geisha, because the geisha will only
do and think anything which is represent the Japanese culture. In this thesis the
values of sacrifice, struggle, and competition also pictured Sayuris character. The
theory of character and characterization are needed to discuss the values of
sacrifice, struggle, and competition through Sayuris way of life.
Meanwhile, the use of the theory of culture is needed to show the
condition of the Japanese society. The culture of Japan is different from that of the
other countries so the ideas of erotic part of women are different also. The theories
of eroticism and sexuality are to strengthen the basic idea of eroticism. These
basic ideas will help to understand the Japanese different ideas of eroticism and
pornography.

20

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is Arthur Goldens novel Memoirs of A Geisha.
This book is published by Vintage Book A Division of Random House, Inc. New
York. This novel was first published in 1957, but the writer uses the Vintage
Contemporary edition, which is published in 1997. This novel was honored as the
first International Best Seller. Many people are impressed by the story saying that
the novel is completely unforgettable (Golden, 1997).
Talking about the author, Arthur Golden was born in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, USA, and was educated at Harvard College, where he received a
degree in art history, specializing in Japanese art. In 1980 he earned an M.A. in
Japanese history from Columbia University. He also learned Mandarin in Beijing
University, China. He wor ked in Tokyo for a while, and, after returning to the
United States, earned an M.A. in English from Boston University. He resides in
Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children. Goldens capability in
understanding the Japanese culture, social and language give the good excuse not
to underestimate his work. Moreover he did the personal interview to the real exgeisha named Mineko Iwasaki. All information above is taken from Book
Discussion and Questions; Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden: About The
Author. (http://www.manitowoc.lib.wi.us/readers/guides/geisha.htm)

21

The novel tells about a girl named Sayuri. Her father because of the
familys poverty sells Sayuri and her sister, Satsu. Sayuri is then torn away from
her sister. Satsu is sent away to a whorehouse, while Sayuri to a geisha house.
When Sayuri first arrived at the geisha house, she already makes a nemesis, a very
beautiful geisha named Hatsumomo. Hatsumomo is jealous of Sayuris natural
beauty, and she tries to sabotage Sayuris career by lying, accusing her of stealing,
and making up a story that she has bad reputation. Everything is changed then
when Mameha, the number one geisha in that Gion, takes Sayuri as her younger
sister. Gion is the name of hanamachi or the geisha district. Hanamachi are
known as the licensed areas of Japanese cities in which the geisha and maiko (the
apprentice geisha) lived and entertained. In Kyoto, there are five hamanachi; they
are Ponto -cho, Gion-Kobu, Gion-Higashi, Miyagawa-cho and Kamishichiken
Sayuri becomes a famous and expensive geisha since then. At the end of the story,
after the World War II, she lives happily with the Chairman in New York.

B. Approach of the Study

In analyzing this work, the writer uses the sociocultural-historical
approach. According to Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods, socioculturalhistorical approach is an approach that places a work by relating it to the
civilization that produced it. The critics said that civilization as the attitudes and
actions of a specific group of people and mentioned that literature takes this
attitudes and actions as its subject matter (Rohrberger, 1971:9).

22

The reason of using this approach is that the study focuses on attitudes and
actions of the character of the story concerning their culture. Meanwhile, the
definition about geisha and the theory of eroticism are important to support the
characterization of the character in represent the Japanese society and culture as
well through the story of the novel.

C. Method of the Study

In collecting the data to support the writing of this thesis, the writer used
the subject, namely books needed as materials in library study. Therefore, the
writer employed many book, on the subject of the Japanese social culture and also
the theories of culture, character, eroticism, and sexuality. Those theories were
used as the basis in writing the thesis.
In this thesis, the writer used Memoirs of A Geisha as the primary source.
This book was written by Arthur Golden. To support the data from the book, the
writer also used others data, such as articles from the Internet.
There were some steps in analyzing the problems this thesis. They are explained
as follows:
1. Reading the novel
This step was needed because the novel was the basic of the
analysis. The writer also needed to re-read the novel because it made the
writer understand more about the story so that it would be easier to
analyze. In this case, the writer read and tried to understand the novel
Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden.

23

2. Finding the sources

This step was used to find the materials that supported the analysis
of the novel. This step was needed to find some sources that have a
relation with the novel and also wit h the topic. For example, in this thesis
the writer collected the theories of character, eroticism and sexuality.
3. Making the analysis
This step was needed to relate the novel that was already analyzed
with the theories that were collected before. For example, the analysis of
Sayuris character in this novel was related to the theory of character that
was already found before. After finding Sayuris character, the next step
was to find out Sayuris role as a geisha in facing the wild competition
world of geisha to get a better life, and also how eroticism and sexual
activity in Japanese geisha social life is depicted in the novel.
4. Drawing conclusion
This step was taken to give the conclusion after made the analysis.
For instance, after the writer a nalyzed Sayuris life as a geisha in her effort
to get a better life as a human being, and also the value of Sayuris
character as a geisha in attracting the costumers using her sexual
knowledge on eroticism, the writer would be able to know the real
meaning of what kind of profession geisha was.

24

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS

The writer would divide this chapter into three parts: the first part is
Sayuris sacrifices and struggles as a human being to get a better life. The second
part is the competition among the geishas characters depicted in the story. And
the third part is the theme of sexuality as the basic issue in the profession of
geisha in the novel.

A. Sayuris Sacrifice and Struggle

Sayuri is one of the successful geisha in Gion the name of hanamachi or
the geisha district. To get that achievement as a successful geisha is not an easy
job for Sayuri. She experiences a lot of sacrifices and struggles during her process
to be a good geisha. Sayuri does not plan to be a geisha at the first time she comes
to Gion, as she always tries to run away from the okiya. As a consequence of what
she did, Sayuri almost becomes a maid in the okiya forever, until one day she
meets the Chairman. The Chairmans real name is Iwamura Ken. He is the
founder of Iwamura Electric Company. He is a little over forty almost twenty
years older than Sayuriwhen they first meet on the bridge of Shirakawa Stream.
He is very kind to her. It is very odd at that time since respectable man like him is
never addressing a maid on the street. Sayuri decides to own the Chairman as her
mission. She is very fond of the Chairman, and she promises to herself to do and

25

give everything to win the Chairman, including becoming a geisha. So, to be the
Chairmans mistress is the mission, and to be the geisha is the instrument to
complete the mission.
a) Sayuris Sacrifices
Sacrifice is a part when someone should let go what ever he or she has
in life to achieve what he or she wants more. The sacrifices in Sayuris life are
more to the mental sacrifices than to the physical ones. All sacrifices are about
what Sayuri feels, hopes and dreams. Her dream to be reunited with her
parents and sister is one of those. Her physical sacrifices such as hard work
are nothing if it is compared to the mental ones.
Sayuri is a little girl named Sakamoto Chiyo. People in her home town,
Yoroido, called her Chiyo. Yoroido is a small town by the Sea of Japan. She
and her family live in what she calls a tipsy house that stands near a cliff. In
Gion, people will never believe her whenever she tells them that she comes
from Yoroido. This is Sayuris little sacrifice of hiding her identity. She
cannot tell people that she comes from Yoroido without getting a shockingly
surprise look from them. People prefer to hear that Sayuri grows up in Kyoto,
not a dump place like Yoroido. Sayuri has to deal with it; she has to sacrifice
mentally by hiding her real background. It does not mean that she lies about
her background. Sayuri never says that she is from Kyoto, but she lets people
think so without informing them the truth. People have the glamorous
imagination about geishas background; mostly they believe that since they
were children geisha are always as glamorous as when they entertain the

26

customers. Sayuri cannot ruin tha t fantasy by telling the truth about her real
background. Besides, it is useless for her to tell her unhappy childhood to the
customers.
Sayuri is sold by her father when she was nine years old to an okiya in
Gion, Kyoto. It is very shocking and frightening for a little girl who never
leaves her fishing village before. She is separated from her sister Satsu right
after their arrival in Kyoto. Satsu is sent to the prostitute house, but then she
runs away without Sayuri. When Sayuri is still a maid in the okiya she gets
news that her parents died. This is her hardest sacrifice in her life as she is
loosing all her family while she becomes a maid in a strange place.
Sayuri passes her uneasy new life in okiya as a maid, under
Hatsumomos cruelty, a very pretty and popular but evil geisha. Hatsumomo
is the only geisha in the okiya where Sayuri lives in. Hatsumomo is the one
who gives the okiya a big income every day, which makes her think that she
has the right to do anything she wants to the maids. Hatsumomo always
tortures Sayuri physically and mentally. Sayuri sacrifices her right to defense
herself from Hatsumomos bad treatment of her. She tries to get out of the
trouble by trying not to make Hatsumomo angry with her. It is a hard thing to
do because Hatsumomo is angry all the time, especially to Sayuri. If
Hatsumomo is not pleased with what Sayuri does, she will tell lies to Mother
about Sayuris bad behavior. The Mother here is how all people in the okiya
call the owner of the okiya or teahouse. The Mothe r in the okiya where Sayuri
live is Nitta Sayoko, so the okiya is called as Nitta okiya. Mother, who in

27

Japanese language is usually called okasan , runs the okiya and always
calculates every okiyas income and expense of money. And Mother, without
trying to find the truth, will punish Sayuri even when she knows that Sayuri
does not make a mistake at all. Mother just wants to appease Hatsumomo, so
that she will not bother her again. That makes Sayuri lives like a slave in the
okiya.
The sacrifices continue on Sayuris friendship with Pumpkin. She
cannot fight for her friendship in the same time as she fights for her career. In
her career as geisha, Sayuri becomes the younger sister of Mameha. Mameha
is a well-known and successful geisha in Gion at that 19th century. She is rich
enough to have her own apartment and maids soon after she repays all her
debt to her okiya. Hatsumomo considers her as a rival too, added to her rivalry
to Sayuri. Pumpkin is the younger sister of Hatsumomo, and they live in the
same okiya with Sayuri. Sayuri and Pumpkin become rivals as apprentice
geisha because of the status. Hatsumomo will torture Pumpkin if she finds
Pumpkin help Sayuri or even talk to her. This threat makes Sayuri stop talking
to Pumpkin, in order that Pumpkin doe s not get into trouble. On the other
hand, Mameha also forbids Sayuri to talk to Pumpkin, because she cannot
trust Pumpkin anymore. Hatsumomo will make Pumpkin tell whatever Sayuri
says to her, and it can be used by Hatsumomo to sabotage Sayuris career.
Automatically, with such situation Sayuri and Pumpkins friendship is in
trouble. It gets worse when Mother decides to adopt Sayuri as her daughter

28

instead of Pumpkin. Pumpkin is Sayuris only friend who still calls her Chiyo,
which means a lot for Sayuri, but she has to sacrifice it for her career.
For a girl who falls in love with a man, it is her dream to give her
virginity to the man she loves. But it is impossible in the world of geisha.
Sayuri falls in love with Chairman, but she has to sell her vir ginity or mizuage
to the highest bidder to pay her debt to the okiya. In her case, she sells her
mizuage to Dr. Crab. With the price of her mizuage, it will be more than
enough to repay all her debt to the okiya.
In the end, Dr. Crab agreed to pay 11,500 for my
mizuage. Up to that time, this was the highest ever paid for
mizuage in Gion, and possibly in any of the geisha district
in Japan. Keep in mind that in those days, one hour of a
geishas time cost about 4, and an extravagant kimono
might have sold for 1500. So it may not sound like a lot,
but its much more than, say, a laborer might have earned
in a year. (279)
She sacrifices her virginity because she has to, although she never gives up her
hope to be Chairmans. She keeps her feeling to the Chairman deep in her
heart and never stops hoping.
Sayuri has to hide her real feeling to the Chairman, and indeed she has
to show to people how fond she is toward Nobu, the Chairman s good friend.
Both Nobu and the Chairman run the Iwamura Electric Company, and Nobu
Toshikazu is the President of the company. Theres no other way as Mameha
tells her to do so because Nobu will be the best person to make ally with.
According to Mameha, Nobu will save her from Hatsumomos espionage.
The Chairman respects him so much, and Sayuri knows that it is impossible
for the Chairman to give her attention without hurting Nobu. Sayuri knows

29

that as long as Nobu has an obsession to make her as his mis tress, the
Chairman will never try to get closer to her. Sayuri feels depressed of it but
she cannot deny that Nobu indeed helps her so much. In this case, Sayuri
sacrifice her own feeling, her own hope, her own love, and her own dream.
Sayuri and Nobu bec ome good friends, they respect each other. They
have a very good friendship. Sayuri is fond of him for his kindness. Nobu is a
very uneasy man to get close with but when Sayuri has the opportunity, she
finds that Nobu is very kind and good friend. Sayuri likes him as a friend but
Nobu is fond of her because he falls in love with her. When the time Nobu
gives his proposal to be her danna comes, Sayuri prefers to accept General
Tottori as her danna . If she accepts Nobus proposal, her way to get the
Chairman will be totally closed. Her decision makes Nobu angry; Nobu never
comes to see her again for several years. Sayuri is very sad with that, she
sacrifices her friendship once again, and she is loosing her good friend once
again.
After the Word War II, Nobu gives his proposal to be Sayuris danna
again. Sayuri fails it. She does the sexual intercourse with the Minister. The
Minister real name is Sato Noritaka, he is a new Deputy Minister of Finance.
He is the man who Nobu hates most, but ironically he is the one who can save
the Iwamura Electric Company from bankruptcy. With this action Sayuri
sacrifices three things in her life. Once again she sacrifices her friendship with
Nobu which is already getting better. Nobu never sees and talks to her again
for the rest of her life. And also she sacrifices her reputation as a good geisha,

30

because she has affair with man who is not her danna . And she also sacrifices
her body to the man she does not love. She feels the terror when having sex
with the Minister; she feels like being raped.
With those sacrifices she does get a better life she wants. From a poor
little girl she becomes a popular geisha in Gion. She becomes the daughter of
the okiya; this means that she is now rich and Hatsumomo will never able to
torture her again. To be a popular geisha means easier for her to see the
Chairman. Nobu is angry with her and he lets go his intention to be her danna.
This means that the Chairman has the opportunity to give more attention to
Sayuri. It is the better life for Sayuri because her mission to be a geisha is to
reach the Chairman.
The explanation above shows us how Sayuri sacrifices her own feeling
in keeping the good relationship with her friends. She lost her family and lives
alone in the new place, so it is important for her to make a relationship with
every body. This relationship, however, is jeopardizing her career as a geisha.
She has to sacrifice her relationship with people she cares about in order not to
make her career stuck. In fact she has to separate her private life from her
social life, because they cannot get along together. Thats the mental sacrifices
Sayuris done for her career in the effort to achieve a better life to be with the
Chairman.
b) Sayuris Struggles
Struggle is a part when someone does some effort by overcomes every
problems wisely to get everything he or she wants to get without looking back

31

to what ever he or she already left behind. Sayuris struggle starts with her
efforts to be a good geisha under Mamehas guidance. She really studies and
works hard to catch up her two year absence from the geisha school. She is
always obedient to Mameha, she does whatever Mameha tells her to do
without complaining. Sayuri goes to school every early morning. She practices
in the okiya, she takes lesson from Mameha, and still she has to work in okiya
as a maid. Most of the teacher hates Hatsumomo and Hatsumomo easily
makes them hate Sayuri as well. Because they know that Sayuri live in the
same okiya with Hatsumomo, for several times the teacher treats Sayuri badly.
Sayuri studies and practices harder then other children because of this
treatment.
The struggles that Sayuri does are for two purposes. The first purpose
is to ensure her good career and the second is to catch her dream to live with
the Chairman. She finds out that the only way to get the Chairman is by
becoming a good geisha. So, she fights to become a popular and respectable
geisha. But when she is already a popular geisha, obstacles come to her that
again fail her effort to be the Chairmans. Yet, she continues her struggle to
omit the obstacles.
Hatsumomo always tries to sabotage Sayuris career. One of
Mamehas instructions for Sayuri is to stay away from Hatsumomos traps. It
is not easy because Hatsumomo is a very tricky clever gir l; she can formulate
every trifle which she thinks odd, and uses it as a weapon to attack her enemy.
Sayuri lives in the same okiya with Hatsumomo, and they meet everyday. It is

32

difficult to avoid Hatsumomos espionages. When Hatsumomo tries to push

her around to tell her about Mamehas plan, it is almost impossible for Sayuri
to keep silence without leaving clues for Hatsumomo. Although Sayuri says
nothing to Hatsumomo, Hatsumomo can find the clues from Sayuris
expressions, and attitudes. But Sayuri is a good fighter; she is never give up to
anything. She always has a wise plan to overcome every problem in her way
to be successful, and she proofed herself that her struggle is so fruitful.
Mother and Hatsumomo will always underestimate Sayuri if she does
not repay her debt as soon as possible. Sayuri attends all the parties where she
is invited, which are many. She has to earn much money to pay her debt. But
all this efforts are nothing because she cannot pay the debt before she turns
twenty years old. Mother and Mameha have a negotiation about it, if Sayuri is
able to repay all her debt before twenty, Mother will pay a big deal of money
to Mameha, and Mameha will pay the Mother if Sayuri is not able to repay all
her dept before twenty. The solution of that problem is that Sayuri should sell
her mizuage. She gives all her energy and strategy to get the best competitors
to offer her mizuage. It is tiring because Hatsumomo always does her trick to
make the bidder cancel the offer. Sayuri and Mameha do anything to get the
bidders trust back.
Sayuri tries to have a good relationship with Nobu which is not easy
because Nobu is a very difficult man to approach. She has to pretend that she
has a big interest for Nobu. She has to make Hatsumomo believe that she si
attracted to Nobu, which Hatsumomo thinks as a ridiculous thing just because

33

Nobu is not a good looking man. Often called Mr. Lizard, Nobu has tragic
scars from the war against Korea that he has terrible burns on the side of his
face, his neck and his ear. He also lost his left arm above the elbow. While
serving this ugly-looking man, struggles with her own feeling for the
Chairman, Sayuri pretending that Nobu is the one who is always in her mind.
Sayuri becomes a popular geisha in Gion, and Nobu wants to be her
danna. This is the part of Sayuris struggle to get the Chairman. Sayuri knows
what it will be in her future if Nobu becomes her danna . Sayuri decides to be
a good geisha because she wants to get closer to Chairman; Nobu will ruin her
dream and her plan to get close to Chairman. Sayuris struggle to chase her
dream is by making Nobu angry. She tries to escape from her destiny to be
Nobus mistress by accepting General Tottori as her danna instead.
Nobu wants to be her danna once again after the Word War II. But
Sayuri uses the Minister as a weapon to make Nobu angry to her and leave her
alone. She takes the Minister to the old theater to sexually serve him, but
before that she asks Pumpkin to bring Nobu to the old theater. Sayuri hopes
when she and the Minister in the theater Nobu will see them together, Nobu
will be very upset and never wants to see her again. In this way, she will be
free to get close to the Chairman again. This is Sayuris last struggle; because
finally Nobu really leaves her alone forever.
The result of Sayuris struggles to get the better life is satisfying
because she becomes a popular geisha, she is rich, and the most important is
that she becomes the Chairmans mistress. As soon as she becomes the

34

Chairmans mistress, she ends her career as a geisha. Although sometimes she
misses her days as a geisha, she feels very lucky that she attains to her
mission, which is to own the Chairman. After years of becoming the
Chairmans mistress, she decides to leave Japan and moves to New York City.
She never returns to Japan. In New York she has several Japanese tea houses
and lives happily there with several old friends from Gion. Chairman passes
away in her arm years latter.
From Sayuris sacrifices and struggles above we can see that to be a
geisha does not always have the negative meaning. Plenty of effort is needed
to be geisha and it is a good thing because they are not prostitutes who only
sell their body without formal education. Geisha go to school since they were
little girls, and they pass the stages one by one with efforts to be a good
geisha. And to be good geisha will guarantee their future life.

B. Competition Among Geisha

The important thing about this competition is that the quality of geisha
is maintained and even increased. This competition makes geisha become the
exclusive entertainers now in Japan. Geisha is a respectable job; it is not easy
to be a geisha and it is not easy either to compete with other geisha to get the
costumers. The competition is so cruel, sometimes fair but most of the time
unfair. Peoples assumptions about competition are mostly negative. Added to
these assumptions is the bad perspective about the profession of geisha which
is not good at all. In fact, in this profession of geisha the competition gives a

35

very good value instead. This good value is to encourage the geisha to do the
best and to work harder in order to get a better life.
The competit ion among the geisha happens mostly for the sake of
gaining much more money; however, the competition also happens to
maintain their existence in Gion. They even do the competition inside the
okiya to get or to maintain their certain positions. But of course gaining a lot
of money is the basic issue of the competition. If they can get a lot of money it
will influence their existence in Gion and okiya as well. The competition to
get a good position in the okiya happens between Sayuri and Pumpkin. They
are competing to be the adopted daughter in the okiya.
Sayuri is a beautiful smart girl. She has extraordinary beautiful bluegrey eyes that easily attract peoples attention, especially mens. She is also
talented in every art she learns from school. Her pretty face gives her luck and
opportunity to major in dancing. As geisha they have to learn dancing,
singing, playing instruments, and holding tea ceremony in school. They
practice them everyday but then when they are ready, they have to choose one
particular skill as specialization. In this kind of competition the only geisha
with good talents and pretty faces will usually have the opportunity to be
dancers. Because they will perform their dances in front of a lot of people in
the annual events, they are selected very well. Usually a great geisha or a
number one geisha is the dancer. Sayuri has this opportunity to be a dancer.
This opportunity makes Pumpkin unable to compete easily with Sayuri. It is
because she is not a pretty girl; she is not smart and not talented enough to be

36

a great geisha. Unlike Sayuri, Pumpkin is not good in dancing and playing
instruments. She even has a bad hearing in setting the notes of her shamisen.
That makes her, as an apprentice geisha, depends on Hatsumomos popularity
very much.
Pumpkin desperately wants to be the adopted daughter of the okiya
because she knows about her own limited abilities. She knows that she cannot
survive and compete with other geisha in Gion. That is why she needs to be
the adopted daughter, because with this position she can retire as a geisha and
runs the okiya as the Mothers successor. Meanwhile, Sayuri needs to be the
adopted daughter in order to save her career from Hatsumomos cruel plans.
Hatsumomo tries to send her away from okiya and from Gion. Sayuri is afraid
that she even wont be able to finish her apprentice stage. If she becomes an
adopted daughter she will be safe from Hatsumomos evil plans. However,
this competition is quite unequal. Even though Pumpkin tries very hard to get
the position, the Mother knows that Sayuri has the brighter future than
Pumpkin. That is why Sayuri wins the competition.
Actually Sayuri does not want that position, she is happy to know that
Pumpkin will be the adopted daughter. But she cannot be happy for her after
she knows that it will be disastrous to her career. What Sayuri does is not
wrong or bad since it is a fair competition. Both of them do their best; it is
encouraging Pumpkin to get a lot of money that makes her win the Apprentice
Award. In other professions competitions are also needed, in the world of
business, the competitions happen professionally. Sometimes, however, to get

37

the position they want people have to abandon their personal relationship and
compete professionally with someone they really respe ct and care about.
This competition also happens between Sayuri and Hatsumomo.
Hatsumomo hates Sayuri so much because of her good qualities. Hatsumomo
is also a very pretty and smart geisha but she uses her gift in the wrong way.
People in Gion who know her hate her, because she has a very bad temper,tat
is, she loves to hurt others feeling with her words. She loves to drink and lies
to people just to make someone she hates miserable. She cannot keep her
manner and reputation by having affair with a poor married young man whom
she brings to the okiya in midnight when everybody sleeps, which is
forbidden. Her bad reputation makes her never be asked to take a part in
annual event dancing performers even though she is a beautiful dancer. To
make it worse, she always gets drunk when she comes home at night to okiya
after attending parties. She becomes a popular geisha because of her beauty
that attracts the costumers who mostly do not know about her bad behaviors.
The competition between Hatsumomo and Sayuri will be equal if
Hatsumomo can control her bad temper and stop drinking to drunk.
Hatsumomo always tries to sabotage Sayuris career and a lot of unfair and
dirty things she does to ruin Sayuri. However, Sayuri wins the competition
because she deserves it. People loves her because of her kindness and
becomes the daughter of the okiya makes her stronger than Hatsumomo. In
her bad position in the okiya she makes it worse by making angry her
costumers and the owner of the tea houses where she entertains. She does it

38

because she is too drunk and cannot control her emotion. This incident makes
Hatsumomo ruin her own career so that Mother sends her away from the okiya
and she disappears from Gion as well.
Before Hatsumomo placed Sayuri as her rival, she already has a very
difficult rival to compete with, she is Mameha. Mameha is not as pretty as
Hatsumomo but she has a lot of good values that Hatsumomo does not have.
Mameha is smart and a hard worker, she is also very competent in analyzing
situation around her and formulates it into a useful thing for her plans. Her
strategies make her become the number one geisha in that era. Her strategies
also lead Sayuri into her success. Mameha is very successful and rich geisha
that makes her be able to buy her freedom out from the okiya, the thing that
only a great geisha can effort.
Hatsumomo hates her to death and placed her as rival, but on the other
hand, Mameha never thinks it seriously because she knows that it is useless
for her to compete with Hatsumomo, for she cannot be better than her. If
Hatsumomo calls her as Miss Perfect, Mameha calls Hatsumomo as Miss
Nothing. This competition happens from one side only, from Hatsumomos,
while Mameha never makes it a problem for her. She has to send Hatsumomo
away from Gion just because Hatsumomo tries to ruin Sayuris career.
The one side competition between Hatsumomo and Mameha involves
mannerism and reputation. Mameha plays her role as geisha perfectly. She is
mentally and physically a geisha. That makes her survive and becomes the
winner of her own struggle to be a number one geisha in Gion. On the other

39

hand, Hatsumomo does not play her role well. Physically she is a geisha but
mentally she is not. Hatsumomos bad temper ruins her own career. To be a
geisha is about a great deal of good manner and attitude. They have to control
their emotion cleverly. They are very straight in applying their rules and
ethics. This is the positive side of this profession. They really know how to
keep their reputation. If they spoil it once it can be disastrous to their career
and it will surely give a big influence their good life.
The competition among the geisha happens because not every geisha
has a lucky life like Sayuri and Mameha. Neither is every geisha able to get
good and rich cust omers. To get the good customers, geisha should build their
good image which will make the customers respect them. More respectable
the geisha are, the cleverer they should be. Being cleverer and more
respectable means more customers will invite and ask for their companying.
This makes them get richer every day. This is the positive value of being
geisha. They not only surrender and accept to whatever comes to them, but
they fight to get what they want to get a better life. Competing with each other
gives them the encouragement to do the best. This encouragement is needed
because they become much more aware of increasing their skills and
knowledges. They become aware of the world news, as they read and practice
a lot to enable them to get involved in a clever conversation with the
customers. In this way, the customers will not get bored with the geishas
companion, and they will respect the geisha for even more.

40

C. Eroticism Depicted in the Novel

This part is very important because it helps the reader to pictures the
condition of Japanese society in facing the sexual issues in that era. It is also
shows that geisha also has to follow the ethics and norms in the society. It is
clearly seen that the basic issue in the profession of a geisha is selling
sexuality in terms of eroticism. Eroticism would be the theme of this
discussion. As artists, geisha indeed have to study and work hard while
becoming sexually attractive as sexuality has an important role in this
profession. For example, a geisha sells her virginity or her mizuage to the
highest bidder, she serves the customers in the curtain gestures to shows her
sex appeal, and if she is lucky she has a danna who will support her needs
with sexual intercourse as a reward.
As explained in the theoretical chapter, there are six techniques used
by a novelist in presenting eroticism: mentioning the sex organs, describing/
depicting sex organs, describing flirtation scenes, describing sexual deviation,
describing sexual intercourse scenes, and describing parts of body which are
sensual. Here the writer will focus on four techniques as clearly seen in the
novel. Those techniques are mentioning the sex organs, describing flirtation
scenes, describing sexual intercourse scenes, and describing parts of body
which are sensual.
a) Mentioning the Sex Organs
In the novel, the author mentions breasts, penis, and vagina implicitly.
He seems to represent the people of that era who are not able to speak about

41

sexual organs or sexual activities without guilty and shameful feelings. They
presumably think it improper and impolite to ta lk about the sex organs and
sexual activities explicitly. The following description, for example, helps the
reader imagine what exactly happens and what the author exactly wants to
describe.
It was not a good bathing dress, because it sagged at her
chest whenever she bent over, and one of the boys would
scream, Look! You can see Mount Fuji! but she wore it
just the same. (18)
For describing womans breasts the narrator uses the word Mount Fuji, the
reader instantly will think about womans breasts in that context.
Then he lowered his eyes to the darkness that had bloomed
on me in the years since Id come to Kyoto. His eyes
remained there a long while; but at length they rose up
slowly, passing over my stomach, along my ribs, to the two
plum-colored circlesfirst on one side, and than on the
other. (262)
The darkness in the text above means the hair that grows in the womans
sexual organ. The two plum-colored circles in the text mean womans nipples.
This concept makes the reader think it first before knowing exactly what the
narrator talks about. The narrator makes the description more poetical and it
sounds good. That makes the improper thing becomes proper without loosing
the meaning.
Mameha tries to explain to Sayuri about the mizuage, but she uses
other objects to describe it easily. It is because at that time this kind of thing is
too taboo to be spoken about especially for a respectable young girl. But since

42

it is the time Sayuri should know about mizuage, Mameha tries to explain to
her in a smoot h way so that it will not make Sayuri shocked.
You may not know this about eels, Mameha went on,
but theyre quite territorial. When they find a cave they
like, they wriggle around inside in for a while to be sure
thatwell, to be sure its a nice cave, I suppose. And when
theyve made up their minds that its comfortable, they
mark the cave as their territoryby spitting. Do you
understand? (232)
Mameha describes the mens sexual organ as eel and womens as cave. She
also describes mens ejaculation as eels spitting the cave. It is a good
explanation for a nave girl like Sayuri because it does not sound too vulgar.
Mentioning the sex organs just like how it should be is supposedly not polite,
especially for the eastern people.
b) Describing Flirtation Scenes
Flirtation is a very important part in the profession of a geisha. Geisha
should speak and act to flirt the customers. They need to do the flirtation
because the customers need it as well. The customers come to them because
they want to be entertained, and flirtation is the part of the entertainment itself.
Geisha learn from their older sisters and other geisha how to speak and how to
act in front of the customers. They learn how to do the flirtation without
giving wrong perception about their pr ofession.
Here, Sayuri learns from Mameha how to flirt man just by eye contact.
Mameha went around the corner again, and this time came
back with the eyes to the ground, walking in a particularly
dreamy manner. Then as she neared me her eyes rose to
meet mine for just an instant, and very quickly looked
away. I must say, I felt an electric jolt; if Id been a man, I

43

would have thought shed given herself over very briefly to

strong feelings she was struggling to hide. (159)
This flirtation is the simple one. People sometime do not notice that it is a
flirtation. It is because geisha do that as naturally as possible so it makes the
target feel flattered. Women at that period and in that society are used to walk
down the street with eyes to the ground, in order to be polite. So when a pretty
girl with beautiful eyes like Sayuri does such thing like what Mameha did, it
will give an extremely pleasing effect to the man. Man will think that Sayuri
has a special feeling to him, and that reaction is what Sayuri and Mameha
want.
In talking to the costumers, geisha also should give the flirtation if it is
needed. In this novel, obviously we can see through Sayuris experience in
talking to Dr. Crab in the Barons party. Sayuri was the Doctors patie nt. She
had a wound high up on the back of her thigh and she told the Doctor that she
fell down when she went to the toilet because she lost her balance when
struggling with her kimono. At the party the Doctor is questioning Sayuri
whether she has already practiced her balance in the toilet. As a smart geisha,
Sayuri knows that the Doctor wants her to give the flirtation answer.
After this, he leaned back and closed his eyes. It was clear
to me he expected to hear and answer longer than simply a
word or two.

Every night, I went on, just before I step into the bath, I
practice balancing in a variety of positions. Sometimes I
have to shiver from the cold air against my bare skin; but I
spend life or ten minutes that way.
The Doctor cleared his throat, which I took as a good sign.
(247)

44

What Sayuri said gives the Doctor a chance to imagine Sayuris condition
when Sayuri is naked in the bath room. No matter whether Sayuri is telling
lies or not, what the Doctor wants to hear is something to imagine; and as a
good geisha, Sayuri gives it.
Flirtation can also be in a form of action. Some geisha and also some
best customers are used to have a party in such a hot-spring pool. They used to
bath together in a group; they also sleep t ogether in a big room.
If Nobu had been the sort of man to tease, he might have
drifted over toward me; and then after wed chatted for a
time he might suddenly have grabbed me by the hip,
orwell, almost anywhere, to tell the truth. The proper
next step would be for me to scream and Nobu to laugh,
and that would be the end of it. But Nobu was not the sort
of man to tease. (396)
It is the most serious flirtation, but as Sayuri said, its end up like this, it
means that they will not go any further such as having sex. A good respectable
geisha will never do more from that. In this step of flirtation the customers not
only imagining and visualizing but also they can feel and touch them.
Actually lots of flirtations can be found in the life of geisha but the writer just
focusing on those three steps of flirtation.
c) Sexual Intercourse Scenes
Sayuri tells her sexual intercourse descriptively with four men. They
are Dr. Crab in the mizuage day, General Tottori her danna , Yasuda Akira her
young man customer who is fond of her, and the Minister Sato Noritaka with
whom she has an affair in the old theater in Amami Island. Of course she also
experiences sexual intercourse with the Chairman her new danna but she

45

never told the description of it in the novel. Sayur i does not descript her sexual
intercourse with him because she really loves him, and she respects him by
does not describe their sexual intercourse. Besides, the reader will still be able
to imagine that it is pleasurable because they love each other. While with
Nobu, Sayuri never do the sexual intercourse. Sayuri respects him as a friend
and she will never insult him by giving him a one night stand. In her effort to
fail Nobus will to be her danna, it is wise for her not to having sex with him.
Nobu is a respectable man and he also respects Sayuri as a good geisha. He
will never spoil their relationship and Sayuris reputation by asking her to
have a one night stand.
Sayuri does not enjoy her sexual intercourse with Dr. Crab, General
Tottori and the Minister, but she does enjoy her sexual intercourse with
Yasuda Akira. When she does it with the Doctor and the General, it is just an
obligation for her, because theyre already paying for that service. When she
does it with the Minister, it is just a compulsive act. But she enjoys having sex
with Yasuda because she wants to; it is her own will without any burden.
It is her first time she has the sexual intercourse, and it is with Dr.
Crab. She feels scared and disgusted with that experience. But she should hide
her own feeling and terror from the Doctor.
I put all the force of my mind to work in making a sort of
mental barrier between the Doctor and me, but it was not
enough to keep me from feeling the Doctors eel, as
Mameha might have called it, bump against the inside of
my thigh. (283)

46

The terror she gets from her first sexual intercourse with the Doctor
follows her in every sexual intercourse with other man, including with the
General.
Sexual intercourse is really the basic issue in the profession as geisha,
because geisha have to sell their mizuage to support their need in order to
repay the debt, and mizuage is the point to define how the career of the geisha
would be. The higher the mizu age was sold the better career the geisha will
get. Having a danna is really important part in the life of geisha because it
gives them the respect from others, and of course they will be rich from the
dannas support.
In the three years since my mizuage, Id forgotten the sheer
terror Id felt when the Doctor finally lowered himself onto
me. I remembered it now, but the strange thing was that I
did not feel terror so much as a kind of vague queasiness.
(305)
After several months passed, her sickness fee ling goes away and her
intercourse with the General becomes nothing more than an unpleasant twiceweekly routine.
Her sexual intercourse with the two men makes her feel silly. She does
not understand if she feels nothing pleasant with the sexual intercourse. What
do people actually want from that? When she meets Yasuda Akira her young
man customer who is fond of her, he gives her the feeling of longing for mens
touch on her bare skin.
To press my body against his felt so satisfying, like a meal
after a long spell of hunger. No matter how hard he pressed
himself against me, I pressed back harder. Somehow I was

47

not shocked to see how expertly his hands slipped through

the seams in my clothing to find my skin. (307)
She completely does not feel the terror anymore, and it releases her. She
finally finds the feeling that should be there when people do the sexual
intercourse. She also feels being released because she can imagine how it will
feel like if she does it with the Chairman.
But the terror comes again when she does the sexual intercourse with
the Minister.
but at that moment I heard the jingling of his belt, and
then the zip of his pants, and a moment later he was forcing
himself inside me. Somehow I felt like a fifteen-year-old
girl again, becaus e the feeling was so strangely reminiscent
of Dr. Crab. I even heard myself whimper. (403)
The strongest trauma appears again in this intercourse. But she fights to over
come this feeling; she has to hide the feeling inside because this sexual
intercourse is the most important step to change her future.
d) Describing the Body Parts which are Sensual
Geisha has a certain part of the body which they consider sensual. The
sensual part of the body is really known by them and they make it much more
sensual by make up and ornaments. Geisha always paint their upper body and
also the face with white. They have a sensual reason with that besides abiding
to traditional values. They use the white paint in their skin to hide their bare
skin, so that men will be curious to see what inside the white mask is.
I must tell you something about necks in Japan, if you do
not know it; namely, that Japanese men, as a rule, feel
about a womans neck and throat the same way that men in
the West might feel about womans legs. This is why
geisha wear the collars of their kimono so low in the back

48

that the first few bumps of the spine are visible; I suppose
its like a woman in Paris wearing a short skirt. (63)
The back of the neck is also painted white, with a design called
sanbon -ashithree legs. This symbol gives dramatic feeling like a woman
who peers out from between her fingers. This three legs design is left without
white paint and shows the bare skin. It is erotic because that gives men some
strong feeling to be much more aware of the bare skin beneath. The dramatic
feelings aroused by the face mask looks like the Noh mask that they use in
Noh theatrical drama. The lips that are painted red like a drop of cherry
syrup on the middle of a cup of white snoware full and look fresh as to
make men want to taste them.
The hairstyle of the apprentice geisha also has the sensual effect to
men. The apprentice geisha always wear a split-peach hairstyle called
pincushion.
The knotwhat Ive called the pincushionis formed
by wrapping the hair around a piece of fabric. In back
where the knot is split, the fabric is left visible; it might be
any design or color, but in the case of an apprentice
geishaafter a certain point in her life, at leastits
always red silk. (163)
This hairstyle has a very provocative idea for men. If men walk down the
street behind an apprentice geisha, they will think the naughty thought about
the split-peach hairstyle. It can be imagined the effect of a spilt-peach
hairstyle with the naughty visualization on the head of a young girl.

49

The other part of geishas body which is sensual is the forearm. Geisha
never do the domestic job in the house because all they need always provided
by the maid, that makes geisha have smooth beautiful hands.
Mameha said the prettiest part of the arm was the
underside, so I must always be sure to hold the teapot in
such a way that the man saw the bottom of my arm rather
than the top. (169)
Geisha should show the forearm without being too obvious what they are
doing. It gives the feeling that the man for who the geisha pouring tea is
permitted to see parts of geishas body no one else can see. Geisha are always
wearing heavy and thick kimonos and they are always hiding their bare skin
except the three legs design. That is why showing the underside of arm
gives a little bit similar effect as showing the bottom of footsince geisha are
always wearing Japanese traditional socks called tabior the inside of thigh.
From the analysis above we can see that sexuality can be considered as
eroticism. The eroticism which is depicted in the novel is about the art of
eroticism. This art of eroticism is very important to learn by geisha to entertain
the customers and to maintain their existence. Geisha know exactly how to use
their sexual appeal in a proper way, because it will influence their reputation
as geisha. If they do use their sexual appeal in a wrong wayjust like what
prostitutes dothey will spoil their reputation. And it will make their career
as geisha in danger, so that it will put their future life in jeopardy.
The four techniques to describe the eroticism give the new
understanding to the reader about how eroticism becomes the basic issue of
this profession. Describing the sex organs show that geisha also tries to follow

50

the norms and ethics of the society which are occurred in that era, by not
mentioning the sex organs vulgarly. Describing flirtation scenes is used to
show that flirtation is becomes the part of geisha entertainment, geisha used to
speak and act in certain ways to pleased and flattered the costumers, and
geisha learnt it carefully so it will not run against the norms. Describing sexual
intercourse scenes is used to show how the mizuage ceremony becomes the
point to define the career of geisha would be. It is the point to know that the
geisha will be success or not, it is depends of the price of the mizuage. And
describing the body parts which are sensual shows the reader how the
Japanese people describing the sensuality, because every culture has they own
custom. Womens neck and throat, and underside of arms are the example of
the part of body which considered sensual, just like how Western men feel
about womens legs. Geisha applies those four eroticism techniques in their
daily life when entertain their costumers, and that makes them maintain the
Japanese tradition.

51

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION

The portrayal of the life of geisha is represented by Sayuris character in

the novel Memoirs of A Geisha . Sayuris childhood name is Sakamoto Chiyo.
Born in a small village in Yoroido, she is sold by her father because he cannot
support his familys life anymore. They are very poor and the mothers illness
makes it worse. She is sold to the geisha house called Nitta okiya. In her way to
be a geisha, she passes a lot of obstacles and troubles. The positive values of the
sacrifices and struggle can support the good idea of this profession. Sayuris
sacrifice by hiding her real background is one of them. She cannot tell to people
that she comes from a small and dump place like Yoroido for her own good. She
has to sacrifice her friendships with people she cares about. She also has to
sacrifice her virginity and sells it to the highest bidder which left her a trauma.
Sayur is sacrifice is more mentally than physically ones. Physically, she is fine
but she is tired and tortured inside. Losing friends really breaks her heart but she
has to survive from that guilty feeling. She knows that all she has sacrificed is
paid off if she can be the Chairmans mistress.
Sayuris struggle is as much as her sacrifice. She has to struggle to
overcome her traumatic feeling. She works very hard to be a geisha because the
only chance to be close to the Chairman is by becoming a geisha. Her way to be a
geisha itself is not easy. With Mamehas help she has to fight against

52

Hatsumomos trickery. She also has to work hard to get close to the Chairman
which means she has to break the hurt of her friend Nobu, and make him hate her.
This sacrifice and struggle shows that to become a geisha is like a battle. People
cannot equalize them with prostitute because of that battle. They have to pay their
training which is not cheap at all to get their skills in art.
The competition among geisha also becomes a part of Sayuris career.
This competition encourages her to struggle more. She is fighting to get a big deal
of money to win the competition against Pumpkin and Hatsumomo. They compete
to get the good position in the okiya. Sayuri wins the competition by becoming
the adopted daughter and she also cleverly uses Hatsumomos bad temper to send
her away from Gion. This competition is very good in motivate the geisha to be
the best. A good geisha is the competitive one, it means every good geisha will do
her best to learn and practice more and more to make her deserved to entertain.
This competition adds the good values of sacrifice and struggle to get a better life
in the world of geisha. The better life here is about achieving the higher level of
the society. Being geisha, moreover a successful geisha is much honored in
Japanese society because she is an artist and totally live in the Japanese culture
and tradition, the most important is that she will be rich, and famous.
Sexuality which becomes the basic issue in this profession surely is not
like what people commonly think about. Sexuality in the world of geisha is about
the art of eroticism and not pornography at all. This thesis explains four
techniques to describe the eroticism which are revealed in the novel. They are
mentioning the sex organs, the narrator make it polite to mention the name by

53

substitute it with other objects, for examples breast as Mount Fuji, penis as eel,
and vagina as cave. Describing flirtation scenes, the geisha used to speak and act
in certain ways to pleased and flattered the costumers. Sexual intercourse scenes,
there is the time for the mizuage ceremony, it means the young geisha is ready to
sells her virginity to the highest bidder. And describing parts of body which are
sensual, womens neck and throat, and underside of arms are the example of the
part of body which considered sensual. The significant of this section is to show
that there are art involve in this activity. Geisha learn to use their sexual appeals in
a good way. They learn and use it for the sake of art; it is what we call eroticism.
There is esthetics in the eroticism that geisha apply in their role as entertainers.
Besides geisha in fact are artists, they sing, dance and play music instrument.
They also major in tea ceremony which is a very spiritual Japanese tradition.
Eroticism that geisha apply is not far from their role as artist. They will not break
the geisha ethics if they still want to be a geisha because it will spoil their
reputation. If they reputation spoiled, it means they have a gloomy future and it is
difficult for them to get a better life in Gion.
These three problems above, i.e. Sayuris sacrifices and struggles as
human being to get a better life, the competition among geisha, and how the
erotic ism applies in the profession of geisha, support each other to show how the
role of geisha in Japanese society really is. These problems opened the readers
mind about how most people think incorrectly about the profession of geisha and
it gives the reader the new understanding about the profession. New
understanding about the profession of geisha is the conclusion of the study.

54

Sayuris life as a geisha gives people understanding that they cannot

underestimate the profession. Geisha go to school everyday since they are little
girl and still do even they are already become geisha. What people think that
geisha are prostitutes is wiped out with this reality of geisha life. Geisha are only
ordinary people who want to get respects and a better life.

55

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Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of A Geisha. New York: Vintage Book A Division of
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Kitano, Harry H.L. Japanese Americans; The Evolution of A Subculture. 2nd ed.
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, inc., 1976.
Paz, Octavio. The Double Flame Love and Eroticism. Orlando: Hurcourt Brace
and Company, 1993.
Roderts, Grant. A Modern Junior Dictionary. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd. 1970.
Rohrberger, Mary and Samuel H. Woods. Reading and Writing about Literature.
New York: Random House, Inc., 1971.
Sitanggang, S. R. H. Unsur Erotisme dalam Novel Indonesia 1960 -1970 -an.
Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2002.
Utomo, Imam Budi. Erotisme dalam Sastra Jawa Klasik . Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa
Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2001.

56

Zaidan and Abdul Rozak. Unsur Erotisme dalam Cerpen Indonesia 1950 -an.
Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1998.
Anonymous. Book Discussion and Questions; Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur
Golden. <http://www.manitowoc.lib.wi.us/readers/guides/geisha.htm> (21
October 2005)
Anonymous. Editorial Reviews. <http://www.amazon.com> (27 August 2006).
Anonymous. Eroticism As Education . <http://English3.fsu.edu/~kpicart/humfilm/
student/lectures/Lec06-Robin-html> (13 October 2006)
Anonymous. Geisha.
February 2005)

<http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/geisha.shtml>

(2

Anonymous. Geisha and Their Role in Japanese Society. <http://www.geocities.

com/fluff_freak/geisha.html> (30 June 2006)
Anonymous.
History
of
the
Geisha.
<http://www.immortalgeisha.com/ig/faq_geisha. cfm#> (25 March 2005)
Anonymous. Making Japanese. Chapter Five: Making Japanese by Taking Off
Clothes. HIST 481 (Modern Japan) at Penn State University
<http://www.east-asian-history.net/textbooks/MJ/ch5.htm> (3 December
2005)
Anonymous. Questioner for Arthur Golden. <http://www.readinggroupguides.com/
guides/memoirs_of_a_geisha.asp#aboutthisbook> (25 January 2006)
Anonymous. Spotlight Reviews. <http://www.cnn.com> (17 October 2005).
Anonymous.
The
Art
of
<http://marian.creighton.edu/~marianw/academics
/english/japan/geisha/geisha.html> (25 January 2006)

Geisha.

Anonymous. What is the Role of Geisha? <http://marian.creighton.edu/~marianw/academics/english/japan/geisha/geisha.html> (25 January 2006)

Davetheasian from United States. User Comment. <http://www.imdb.com/title/
tt0397535/> (21 December 2005)
Ferguson, Amanda. Arthur Golden: Memoirs of a Geisha . <http://www.citypages.
com/databank/8/882/article2041.asp> (12 February 2006).
Heller McAlpin from The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review. Customer
Discussions. <http://www.amazon.com> (27 August 2006).

57

Howie, Karene and Geoff Haselhurst. Introduction on the Philosophy of Eroticism;

Pornography Vs. Erotic Art. <http://www.spaceandmotion.com/SexErotica-Free-Gallery-Erotic -Art-Pictures.htm> (11 September 2006).

Tuttle,

Kate.
Arthur
Golden;
Memoir
of
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Geisha.
<http://weeklywire.com/ww/10-13-97/boston_books_2.html> (17 March
2005)

58

APPENDIX

A. The Pictures

A Maiko (the apprentice geisha) in her costume.

A Geisha with her shamisen.

(http://www.immortalgeisha.com/ig/faq_geisha. cfm#)

59

B. Questioner for Arthur Golden

1) Q: What sparked your interest in the subject of geisha?
AG: I studied Japanese language and culture in college and graduate
school, and afterward went to work in Tokyo, where I met a young man whose
father was a famous businessman and whose mother was a geisha. He and I
never discussed his parentage, which was an open secret, but it fascinated me.
After retur ning to the U.S., I began work on a novel in which I tried to
imagine this young man's childhood. Gradually I found myself more interested
in the life of the mother than the son and made up my mind to write a novel
about a geisha.
I read everything I could find on the subject, in English and in Japanese,
and ended up writing an 800 page first draft focusing on five years in the life
of a Kyoto geisha shortly after World War II. Then as I prepared to revise the
manuscript, a longtime Japanese friend of my grandmother's offered to
introduce me to a Kyoto geisha named Mineko--retired already at the age of
42 and evidently willing to talk to me. I flew to Japan to meet with her, not at
all certain what to expect. I worried she might spend an afternoon chatting
with me about the sights and then wish me best of luck. But instead she
answered every question I asked, always with great candor, and took me on an
insider's tour of the geisha district of Gion in Kyoto, even arranging for me to
observe and photograph the daily ritual of a geisha being helped into her
kimono by a professional dresser. She took my understanding of a geisha's

60

daily existence and stood it on its head. I had to throw out my entire 800 page
draft and start from scratch.
2) Q: Why was she willing to open up to you? You state in the beginning of
your novel that geisha don't generally talk about their experiences.
AG: She had a number of reasons, I believe. For one thing, she knew I wasn't
approaching her as a journalist, but as a fiction writer. I didn't want salacious
details about her customers; I never asked for names, or even about
experiences she'd had, but only about the rituals and routines of a geisha's life.
I found Mineko to be a very kind woman with a generous spirit; we became
and remain friends. Actually, I can think of another reason why she helped
me: during her years as a geisha, Mineko had at one time or other met many of
Japan's great living writers and artists. With her considerable respect for
cultural tradit ions, probably she felt some concern for a struggling young
writer.
3) Q: You mention that Mineko had retired already in her early forties. Is this
common among geisha?
AG: Most geisha never have the option of retiring, but Mineko was
enormously successful and made a great deal of money. I don't think she
enjoyed being a geisha. She wanted to run a little bar in the Gion district rather
than continuing to wear herself out going from teahouse to teahouse
entertaining customers. In fact, I think she'd just opened a bar at the time she
met her husband, who is an artist. She retired from the Gion district when they
decided to marry.

61

4) Q: Is Mineko the model for your protagonist, Sayuri?

AG: No, I wouldn't say that. Though it's true that after meeting Mineko, my
understanding of geisha changed fundamentally, and of course, my idea of
Sayuri changed along with it. I had imagined that geisha probably sprinkled
their conversations with high-handed references to art and poetry, but in fact,
Mineko was too naturally clever to resort to anything so artificial. For
example, when she and her family came to visit us in Boston, I took her to
Harvard Yard to see the place; it happened to be an hour or so after
commencement ceremonies had ended. We sat together on a bench while I
explained

the

meaning

of

the

different

colored

gowns--black

for

undergraduates, blue for master's degrees, and red for PhDs--when an older
man stumbled by, clearly a bit drunk. Mineko turned to me and said, "I guess
that man's nose just got a PhD." That comment strikes me as so characteristic
of Mineko. She became such an exceptionally successful geisha partly
because of her cleverness--though her great beauty had a good deal to do with
it as well.
In establishing Sayuri's voice in the novel, I considered it essential to find
some quality of cleverness that would help her rise out of the mire in which
most geisha have no choice but to spend their lives. So in this sense, I did
draw on my knowledge of Mineko to create Sayuri. However, the story of
Sayuri's life in no way relates to Mineko's. In fact, I've never asked Mineko
anything beyond the most superficial questions about her history. I didn't want

62

to limit the possibilities that might suggest themselves to me as I tried to

imagine Sayuri's struggle.
5) Q: Did you feel any reluctance, as a man, to try writing a novel from the
point of view of a woman?
AG: I certainly did. As an American man of the 1990s writing about a
Japanese woman of the 1930s, I needed to cross three cultural divides--man to
woman, American to Japanese, and present to past. Actually, I see a fourth
divide as well, because geisha dwell in a sub-culture so peculiar that even a
Japanese woman of the 1930s might have considered it a challenge to write
about such a world. Before meeting Mineko, I'd written a draft in third person.
Even after interviewing her I felt no temptation to try entering the head of my
protagonist by writing in first person. Instead I wrote another 750 page draft in
third person. While I was revising it for submission, a number of big name
agents and editors in New York began calling me--very heady stuff for an
unpublished writer. But when they saw the manuscript, they all lost interest. I
know I'm a perfectly competent prose stylist; I didn't think the writing itself
had scared them away. And the subject matter is so fascinating--or at least it
was fascinating to me. The way I saw it, if I'd failed to bring the world of
geisha compellingly to life, I'd done something dreadfully wrong. And in fact,
as I came to understand, my mistake was having chosen to use a remote,
uninvolved narrator. So you see, I'd ended up writing a dry book precisely
because

of

my

concerns

about

crossing

four

cultural

divides.

By this time I'd spent more than six years on the project; I certainly felt no

63

temptation to give it up. During these years of work I'd come to know my
protagonist and the sub-culture in which she dwelt so much better than I'd ever
imagined possible; very quickly I began to ask myself why I shouldn't try
crossing those cultural divides after all. As for seeing things from the point of
view of a woman, well, I knew my wife quite well; I understood how she felt
about things. I felt I could say the same about my mother, and my sister, and
quite a number of women friends. If I could understand and sympathize with
their points of view, perhaps I could do the same with Sayuri's.
6) Q: Why did you choose to begin the novel with a translator's preface? The
book isn't really in any meaningful sense a translation, is it?
AG: No, it isn't a translation; I wrote it in English. My Japanese is fine, but
certainly not good enough for that! I did, however, always try to keep in mind
how things would be expressed in Japanese, and to select words and phrases
that I felt would convey the same tone. But the translator's preface serves quite
a different purpose. In writing a novel from the perspective of a geisha, I faced
a number of problems. To begin with, how would Americans understand what
she was talking about? Even fundamental issues like the manner of wearing a
kimono or makeup couldn't be taken for granted if the audience wasn't
Japanese. When I'd written the novel in third person, the narrator had had the
freedom to step away from the story for a moment to explain things whenever
necessary. But it would never occur to Sayuri to explain things--that is, it
wouldn't occur to her unless her audience was not Japanese. This is the role of
the translator's preface, to establish that she has come to live in New York and

64

will be telling her story for the benefit of an American audience. That's also
the principle reason why the novel had to end with her coming to New York.
It took me a number of tries to find a believable way of getting her there.
7) Q: Here's a question you've undoubtedly heard before: Are geisha
prostitutes?
AG: As a matter of fact, all through the years I worked on this novel, that was
the first question people asked me. The answer isn't a simple yes or no. The
so-called "hot springs geisha," who often entertain at resorts, are certainly
prostitutes. But as Sayuri says in the novel, you have to look at how well they
play the shamisen, and how much they know about tea ceremony, before you
determine whether they ought properly to call themselves geisha. However,
even in the geisha districts of Kyoto and Tokyo and other large cities, a certain
amount of prostitution does exist. For example, all apprentice geisha go
through something they call mizuage, which we might call, "deflowering." It
amounts to the sale of their virginity to the highest bidder. Back in the '30s and
'40s, girls went through it as young as thirteen or fourteen--certainly no later
than eighteen. It's misleading not to call this prostitution, even child
prostitution. So we can't say that geisha aren't prostitutes. On the other hand,
after her mizuage, a first-class geisha won't make herself available to men on a
nightly basis. She'll be a failure as a geisha, though, if she doesn't have a man
who acts as her patron and pays her expenses. He'll keep her in an elegant
style, and in exchange she'll make herself sexually available to him
exclusively. Is this prostitution? Not in the exact sense we mean it in the West,

65

where prostitutes turn "tricks" with "johns," and so on. To my mind, a firstclass geisha is more analogous to a kept mistress in our culture than to a
prostitute.(http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/memoirs_of_a_geisha.
asp#aboutthisbook)

C. The Art of Geisha

What attracts a woman to this profession is, above all, the conscious and
deliberate choice to make art her life.
The importance of dance in the Japanese culture and to geisha most likely
originates from ancient religious practices. The nineteenth century saw the
development of many of the dances that are now the most common dances
performed by geisha at both private parties and public events such as festivals.
Dances such as the Miyako Odori and the cherry dances, dances that originate in
the Japanese cultural value of Cherry Blossoms, arise out of the nineteenth
century.
The shamisen is a lute-like instrument made out of redwood with three
strings of braided silk attached to the arm by three large ivory pegs. The wooden
body is backed with parchment. The instrument is played with an ivory or
hardwood plectrum. The playing of the shamisen dates back to T'ang China when
the instrument was given as a gift from the T'ang court to Japanese Buddhist
envoys.
Before discussing matters of appearance in geisha, it is important to note
the significance of the color red. There is a word in Japanese, ko itten, which

66

means "touch of scarlet." The word is used as an affectionate term for women,
especially geisha girls. The use of the color red in dress and makeup is very
significant to Japanese society. Red is denoted as a color of beauty and happiness.
Red undergarments are thought to ward off menstrual pain and keep the female
reproductive organs healthy and functioning. Red is also thought to be erotic to
men. Geisha traditionally wear crimson lining under their kimonos (depending on
season) as well as bright red lipstick made from safflower extract and red rouge,
made from the petals of crimson flowers.
In the early era of geisha, when most patrons were shoguns, the costumes
that the geisha girls wore were very warrior-like, including large hats and
decorative swords. As the culture flourished, garments became much more
feminine. Geis ha began to wear the traditional kimono. The color, pattern, and
style of kimono was dependent on season, but the kimono was always worn in
three layers (the outer kimono and two layers of undergarments), regardless of
season. In the winter, geisha could be seen wearing a three-quarter length
"overcoat" lined with hand painted silk over their kimono. In the spring, the
waistband that geisha wear (obi) became very important. During the springtime,
the waistband was often more expensive than the kimono and or nately decorated.
The spring kimono also had a crimson lining. Come summer, the lining was
removed, and the kimonos were typically of brighter colors and different designs.
Again in autumn, the crimson lining would reappear as well as new colors and
designs. Geisha wore a flat-soled sandal outdoors, and went barefoot indoors.
When weather was bad, the women wore raised wooden clogs that are attached to

67

the foot in the same way that the usual thong sandal is. Maiko, geisha in training,
wore a special black lacquered wooden clog.
The hairstyles of geisha have varied considerably over history. Before the
time of T'ang China , it was most common for women to wear their hair down but
during the time of T'ang China, it became popular to tie one's hair up. Women
then returned to wearing their hair parted in the center and hanging straight down.
Again during the seventeenth century, women began pulling all their hair up again
and it is during this time that the traditional hairstyle, shimada , developed. This is
the hairstyle worn by geisha and means generally thatall the hair is pulled back in
one section. There are four major types of the shimada : Taka Shimada, a high
chignon (a kind of knot of hair), usually worn by young, single women; Tsubushi
shimada , a more flattened chignon generally worn by older women; Uiwata, a
chignon that is usually bound up with a piece of color cotton crepe; and a style
that ends up looking like a divided peach, typically worn by maiko. These
hairstyles were decorated with elaborate hair-combs and hairpins, which often
symbolized status. In the seventeenth century and after the Meiji Restoration
period, hair-combs were large and conspicuous, generally more ornate for higherclass women. During the Meiji restoration and in this modern era, smaller less
conspicuous hair-combs are more popular. The traditional makeup of the geisha is
probably the most common feature associated with the culture because of its
striking contrast to contemporary makeup. Under the influence of T'ang China,
early ge isha and other women of the period would dye their brows a golden
yellow. Beginning in the Sixteenth century, the geisha began using a white

68

foundation made from rice powder that has since been replaced by a white cream.
Geisha wear bright red lipstick, ma de from safflower extract and often worn only
in the center of the lips to emphasize delicacy, femininity and the desired
miniature effect. Light red rouge made from crimson flower petals was also worn.
Until the Meiji period, geisha and other performers were known to permanently
stain their teeth black, the significance of which is not certain. The world of
geisha is a culture that allows Japanese women to be independent and
economically self -sufficient, as they do not marry (as they would cease to be a
geisha if she did).
It is probably the only profession in Japanese which the women are
consistently ranked above the men in the profession. Geisha also allows a woman
to work into old age and because of the high cultural value on this preservation of
tradit ional art and culture gives the woman an inherent value and respect that she
might otherwise be unable to obtain. (http://marian.creighton.edu/~marianw/academics/english/japan/geisha/geisha.html)