Memoirs of a Geisha

Blog #11 Questions --

1. In the movie, and I'm sure in real life, the Kimono was emphasized heavily. The way it was worn, the way it was tied in back, almost like a pillow; Wearing the kimono seemed to be more of a privilege than a right. A rite of passage. You have to earn the chance to wear it. Face painting was another one. Hair dressing. Dancing, musical instruments, and using a fan as a prop. It seemed to be almost like a ballet performance.

2. "Paradoxically finding beauty in the opposite". What is not perfect is more beautiful than that which is perfect. For instance, I would much rather see the trees losing their leaves than those that have full green boughs. The sight of seeing vibrant warm colors fluttering in the wind is much more beautiful to me than lively trees in the summer.

3. I think that for me I preferred it that they spoke English. Instead of paying attention to the subtitles, I spent more time focusing on the art of a geisha and the entire theme of beauty and art through dance.

4. There are numerous holidays for the changes of the seasons. Well, more or less for the actual events and the history behind them. The most striking example of a season/event that (kisetsu to me is the celebration of a day within a season that has some sort of historical importance) is Halloween. We put on outfits and go out much like how yukata/kimono is worn at Tanabata. I think if I were a Japanese individual and went to a halloween outing, I'd be extremely passive. It breaks the rule of uchi to soto completely.

5. If otogibanashi references both emotional and visual beauty, I believe that the act of the geisha embraces both. It is a connection with your clients, or perhaps the disconnection, and the overall beauty of the geisha's presence.

6. The concept of wabi-sabi as explained in the book talks mostly about aesthetic and morality. A certain emptiness. I came to the conclusion that wabi-sabi is more about the embracing of imperfections in order to gather a sense of beauty of everything. The beauty standards in the United States are warped. Skinny, fit, tan, etc., are all standard.

7. The scenes that jumped out to me as being beautifully imperfect were the scenes where Sayuri fell off the roof, where the house burned down, and when the chairman caught Sayuri and an American soldier.

8. Hatsumomo ended up causing a fire and was kicked out by the mother. I think that the relationship between the chairman and Sayuri was an incredibly strong bond. They both knew about each other for the entire duration and Sayuri's mizuage was saved for the chairman.

9. Pumpkin's life seemed to be more about revenge, as she brought the chairman with her to cause trouble for Sayuri.

10. The concepts that I picked up on were wabi-sabi (simplicity and elegance), bigaku, and gamabari (the willingness to do whatever to become a geisha).

11. The movie to me was fairly interesting. The progression of what it takes to become a geisha and the camaraderie (or lack there of) between "sisters".