false 24016 70049 0767904907 9780767904902 16 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170716580m/70049.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170716580s/70049.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70049.Women_of_the_Pleasure_Quarters_The_Secret_History_of_the_Geisha 3.66 118 Madame Butterfly to Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha. But as denizens of a world defined by silence and mystery, real geisha are notoriously difficult to meet and even to find. As a result, their history has long been cloaked in secrecy.

Lesley Downer, an award-winning writer, Japanese scholar, and consummate storyteller, gained more access to this world than almost any other Westerner, and spent several months living in it. In Women of the Pleasure Quarters, she weaves together intimate portraits of modern geisha with the romantic legends and colorful historical tales that shape their fascinating past. Contrary to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes but, literally, "arts people." Accomplished singers, dancers, and musicians, they are, above all, masters of the art of conversation, soothing the worries and stroking the egos of wealthy businessmen who can afford their attentions. Looking into such traditions as mizuage, the ritual deflowering that was once a rite of passage for all geisha, and providing colorful descriptions of their dress, training, and homes, Downer transforms their reality into a captivating narrative, and reveals an enthralling world unlike any other.]]> 24016 3.69 339 53 2000 1199174 0593057538 9780593057537 20 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1199174.The_Last_Concubine 3.81 74 24016 3.69 339 53 2008 521946 1592400051 9781592400058 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175506658m/521946.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175506658s/521946.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/521946.Madame_Sadayakko_The_Geisha_Who_Bewitched_the_West 3.62 53 On the Narrow and Women of the Pleasure Quarters tells the enthralling true story of the woman who became the most celebrated geisha in Japan and the first to tour the United States and Europe.

At twenty-seven, she captivated the world's stage. The crowned heads of Europe vied for her favors. Picasso sketched her portrait. Puccini based the title character of Madame Butterfly on her and used one of her haunting melodies. Gide, Debussy, Degas, and Rodin were among her devoted fans. She was Sadayakko, Japan's most notorious geisha-and its first international superstar.

In this real-life Memoirs of a Geisha, Lesley Downer, journalist and author of Women of the Pleasure Quarters, hailed as "artfully intelligent... compelling...comprehensive and illuminating" (The Associated Press), re-creates the life and times of this extraordinary woman and cultural icon. Sadayakko's adventures and travels lift the veil on the secretive world of the geisha and are told against the backdrop of the beguiling era when Japan and the West were meeting for the first time.

Drawing from meetings with Sadayakko's family members, including her granddaughter, who granted rare access, and others who knew her intimately, this noted geisha expert chronicles the pivotal moments of Sadayakko's dramatic life. As an exquisite young geisha, her virginity was sold for an exorbitant amount to Japan's most powerful man, the prime minister. She shocked the Tokyo geisha world when she left her lucrative career to become the wife of the rebellious-and penniless-actor and political maverick Otojiro Kawakami. He took her to the United States, where posters and crowds hailed her arrival, and to Europe, where she became the toast of Paris, a muse to writers and artists, and an influence on women's fashion.

Madame Sadayakko tells the story of an unlikely rebel who carved out her own path, and reveals a missing piece of history from the turn of the last century, when Japanese women were wearing bustles and learning the waltz and European women were wearing Sadayakko kimonos.]]> 24016 3.69 339 53 2003 304516 0811832805 9780811832809 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173563060m/304516.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173563060s/304516.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/304516.At_the_Japanese_Table_New_Traditional_Recipes 3.67 6 ichi, ni, san. Vibrant color photographs take fans of Japanese cookery on a culinary tour of the country , exploring the feasts and festivals, restaurants, sushi bars, street stalls, and even the temples for a taste of this intriguing land. Along the way discover why, as a result of their diet, the Japanese live longer than anyone else in the world. Itadaki masu! Enjoy.]]> 24016 3.69 339 53 1996 42679 067164047X 9780671640477 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1202335647m/42679.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1202335647s/42679.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42679.On_the_Narrow_Road_A_Journey_into_Lost_Japan 3.43 7 24016 3.69 339 53 1989 941565 0679425543 9780679425540 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179647989m/941565.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179647989s/941565.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/941565.Brothers_The_The_Hidden_World_of_Japan_s_Richest_Family 4.50 2 24016 3.69 339 53 1995 1237795 0563363282 9780563363286 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1237795.A_Taste_of_Japan 3.00 1 24016 3.69 339 53 1991 941566 0394750063 9780394750064 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/941566.Japanese_Vegetarian_Cookery 0.0 0 24016 3.69 339 53 495801 3.96 119 36 1986 941568 053118174X 9780531181744 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/941568.Japanese_Food_and_Drink 0.0 0 24016 3.69 339 53 1988 941569 1852100508 9781852100506 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/941569.Countries_of_the_World_Japan 0.0 0 24016 3.69 339 53 1989 7064675 0641970595 9780641970597 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7064675-madame-sadayakko 0.0 0 24016 3.69 339 53 2004 2934235 1845731123 9781845731120 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2934235.Step_by_Step_Japanese_Cooking 0.0 0 24016 3.69 339 53 598490 0.0 0 0 1986 3894579 1568472412 9781568472416 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3894579.Japan 0.0 0 24016 3.69 339 53 1990