Sjećanja jedne gejše
Arthur Golden, an American writer of Japanese descent, published a novel in 1997, which quickly became a bestseller, inspired by conversations with a real geisha, from which he created an epic story of beauty, ambition and survival in pre-war Japan.
Nitoko, a nine-year-old girl from a poor fishing village on the coast of Japan, loses her mother and is sold to Kyoto as a "maiko" (geisha teacher). In the Gion district, the most famous geisha district, she changes her name to Sayuri and enters a world of strict rules: learning dance, music, tea and the art of seduction. Under the guidance of the cruel geisha Hatsumomo, who sees her as a threat, Sayuri suffers abuse and intrigue. Her savior is the older geisha Mameha, a master of strategy, who trains her for fame: selling "mizuage" (symbolic initiation) to gentlemen and creating the myth of Sayuri's "watery eyes" that hypnotize.
Sayuri becomes the most sought-after geisha, but war and crisis change everything. In love with the teahouse president Nobu, a loyal friend, she dreams of a "danna" (keeper) who will free her. But the president, a secret admirer from childhood, remains elusive. During World War II, the geishas are displaced; Sayuri flees to the countryside, works illegally, and even becomes a prostitute. After the war, under American occupation, Gion awakens – Sayuri returns, but is confronted with Nobu’s jealousy and the president’s election. In the climax, at a dinner with an American admiral, Sayuri sacrifices Nobu to save the president’s heart, becoming his mistress. The novel ends in 1950s New York, where Sayuri, now retired, tells her story – from poverty to legend, but always trapped in the role of a geisha.
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