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Geisha | 
 enlarge | Author: Liza Dalby
Publisher: University of California Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $2.19
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Avg. Customer Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 107403
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 367
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0520204956
Dewey Decimal Number: 792.70280952
EAN: 9780520204959
ASIN: 0520204956
Publication Date: October 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Nice book, clean pages no writing. Marker mark on spine.
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Amazon.com
In the mid-1970s, an American graduate student in anthropology joined the ranks of white-powdered geisha in Kyoto, Japan. Liza Dalby took the name Ichigiku and apprenticed in the famed Pontocho district, trailing behind "older sisters" bemused by this long-legged Westerner intent on learning their arts and customs. In Geisha, this observant ethnographer paints an intoxicating picture of the "flower and willow world" to which she gained entry. "Why are you studying geisha?" asks one slightly belligerent older sister. "Geisha are no different from anybody else." Not quite, says Dalby dryly, pointing out that geisha and wives play utterly divergent, though complementary, roles in traditional Japanese society. "Geisha are supposed to be sexy where wives are sober, artistic where wives are humdrum, and witty where wives are serious." While hardly feminists, they reap freedoms unknown to other women. Dalby illustrates broader cultural differences, too, with a million tiny details about boisterous customers, how many hundred-weight of tabi (split-toed socks) geishas go through, what defines iki (chic), why maiko (young apprentices) are drawn to the life, and what geisha wear, from the skin out. Acknowledging that her growing personal stake in the masquerade prevented objectivity, Dalby frees the reader to enjoy a fluid and fascinating look at one aspect of Japanese culture. --Francesca Coltrera
Product Description
In this classic best-seller, Liza Dalby, the only non-Japanese ever to have trained as a geisha, offers an insider's look at the exclusive world of female companions to the Japanese male elite. Her new preface considers the geisha today as a vestige of tradition as Japan heads into the 21st century.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...
 Very Interesting June 18, 2007
This book not only holds your attention, but it opens the doors that have been closed so long to outsiders, even most japanese, for so long. I bought this about a year ago, and i didnt put it down for 3 days, which was the amount of time it took me to finish it. I read this after memoirs of a geisha and i really loved it. Liza Dalby got the experience of a lifetime, one that many of us wish we could have. All in all i have to say this is one of the best books about geisha...or any other book for that matter, i have ever read.
the best I have read about Geisha January 29, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Liz Dalby's book from the late seventies is a portrait in time of the flower and willow world of Geisha that no other Western author has ever been able to capture. This makes Arthur Golden's book Memoirs of a Geisha laughable compared to the poignancy of the stories of real Geisha and the lives they led at the time of writing.
Dalby also gives plenty of history (she is an anthropologist) as well as becoming her own test subject by actually portraying geisha herself. These personal accounts are worth every penny for the privelage. I would have much rather seen a film of this book!
There is so much that is deeply moving about her relationships with the Geisha and the dramatic losses of real life that are interwoven throughout the book. I would love to see a follow-up to the book, to see how all of this ultimately became part of her life.
There are excellent photos throughout, though some in color would have been nice. This is a true anthropological memoir but it is never dry, never overly intellectual. Dalby is not a great writer but she is a terrific journalist.
I've read many books about Geisha and this stands alone as the finest.
geisha September 5, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book by Liza Dalby is the most comprehensive book on geisha I have seen. Also, very readable.
Insightful July 30, 2006
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Picked this one up years ago after seeing the moving starring Pam Dawbar which I enjoyed.
I found it most interesting reading as far as cultural aspects go as well as most informative.
Very well written.
geisha July 27, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
In "Geisha" Ms Dalby invites the reader to wander, with her, through ancient and modern day Japan. Through her eyes you meet and greet people from all walks of life. With dignity and honour she introduces you to her Geisha friends. Before you are aware you a transported into the world of Geisha, a world so different and yet so like your own. When you finish the last page, there is a sadness and a wish to know that the people you've come to care about "live happily ever after". Thank you Liz, your book opened my eyes and touched my heart.
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