Iwasaki became a maiko (apprentice geisha) at the age of 15, and was chosen as the house's atotori, or heir. She was legally adopted by the okiya's owner, Madame Oima, and began using their family name of Iwasaki. Life and careerīorn as Masako Tanaka, she left home at the age of four to begin studying traditional Japanese dance at the Iwasaki okiya (geisha house) in the Gion district of Kyoto. In 2002 she released her own autobiography (titled Geisha of Gion in the UK and Geisha: A Life in the US). Iwasaki later regretted interviewing for Golden, having cited a breach of confidentiality and later sued and settled out of court with Golden for the parallelism between his book and her life. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki was the heir apparent ( atotori) to her geisha house ( okiya) while she was just a young apprentice.Īmerican author Arthur Golden interviewed her for background information when writing his 1997 book, Memoirs of a Geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Mineko Iwasaki ( 岩崎 峰子/岩崎 究香, Iwasaki Mineko), birthname Masako Tanaka ( 田中 政子, Tanaka Masako, born 2 November 1949), is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Seiichiro, Ryozo, Kozo, Fumio (brothers) Yaeko, Kikuko, Kuniko, Yoshiko, Tomiko, Yukiko (sisters)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |