Recently I began helping out at a second-hand bookshop, and came across Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. The title was familiar, but after reading the foreword, decided I’d missed reading it somehow. It was published in 1998, three years before I went to live and work in Japan.

I knew little of the country when I arrived, but when It came to time leave, the place and its people were a part of me.

I made close friends, and was invited into their homes, to enjoy meals, attend art classes, and cultural events – such as New Year celebrations and rituals. These memories floated through my thoughts as I read Memoirs of a Geisha.

The author Arthur Golden, though American, studied many facets of Japanese life. He earned degrees from three universities: from Harvard in art history, specialising in Japanese art; from Colombia, he gained an MA in Japanese history, and later worked in Japan. He also gained an MA in English from Boston University. One might expect his writing would lean to the academic, but with Geisha his knowledge has informed his fictional story to perfection. He returned to Japan while preparing his manuscript to research the lives of geisha, some he interviewed in depth.

Memoirs of a Geisha however, begins during the depression, when the protagonist is nine, and moves through to the 1970s. The narrative is told through Sayuri’s eyes and it always feels authentic.

Golden’s characterisations are terrific, and likewise the way he describes locations. The story is beautifully written, the descriptions poetic. It creates atmosphere, evokes emotion, compassion, and yes, sometimes tears threaten during the reading.

I believe many of us only have an inkling of how a young girl becomes a geisha; where she lives, and what her training is comprised of. This story leaves you in no doubt that a geisha’s conditioning is far from easy, and scarcely ideal – as viewed from a modern woman’s perspective. Most will know that geisha are found in the Gion district of Kyoto, an area I have visited many times, but certainly not when horses and carts were the norm on dirt roads, as it was the 1930s.

There are many scenes in the book which deal with the dressing of a geisha in her various kimono. I felt as if I was voyeur observing the dressing ritual, as I was already quite familiar with the kimono before reading. I was introduced to the art by a qualified maker of kimono. This was during New Year in Usa, Kyushu, when my husband and I stayed with my friend Mutsuko’s family. I learned that a young unmarried woman’s kimono is colourful, and has sleeves past the wrist, whereas a married woman’s kimono is more sombre in tones, a little more dignified perhaps, with shorter sleeves. And with the obi, where a long length of fabric is tied around one’s trunk, and fixed ornately at the back.

Because I was married, my obi was fixed in the ‘Drum knot’ style, whereas a young geisha would wear hers in a ‘Dangling knot’, where the fabric trails down to the hem.

I found the undergarments, plus the binding across the midriff rather restrictive. I recall that crouching, as in this sketch, was most difficult. But the enjoyment of going through this ritual of being dressed by the mother, and being surrounded by the friends and family waiting their turn, made this experience one I’ll never forget.

But, back to the book.

If by chance you missed reading Memoirs of a Geisha, I urge you to locate a copy, open the pages and read to your heart’s content. And last, thank you Arthur Golden for this memorable read.