Memoirs of a Geisha Essay example

The narrator, Katsu Kokichi, was a low ranking samurai during the end of the Tokugawa Period. He was the youngest out of all his siblings and as a child he ran away from home multiple times. Kokichi told his readers how he had to beg for food and even began to pose as a representative to a feudal lord. The readers learn that he has a wife and children but he often times would beat her and he also never got an official promotion and was forced to obtain a low income by dealing swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and sometimes using his muscle (getting into fights) and tricking others. In Kokichi’s lifetime, readers see a man whose life was filled with dishonesty, corruption, poverty, blackmail, and even lawbreaking. His story shows the reality of a samurai’s life during the end of the Tokugawa

Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s play, The Love Suicides at Amijima explores the disgrace of Jihei and Koharu’s misbegotten romance, the underlying conflict of the hidden innuendos aimed at the Japanese social class and the sense of duty formed between two women from unseemmingly different backgrounds. In order to fully understand these themes, on must take into account the societal structure of Osaka, Japan in the 1720s. Within this culture, every individual was instilled the notion of familial obligation and had to adhere to the rules placed upon them by society. Chikamatsu Monzaemon does an ideal job of capturing these concepts within the play.

The Tale of Genji depicts the aristocratic culture and practice of Heian Japan throughout the novel. The nature of marriage politics, significance of social rank in relations, the role of poetry, and the influence of Buddhism on the Heian court nobles all make up the way of the culture during the Heian period. The tale of Genji shows great examples of how the culture was practiced.

In the Heart of a Samurai novel, this is based on a true story. The story is about Manjiro a young Japanese boy who wanted to become a Samurai more than anything, but at the time he was a fisherman. We read about the struggles he went through on his journey to become a decorated Samurai. My theme for this novel is going to focus on relationship. I am going to talk about Manjiro friends and family that he met on his different adventures, and how he became lifelong friends with a captain.

The film also provides a meaningful glimpse at how the Japanese viewed the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere. The native islanders are depicted as being genial but simple peoples. Prescribing perfectly to the idea of proper place they are shown as more than willing to be the beasts of burden for the superior Japanese.

The Diary of Lady Nijo during the 13th and 14th centuries of early tradition Japan provides a primary account of what life was like for a female from the time 1271 to 1306. Lady Nijo’s life is one of sadness and suffering. As the daughter of Masatada Koga, Lady Nijo gives us a personal account of how women in court life had to conduct themselves and highlights the conduct between female and male in early traditional Japan. After losing her mother at age two and her father at fifteen, she is raised under the Retired Emperor Gofukakusa. Lady Nijo is powerless at times to the wills and wants of those in the court family. Her role as a woman during the time period shows the reader just how arduous life was for a female during the time period. Lady Nijo had a certain role she had to conform to because of the circumstances she endured. Lady Nijo’s relationship with not only the retired Emperor, Gofukakusa, but a high court official Akebono, as well as Ariake, Gofukakusa’s half-brother and a Buddhist monk made her appear as more of a pawn. Lady Nijo bears children with all of these men previously mentioned, and as her life

The author who brought to us The Tale of Genji, a novel now regarded as the first written novel in history, left behind an arguably more treasurable artifact: a diary that opens a window into history. The Diary of Lady Murasaki by Lady Murasaki Shikibu gives the reader a glimpse of the imperial court during eleventh century Japan and presents the past in an illuminated vision. Being an attendant in the imperial court, Lady Murasaki is frequently involved with the activities of elite Japanese women. Her day-to-day interaction with the nobles and elites enhance her account with the curious perspective of an elite female. As a woman, Lady Murasaki's descriptions are oriented around clothing

Sayuri admired Mr. Tanaka and wanted to become his adopted daughter, after being taken away from her home she was extremely hurt and felt stupid for believing in him.

Her story begins far beyond where her memories themselves extend, to a time when the word Japan did not exist, to a time when the castles of Nihon were still bustling with people living their luxurious life while the people outside tolled away upon the rice fields - when Tokugawa Ieyasu brandished his sword to conquer and finally unify the islands together under one fist. The Edo Period, a time that should be most prosperous for everyone, a time when happiness should come unfounded to even the misers.

At the start of the novel, Sayuri’s outlook on life is bleak and devastating—her parents are ill, she is separated from her sister and made a servant by the mother of the geisha house. However, despite her grim past, she breaks through the barriers that prevent her from moving on and becomes a well-liked geisha. Her despairing view begins to transition into hope at the beginning of the novel when she says, “We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course” (100). After Hatsumomo frames her for stealing and sabotaging, causing her backlash from mother, she contemplates her life and how it is changing. She begins to obtain optimism, which leads her to become a geisha. Another example of her perseverance is displayed when Sayuri flees from Kyoto due to the impending war. She ends up doing hard labour producing kimonos at the deserted Amami Island and learns that life is never free of obstacles. This signifies her change, as she is older now, she continues to grasp onto hope and look for a brighter future. The Chairman visits her while she is there to bring her back after the war concludes. Additionally, proceeding her working days, Sayuri goes to Tokyo where she spends her time with her old friend Pumpkin, the Chairman, Nobu, and American soldiers. Her powerful will is seen here as she says, “I'm sure most geisha would call it a bad omen that I'd spilled sake; but to me, that droplet of moisture that had slipped from me like a tear seemed almost to tell the story of my life. It fell through empty space, with no control whatsoever over its destiny; rolled along a path of silk; and somehow came to rest there on the teeth of that dragon” (420). Subsequently, the bad omen comes true as Pumpkin betrays Sayuri and tries to demolish her

They have freedom of marital choice and given their written contributions to Japanese society, have an intelligent wit and wisdom to share. For a brief moment in early Japanese history, these noble women contributed greatly to a complete change of national identity, Japan’s very sense of self, all the while they were also being kept secluded and apart from many other parts of socio-political interactions. These women, during a time when the Japanese were trying to throw off the Chinese influence and cultural trappings, helped create a culture so vast, elegant, and rigid that aspects of that culture have lasted for 1221 years, so far.

In early eleventh century Japan, circa the year 1021, noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu published The Tale of Genji, widely renowned as the world’s first novel. The work is set in Shikibu’s contemporary Heian period of Japan, in which political and social ranks dictated society’s functioning and heavy prejudices were placed on those deemed unsuitable for the affairs of public court life. Women fell under this umbrella of outsiders, meant to live primarily behind screens and closed doors only to be seen by their father and husband. It is believed that Shikibu wrote such a tale of forbidden romance and whimsical court affairs to bring life to her fellow women who shared in such a limited existence. This single piece of literature manages to wholly represent the Heian age of Japanese history, embodying the period’s culture and seamlessly incorporating a broad spectrum of themes of civilization.

The last character, Matsu, represents a Japanese samurai, filled with wisdom and inner strength, yet has to deal with inner struggles. While speaking very little, Matsu's life revolves around selflessly channeling

Geisha are customary Japanese entertainers, sometimes acting as hosts or performers for their customers. When people think of geishas, the image of a young Japanese woman with a face caked in a white paste, with lips lined in bright red, clad in an extravagant kimono comes to mind. However, the earliest geishas were actually men in the 18th century, who worked as entertainers, singing and dancing. By the late 1700s, the career was mostly dominated by women. Geishas are regarded as cultural icons of Japan.

The novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, written by Haruki Murakami, is a fictional narrative of Tsukuru Tazaki’s past and present life. At the very beginning of the book, the 20-year-old Tsukuru is desperately hopeless and overwhelmingly suicidal, “If there had been a door within reach that led straight to death, he wouldn’t have hesitated to push it open, without a second thought, as if it were just a part of ordinary life” (Murakami 3). A tragic drama, with a mix of a young man and enigmatic motives, always had an emotional pull on readers’ hearts and stirred up their curiosity and perplexity. With author’s manifestly unique perspective, enthralled realism, and vividly colorful narration, Tsukuru’s state of mind and his journey in search of his meaning of life are well composed and presented throughout the book. Born and raised by a well-off family in the city of Nagoya in Japan, Tsukuru has lived an easy life from his childhood to adolescence. During his high school years, Tsukuru has a close friendship with four of his schoolmates, which he considers the most valuable thing in his life. After graduating from high school and leaving his friends behind, Tsukuru goes to a university in Tokyo to pursue his engineering degree and the childhood fantasy of building railroad stations. Unexpectedly, in his sophomore year of university, the four best friends abruptly cut off the tie with him. As a consequence of the cutoff, Tsukuru’s life becomes