Memoirs of a Geisha

The question of whether our fate is predetermined or whether we control our own destiny recurs frequently throughout the novel, and Sayuri, in particular, finds herself torn between the two outlooks. 

Mameha emphasizes the importance of destiny, and, like other geisha, will not make a decision without consulting her almanac and fortune-teller. Significantly, she highlights the importance of accepting reality and the path that life has in store for you, rather than trying to change it. For instance, she deems Sayuri’s escape attempt unwise, because her almanac advised that it was a bad day for anyone with Sayuri’s zodiac sign to travel. However, she also points to the flexibility, power and cleverness associated with water, noting that water can sometimes break through a dam. 

Mameha plan to undermine Hatsumomo involves skill and forethought, and this is an approach that pays off in the end. Thus, Mameha does not believe in being passive, nor does she regard people as utterly powerless. Her view is that one can shape one’s life within certain parameters but that it is important to be prudent rather than impulsive. She likewise believes that one cannot change the overall trajectory of one’s life but must defer to fate. As she states, “Nowadays many people seem to believe their lives are entirely a matter of choice; but in my day we viewed ourselves as pieces of clay that forever show the fingerprints of everyone who has touched them” (339).

Nobu is the character who is most vocal about self-determination, refuting Sayuri’s claims that she is powerless. When she maintains that she does not have full control over her life, he emphasizes that, even if this is the case, she has some agency. However, it should be noted that he is not unbiased in this matter: he is angry with Sayuri for entertaining the affections of men he believes are unworthy of her. When it comes to his own relationship with Sayuri, he believes that they are destined to be together. In this respect, “destiny” can serve as a lofty term that individuals draw upon in order to lend credence to their desires. 

Mameha affirms that Nobu and Sayuri have an inescapable karmic bond, and even Sayuri recognizes that this seems to be true. However, she is unable to put aside her own feeling that her future lies with the Chairman. From their very first meeting, she is convinced that he is her destiny, and, though she tries to suppress these feelings, she cannot accept the idea of having Nobu as her danna. This is what ultimately prompts her to concoct the plan whereby Nobu will see her with the Minister. 

Though this plan does not work out as expected, the fact that Sayuri executes it shows that she is capable of a self-determined act. Sadly—and ironically—for Nobu, it is her embrace of self-determination that successfully brings a halt to his relationship with Sayuri. Her plan’s failure has a further paradoxical effect, moreover, in that it brings about the union of Sayuri and the Chairman. Here, the novel suggests the possibility that self-determination and destiny are not always opposed. 

In the end, readers are left to form their own opinions about the extent to which Sayuri’s life has been shaped by destiny or self-determination. Indeed, the novel poses a host of open-ended questions as to whether destiny exists and the extent to which an individual can, or should, take charge of their own life. Likewise, one can question whether some of the events in the book—such as Sayuri’s first encounter with the Chairman—are instances of destiny or whether the sense that it is predestined is an effect of Sayuri’s romantic narration of past events. 

For her part, Sayuri maintains her view that she was destined to be with the Chairman, comparing her journey towards him to the force of gravity. However, had she not struggled against her other supposed destiny—in which Nobu becomes her danna—then her life would have panned out very differently. Sayuri therefore accepts the concept of destiny but follows her own convictions about where her destiny lies.