The Alienation and Manipulation of Geisha in Cultural Structures of Japan with Special Reference to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha
Files
Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Criterion: An International Journal in English
Abstract
Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha is an account of Geisha's life; a life of struggle, and
surrounded by various artistic practices where Geisha have no time for themselves. Their life
seems glamorous and exciting to the outside world, however, in reality, it is pathetic and an
isolated one. The aim of this paper is to focus on the origin of Geisha tradition, which is
considered as a cultural heritage of Japan. Simultaneously, the paper throws light on various
issues such as the role of tradition, culture, history, economy, and prostitution which contribute
to the marginalisation of Geisha in personal as well as social arenas. The paper also deals with
the reasons which blur the distinction between Geisha tradition and prostitution. To facilitate the
interpretation of Geisha tradition, cultural construction of gender roles has been taken into
account
Description
Keywords
Geisha, Tradition, Prostitution, Economy, Culture
Citation
Thakur, Smiriti and Saini, Alpna (2017) The Alienation and Manipulation of Geisha in Cultural Structures of Japan
with Special Reference to Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The Criterion: An International Journal in English Vol. 8, Issue-VIII. PP. 343-349.