Fujiyama Geisha(PART 1 OF 3)
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Kato, have you fallen in love with a geisha?
Oh no, I've never been in love with a geisha.
Then how come you've chosen "Geisha" as part of today's article?
Good question!...well, I borrowed a DVD called "Memoirs of a Geisha" from Vancouver Public Library.
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■"A catalogue page of 【MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA】"
I see...so you added a comment on July 26, didn't you?
Yes, I did. Seventeen people jotted down their comments, and ten of them, including myself, have written their comments since April 8, 2011.
Are you saying the DVD is so popular?
Yes, I am. Look at the current borrowing record below.
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I see... There are thirteen copies, but none of them are available... It's in a big demand, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
Two copies are located at Joe Fortes Library, aren't they?
I've asked the librarian to keep at least two copies so that you could borrow at any time.
No kidding!
But you see, both of them have been checked out. What a pity!
So, Kato, you really want me to view the DVD, don't you?
Yes, I do. If you take a look at the following trailer, I'm pretty sure, you would more than likely dash to the library to hold it.
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Memoirs of a Geisha trailer
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Wow! ...seems quite fascinating!
Yes, it is.
Kato, tell me about the outline.
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The film, set in Japan during the 1930s and 40s, tells the story of Chiyo Sakamoto, who was portrayed by Suzuka Ohgo as a child and by Zhang Ziyi as an adult.
Chiyo ia a poor, young Japanese girl who has been sold along with her older sister Satsu into a life of servitude by her parents when she is nine years old.
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Chiyo is taken in by the proprietress of a geisha house, Mother (Kaori Momoi), but Satsu is rejected and is sold to another house in the "pleasure district" of the Hanamachi.
At the okiya (geisha house) she meets another young girl named "Pumpkin" (Youki Kudoh).
Both girls are sent off to geisha school but Chiyo dishonors the okiya by attempting to run away.
Instead of training to become a geisha she is given manual labor to do to pay off the debt of her purchase.
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One day while crying in the street, the young Chiyo is noticed by the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) and his geisha companions.
Chiyo is afraid to make eye contact with the Chairman, who says "Don't be afraid to look at me."
He then buys her an iced sorbet (kakigōri) and gives her his handkerchief with some money in it.
Inspired by his act of kindness, Chiyo resolves to become a geisha so that she may one day become a part of the Chairman’s life.
She spends the money, not on food, but on prayer, wishing to see him again.
Chiyo, now a young woman, is taken under the wing of Mameha, who has forgiven her for her actions as a child.
Under Mameha's tutelage, Chiyo becomes a maiko (geisha in training) and then takes the name of Sayuri, the most famous geisha in all of Gion, Kyoto.
Hatsumomo becomes Sayuri's rival and seeks to destroy her.
Through her work as a geisha, Sayuri reunites with the Chairman and longs to catch his attention, but instead has to lead on the Chairman's friend and business partner Nobu, who falls fast for her.
(To be continued)