Memoirs of a Geisha

Mameha introduces Sayuri to the Chairman, whose name is Iwamura Ken and who founded Iwamura Electric, along with the company’s president, Nobu. The Chairman starts asking Sayuri what she knows about sumo, but Nobu tells Sayuri that, if she wants to know anything, she should talk to him instead. Sayuri would rather remain engaged with the Chairman, but she follows instructions.

After an hour or so, Sayuri is shocked to see Hatsumomo in the audience. As Korin had been there earlier, Mameha infers that she must have gone to find Hatsumomo and inform her of their location. Mameha then formulates a plan: Hatsumomo despises Nobu, branding him “Mr. Lizard” due to a disfiguration incurred during his time in the military. She would thus gain a perverse delight in seeing Sayuri be charmed by him and she would probably leave them alone. If anything, she would want Sayuri to remain in Gion purely for her own amusement. 

Sayuri again follows instructions, finding that it helps to imagine that Nobu is the Chairman. As predicted, Hatsumomo seems amused, and Mameha remarks that she has been unwittingly thrown off balance. Mameha adds that the success of her own plan (which she still had not revealed) will depend on the attentions of Nobu and another man Sayuri has not yet met. Sayuri is disappointed to hear this, as her dreams center on the Chairman alone.

Now that she knows his identity, Sayuri sets about finding and reading articles pertaining to the Chairman. She had assumed that his company was quite unimportant but now realizes that Iwamura Electric is well-known and reputable. She also reads about how he had come to partner with Nobu, perceiving that they seem well-suited.

After several weeks, Mameha summons Sayuri to her apartment and tells her that she is going to meet the unnamed man who will prove instrumental in her future. This plan involves cutting Sayuri’s leg, which makes Sayuri anxious; nevertheless, Mameha instructs the cook to make an incision that will warrant a visit to the doctor. Sayuri lapses into a stupor when she sees the blood, but Mameha insists that she must make a good impression at the hospital.

When the doctor—whom Sayuri to dub him “Doctor Crab”—emerges, Sayuri pretends to have lost her balance and cut her leg. He dresses her wound and, in a conversation with Mameha, suggests that he might see her and her apprentice at the Ichiriki Teahouse one evening. Mameha responds that Sayuri already has numerous admirers, which is why she has been avoiding that teahouse; however, she suggests meeting at the Shirae Teahouse instead, and the doctor agrees.

On the way back from the hospital, Mameha notices how striking Sayuri’s eyes look. She consequently halts the rickshaw and takes Sayuri to the studio of an artist called Uchida Kosaburo. He is in a bad mood, as a cat has stepped into some ink and walked over one of his paintings. Mameha knows that the only way of getting him to calm down is to make him blow up with anger first, so she and Sayuri provoke him to the point where he storms out. 

Around half an hour later, he returns in much better spirits but does not seem interested when Mameha extols the prettiness of her young companion. As the light is fading, Mameha resigns herself to leave; however, Sayuri is struck by the iridescence of her hands in the sunset, and she notices the Uchida is now looking at her. Here, she tells the reader that, according to him, it was this sight that inspired his “famous ink painting of the young woman in a kimono standing in a rapturous state and with her eyes aglow” (253).

Weeks pass with no word from their male contacts, and Mameha and Sayuri begin to worry, until, one morning, Iwamura Electric phone to request their company. Sayuri is invited to the teahouse many times in subsequent weeks, though Mameha instructs her not to stay for too long, as it should appear that she is popular and has other engagements. While Sayuri is getting ready for these engagements, Hatsumomo often hints that she will stop by; still, she does not do so until an afternoon when Sayuri is not expecting it.

Hatsumomo wants to observe the interaction between Sayuri and Nobu on this occasion, so Sayuri makes sure to put on a good show. Sayuri also does not want Hatsumomo to know about her real feelings for the Chairman. Sayuri is successful in pretending to be entranced by Nobu, and, satisfied with this, Hatsumomo departs.

Several months pass without any word from Uchida, and it turns out that he has fallen into a bout of drinking after the death of his cat. Mameha sends Sayuri to his studio with a kitten as a gift, but Uchida is more interested in Sayuri and asks her to start modeling for him. Sayuri takes this role on but finds it uncomfortable, and Uchida is not satisfied with his progress. He consequently isolates himself and starts drinking again.

Mameha runs into Dr. Crab in late February and learns that he has been occupied with the opening of a hospital. Now, however, he has time to meet Mameha and Sayuri at the Shirae Teahouse. 

Things go well until mid-March, when Hatsumomo tells Sayuri that the German Ambassador is coming to town but that Pumpkin is not free to entertain him. She then suggests that Sayuri take Pumpkin’s place, before laughing as if to suggest the absurdity of the proposition. Sayuri knows that she should hang her head in shame at the notion that she is fit to occupy this role. However, she has been feeling that her prospects have improved, and she looks back at Hatsumomo with a face that she hopes will appear like a mask, though her first instinct is to smile. Hatsumomo gives her an “odd look” (262) in response, and, with hindsight, Sayuri feels that she should have realized that something passed through Hatsumomo’s mind.

A few days later, Mameha and Sayuri arrive at the Shirae Teahouse just as Hatsumomo and Pumpkin are leaving. Dr. Crab is there but his manner is changed, and he says that he does not appreciate being misled. He leaves without elaborating, and Mameha instructs Sayuri to find out the truth from Pumpkin. When Sayuri then asks Mameha to reveal her overall plan, Mameha informs her that the Doctor’s interest in her is due to his preference for young virgins. This interest is valuable, as it will mean a bidding war between Nobu and the Doctor should Mameha’s plan succeed. Without the Doctor’s interest, Nobu could attain Sayuri for a lower price. 

Mameha adds that Nobu is not interested in her for her conversational skills, and Sayuri pretends not to feel hurt by this.

Her conversation with Mameha has changed Sayuri’s view of the world, as she now sees what a man like the Doctor wants in return for the time and money he spends in Gion. She reflects that, once one knows this kind of thing, there is no return to naïveté. 

Pumpkin is distressed when Sayuri finds her, and she breaks down as she talks of how much she hates Hatsumomo. Still, she reveals that Hatsumomo had inferred from Sayuri’s calm reaction to her comment about the ambassador that Mameha had a scheme. She had consequently visited the registry office to find out what teahouses Sayuri had been billing at. This was how she had found out about Sayuri’s visit to the Shirae Teahouse. As few men of standing patronized this teahouse, Hatsumomo was able to deduce Mameha’s plans regarding the doctor. She had subsequently told the doctor that Sayuri was not a virgin, and this was the source of his annoyance.

Pumpkin has had some good news, though, as Mother has agreed to adopt her. Sayuri is happy for her but is also aware that Mameha had been hoping that Mother would adopt her own apprentice instead. Sayuri tells Mameha what she has learned, and Mameha believes that there will probably be a window of a few months before the adoption occurs. She also decides that the time has come for Sayuri to offer her virginity—or mizuage—to Nobu and the Doctor, which is done formally by presenting them with ekubo (a type of rice cake). Nobu accepts his box of ekubo but the Doctor is more difficult, as he is concerned that Mameha and Sayuri have deceived him. Ultimately, however, he takes the offering.

A production of Dances of the Old Capital is held in Gion each spring, and competition for roles is fierce. Having spent many evenings practicing dance in the okiya, Sayuri has become skilled in this art and finds herself with a solo role when another apprentice suffers an injury. Hatsumomo is furious when she learns of this, but Mameha is unconcerned and says that it is time for them “to toss Hatsumomo from the ring” (278).