Geisha Ceremony

One of the most important stages of a geisha’s life is when the geisha “[turn their] collar[s]” (Iwasaki 207), also referred to as the erikae ceremony, as an apprentice geisha transforms to an adult geisha. This particular ceremony is when the red collar of the “child dancer” (207) turns and becomes a white collar at the age of 20, signifying the geisha’s maturity, which usually happens after her mizuage ceremony. As Sayuri talks about her life in her memoirs, she explains that she “[turns] the collar” (Golden 290) when she “[is] eighteen years old” (290).
From these examples, Golden remains close to the actual life events experienced by apprentice geishas. By retaining some similarities, Golden is able to integrate non-factual information …show more content…
After Commodore Perry’s Opening of Japan, Western society, such as the United States became fascinated with the geisha culture. Without the “equivalent of [a geisha]” in the West, men controlled the “Westernized image and voice of [a geisha]… through Orientalist filters (Akita 14). Golden’s misinterpretation of the geisha culture reflects the way Western society perceives the Eastern culture, using preconceived notions to distance the West from the Orient (the geisha culture). According to Said, the Orient is a “European invention” and is a “place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memoires and landscapes, remarkable experiences” (1). Golden portrays the geisha as an exotic creature and commodifies the geisha through Sayuri’s memoirs. Similar to Memoirs of a Geisha, Said provides an example of Flaubert’s encounter with an Egyptian courtesan. Like Sayuri, the Egyptian courtesan does not represent her “emotions, presence or history” (Said 6), instead Flaubert tells her story. Since Flaubert is also a foreign male, “he spoke for [the Egyptian courtesan] and represented her” (Said 6) as how Haarhuis tells about Sayuri’s life as a geisha. Due the inaccurate representation of the geisha, the example Said uses is important since Golden portrays the geisha in a courtesan/prostitute-like fashion. Said further explains that

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