Women of the Pleasure Quarters Quotes

“Waiting anxiously for you, Unable to sleep, but falling into a doze— Are those words of love Floating to my pillow, Or is this too a dream . . . ? My eyes open and here is my tear-drenched sleeve. Perhaps it was a sudden rain.”
― Lesley Downer, Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha

“At home, sleeping," said Kurota, unfazed. "She was a magazine editor until we got married. Then she said, 'I can't be bothered to work anymore.' That's the way it is with Japanese wives. She stays home, has children, and brings them up. Her world is very narrow - the PTA and the parents of our children's friends; that's about it. I go out and enjoy myself, then get home late and wake her up and she gets angry. She says, 'Why did you wake me up?' and goes back to sleep. In the West, people go to the pub for a drink, then go home, get changed, and go out with their wives. But we Japanese can't do that, our homes are too far away. "That's why we have geisha," said his friend, butting in. "Ordinary girls are good at having babies and bringing up children. But geisha are good at chatting. You see old geisha here ...”
― Lesley Downer, Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha

“A dream of springtide When the streets Are scattering Cherry blossoms. Tidings of autumn When the streets Are lined with lighted lanterns On both sides. Koji Ochi (seventeenth-century poet), inscribed on the Great Gate of”
― Lesley Downer, Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World

“Sada Yacco, in”
― Lesley Downer, Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World