Geisha of Gion
The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki
By Mineko Iwasaki 

Mineko Iwasaki was the greatest geisha (or geiko) of her day until she left the constricting confines of Gion for an independent life when she was only 29. This is one of those books that lift the lid on a secret world, and tell you something that you don't know already, even if you have read Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. There is much to enjoy here, and not least is the sheer exoticism of a vanishing way of life that is very different to anything the West can offer. From her idyllic first three years with her parents and siblings, to her training as a geiko in Gion this is surely the Japan that many people imagine--a place of stylized ritual, cherry blossoms and kimonos--but it is also a whole lot more than that. Mineko has a wonderfully matter-of-fact way of telling of an extraordinary story that brings it all to three-dimensional life.

Readers of my reviews are surely used to me commenting on the fact that too many books are overlong, but here, there was still so much I wanted to know about it all that I could have happily gone on reading! To say any more might spoil what is not just an autobiography but an absorbing tale. Highly recommended.