Very middle of the road memoir for me.

Geisha, a Life is powerful simply by the fact of its existence. Having Iwasaki's recollection of her time in Gion Kobu is priceless due to the dearth of accurate, first-person information about geisha culture available in the West, and of course as a testimony against the misuse of her story by Memoirs of a Geisha.

The book's strength lies in its detail. It's enthralling to hear about the nuances of geisha culture, and very fitting that a woman whose profession fixated on extreme detail would use that same complexity when recalling her memories. Every inclusion feels intentional and deserved, and Iwasaki doesn't tend to meander.

Especially, I enjoyed exploring the precarious position geisha culture served in Japan at the time. Simultaneously a way for young girls and women to gain a modicum of power and economic freedom, a profession that offered more respect for women than they might receive as a housewife or mother, but simultaneously extremely limited in its prospects and opportunities except for the few who dedicate their body and lives at the expense of their well-being (as exemplified by Iwasaki).

While its grounded detail is its strength, Geisha, a Life often keeps the reader at arms-length, with a noticeable lack of emotion, moving on from hard situations in ways that often felt contrived. While this does make sense as a cultural difference, I struggled to connect with Iwasaki on a deeper level because of it.

As well, Iwasaki's perspective is understandably limited, being the most famous geiko of her time. This resulted in a bit of an idyllic picture being painted, even though the latter half of the book focuses on the limitations of geisha and why Iwasaki eventually retired.

While she certainly had her fair share of tense moments and poor experiences (with, let's be honest, usually shitty men as well as Westerners), and she doesn't depict her time as perfect or untroubled, it's hard to use Iwasaki's life as an accurate depiction of the average geisha's. The privileges she was afforded by her essentially celebrity status and wealth definitely kept her insulated and safe.

Admittedly, Iwasaki was placed in a bit of a tough position, with the pressure of defending geisha culture to Western audiences resting pretty much entirely on her shoulders, so her more safely uncritical perspective made a lot of sense. I would be interested to hear more testimony from a more "average" geisha, but sadly don't think the Western publishing industry would share my interest.

Great for an introduction to geisha culture and the realities of the profession, but not exactly a memoir to write home about.