Hot Springs Geisha

Well, NJ Kpopper continued researching the Snow Country in Japan (as mentioned in an earlier post), and "way led to way", as they say.  And so, awareness of the "Autobiography of a Geisha" [芸者,苦闘の半生涯] written by Sayo Masuda [ますだ • さよ ] came to this bear.

Kawabata's Snow Country describes the life of a "hot springs geisha" ['onsen geisha' will still return rather adult-oriented google results] from the outside gaze of a rather self-absorbed man [something NJ Kpopper can identify with], but that perspective is obviously incomplete.  Masuda's work takes us inside that world, with a completely unvarnished look at the brutal conditions of human servitude and poverty that led Masuda into a life where being a geisha was her only way of surviving.  This is apparently the only autobiography describing the world of a non-elite geisha, who have only a few social protocols to distinguish themselves from street prostitutes.

Suicide and death hang heavily over Masuda, but ultimately it is her own unique voice and hard-won appreciation for life that come through.  The lengthy Wikipedia entry or any other summary like this post will make it seem as though this book has value only for its documentary qualities.  It is both a moving "triumph over adversity" story, like the Diving Bell and the Butterfly [Le Scaphandre et le Papillon], and a great page turning read. In fact, Masuda's writing is amazingly observant and vital.  It is just a beautiful book.  Just two special quotes to give an idea here:

"In every human heart is a place where you put your broken dreams. When something doesn't work out, no matter what it may be, you just have to give it up and stuff it in with your broken dreams. And make sure you keep the lid on tight."

"Motoyama-san taught me that 'loving someone has nothing to do with your physical self; it's a spiritual longing, it's trusting each other, it's wanting the other person to be happy, it's getting outside yourself; that's what true love is.' "

It just gets better from there. The English translation by Rowley is great, but certainly someone who can read Japanese would get even more out of it, since by all accounts her use of language was very fresh and direct in Japanese as well. Masuda overcame illiteracy only as an adult.

What ultimately led her out of the geisha life was her desire to give something back to children who had nothing, like she was when she was a child.  That resulted in her beginning to write children's books.  The Autobiography includes one such children's story, about an orphaned hawk named Piiko, which contains a surprising moral lesson with many metaphorical overtones, applicable to cross-cultural outsiders and others.  It's the kind of story that it would be possible to imagine every child reading through a project like Let's Read: Mongolia, alongside the Adventure of Jingenuur [Жингэнүүрийн аялал].

Let me end this post with the closing of Piiko's story:

"At all times and in all things, we humans tend to judge the worth of something by its outward appearance only. But even a bad person may have a good heart. We should look carefully into one another's hearts and do what we can to help one another."