Sayo Masuda’s Autobiography of a Geisha Essay -- Sayo Masuda Autobiogr

Sayo Masudas Autobiography of a Geisha Autobiography of a Geisha was originally written for a memoir disputation run by the Japanese magazine Housewifes Companion. Sayo Masuda wrote and submitted her manuscript in hopes of winning the monetary prize offered. She won second place in the competition and came to the attention of an editor who helped her expand her story and publish it as a book. Riding on the wave of interest stirred by Arthur chromatics Memoirs of a Geisha, G. G. Rowley translated Sayo Masudas tale for the American market.Rowley did an excellent job of capturing Masudas voice in his translation. If English had been Masudas native language, the result mogul easily have been Rowleys translation. Masudas tale is heart-wrenching. First sent to work as a nursemaid as a small girl, Masuda fly the torments of that disembodied spirit only to be sold to a hot-springs geisha house. At the hot-springs geisha house, Masuda was again a tormented soul, barely above a prostitu te. Her danna, or patron, was hardly a rescuer. Masuda chafed against her role, even attempting suicide to release herself from serving a man for whom she had neither love nor respect. The advent of World War II eventually freed Masuda from the life of a geisha, but her tale continued to be one of hardship. Masuda took on the responsibility of looking after her little brother and traded diverse goods on the black market to support her brother and herself. When times were hard, Masuda prostituted herself to American soldiers. She eventually found a job at a diner, but life continued to be a struggle until she wrote her autobiography. Masuda endured much during her lifetime and is unflinching in her writing. Readers should expect to come away from Autobi... ...en from the perspective of the geisha elite and live dead on target for the upper echelons of the geisha world alone. Readers should enjoy Masudas book while keeping in mind that her experiences do not hold true for all geis ha, only for the hot-springs geisha, the dregs of the geisha world.Works CitedAutobiography of a Geisha (Book). Kirkus Reviews. 71.5 (March 1, 2003).Gavin, William F. Irish intrigue, geisha woes, Canadian angst. The Washington Times. Masuda, Sayo. Autobiography of a Geisha. Trans. G. G. Rowley. in the buff York Columbia University Press, 2003.Napier, Susan J. Autobiography of a Geisha Book Review. Persimmon Magazine. Palmer, Kimberly Shearer. Geisha reality. Womens Review of Books. 20.12 (September 2003) 14.