1. Mineko Iwasaki is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha.
17 Facts About Mineko Iwasaki
1. 2.
Mineko Iwasaki later regretted interviewing for Golden, having cited a breach of confidentiality, and later sued and settled out of court with Golden for the parallelism between his book and her life.
3.
Mineko Iwasaki was born as Masako Tanaka to Shigezo and Chie Tanaka.
4.
Mineko Iwasaki had ten siblings: brothers Seiichiro, Ryozo, Kozo, Fumio, and sisters Yaeko, Kikuko, Kuniko, Yoshiko, Tomiko, Yukiko.
5.
Mineko Iwasaki left home at the age of four to begin studying traditional Japanese dance at the Iwasaki in the Gion district of Kyoto.
6.
Mineko Iwasaki became a at the age of 15, and was chosen as the house's, or heir.
7.
Mineko Iwasaki entertained numerous celebrities and foreign dignitaries, including the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.
8.
Mineko Iwasaki unexpectedly retired at the height of her career, at the age of 29.
9.
Mineko Iwasaki hoped that her decision would shock Gion into reform; however, even after over 70 other high ranking geisha followed her into early retirement, nothing was changed.
10.
Mineko Iwasaki transitioned to a career in art after marrying artist Jin'ichiro Sato in 1982.
11.
Mineko Iwasaki was one of several geisha interviewed by author Arthur Golden while researching for his novel Memoirs of a Geisha.
12.
Mineko Iwasaki felt betrayed by Golden's use of information she considered confidential, and denounced the novel as being an inaccurate depiction of geisha life, criticising in particular the novel's portrayal of geisha engaging in as a matter of fact when graduating to geisha status.
13.
Mineko Iwasaki stated that she herself had not undergone, and that no such custom ever existed in Gion.
14.
Mineko Iwasaki took displeasure with Golden's use of a number of her life experiences, with the main character of Sayuri having a number of direct parallels to Mineko Iwasaki's career as a geisha.
15.
Mineko Iwasaki later gave public interviews stating that many established geisha had criticised her actions and decision to be interviewed by Golden, the result of which ruptured the unwritten traditions of secrecy within the geisha community.
16.
Mineko Iwasaki sued Golden for breach of contract and defamation of character in 2001, which was settled out of court in 2003.
17.
Mineko Iwasaki's book, co-authored by Rande Gail Brown, was published as Geisha: A Life in the US and Geisha of Gion in the UK.