An Armchair Trip to Japan's "Floating World"

My promotional activities for Amorous Woman have led me to some very entertaining and educational locales in cyberspace. Today I make a stop at Readerville.com's "Odd Shelf" feature with my list of favorite books on Japan's after-dark entertainment districts. Geisha, love hotels, spring prints, bar hostesses, pink salons and soaplands, the notorious Abe Sada, exquisite kaiseki dinners. If you have a vivid imagination--and I know the readers of my blog most definitely do--you can experience them all with my selection of elegantly written and beautifully illustrated books. Check out some of the other lists, too--and leave a comment if you're so inspired!

A Great Web Site: Geisha turns 25

Liza Dalby's Geisha is quite simply one of my very favorite books ever. I'm sure it tops the list of many a Japan lover and has enchanted plenty of other readers who enjoy a glimpse into the secret world of another culture. The geisha has become a symbol of all that is mysterious and alluring about Japan, but few of us know what a geisha really does and who she is. I remember so well when I first read--or rather devoured--the book back in 1985 right after I returned from my first stay in Japan. I'd lived in Kyoto for two years and studied Japanese traditional dance, but the world of the geisha was as mysterious to me as ever (and as it is to most Japanese).

But thanks to Liza Dalby, I finally was able to slip into the teahouses of Pontocho to experience the day-to-day life of real geisha. A skilled shamisen player who is fluent in Japanese, Liza actually worked as a geisha as part of her research for her Ph.D. in anthropology at Stanford, and the book does indeed provide an excellent and entertaining education about that world. First and foremost, I learned that geisha are complex and compelling human beings and artists, so much more than the fantasies Westerners entertain about them.

Originally published in 1983, then given a second life with the publication of Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, Liza Dalby's beloved classic turns twenty-five this year and is being reissued with a lovely new cover and preface which "examines how geisha have been profoundly affected by the changes of the past quarter century yet—especially in Kyoto—have managed to take advantage of modern developments to maintain their social position with flair." Liza has also updated her Web site on geisha and it's a tasty buffet of information, with plenty of delicious photographs and fascinating insights into geisha and courtesans and Japanese culture. Sex and geisha, pictures of Liza in full geisha dress as "Ichigiku,"stages in the life of a geisha, the importance of the seasons--it's all there--but I have to issue a warning. You may find yourself spending the whole afternoon there!

If you've ever been intrigued by Japan's traditional culture, I recommend you take a look!

Tadaima: I'm Back!

We’re back from Japan and to make a two-week-long story short, it was FANTASTIC! It was the height of cherry blossom season and we saw some fabulous vistas of dream-like beauty (and found ourselves in the middle of some amazing crowds of flower lovers) photos of which I’ll share here over the next weeks. I also have lots of pictures of the delicious food we ate, the pleasure haunts of Gion, a few voyeuristic shots of maiko and geisha as they went about their evening’s work, and plenty of stories about our adventures. It was a sweetly multi-layered journey for me—and as you know, I love baking multi-layered sweets—as I got the chance to see my boys appreciate the country for the first time as well as to visit many places and friends I first encountered myself twenty-four (!!!) years ago. Best of all, I realize I love that place more than ever. Maybe there will be a sequel to Amorous Woman after all?

Many more pictures, stories and menus to come—stay tuned!