Title

The Memoirs of a Geisha was a movie program Rated PG-13 movie which contains some sexual
content/ mature subject matter and parental guidance is advised. The genre of the movie program was
drama and romance which means it talks about life and love. The movie was released on December 23,
2015, directed by Rob Marshall, produced by Steven Spielberg, Douglas Wick, and Lucy Fisher, and was
written by Robin Swicord. The original language used was English.

Memoirs of a Geisha, memoirs mean a narrative composed from personal experience, it can be
autobiography or biography and geisha consist of two (2) kanji "gei" and "sha". "Gei" means art and
"sha" means a person or a doer. Then, if we put them together we can conclude that "geisha" means
artisan or a performing artist.

Chiyo is a great geisha and by only dancing, she can communicate her feelings because of the
movements that were filled with emotions and feelings. She writes a journal/diary and keeps it in her
room. With the use of the journal/diary, she was able to remember all the memories that she loved and
treasured most.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

PLOT

In a small village called Yoroido, there is a little girl with a mesmerizing greyish eye named Chiyo.
She lives with her family, an old father, a sick mother, and a dull sister named Satsu. When Chiyo's
mother is dying, her father is very sad and does not know to handle his daughters alone, that is why he
comes up with a decision of selling his daughters to a geisha house which is an okiya. When they are
done being inspected to see if they are suitable for sale, they are then taken to a train going to Kyoto.
When they arrived, Chiyo left at Hatsumomo's okiya in the Gion district, while Satsu is being taken to a
brothel which is on the other side of Kyoto.

In the okiya, Chiyo started working as a maid and meet a friend who she gives a nickname
‘Pumpkin'. They are both going to school to train as a geisha, learning how to dance, sing, play music,
and serve tea in a tea ceremony. This setup makes Chiyo unhappy, so she plans to escape with her sister
once she finds her. Whereas Pumpkin chooses to stay in okiya and eager to be a geisha.

In the okiya, there is a geisha who is known because of her beauty, but she is an evil bodied with
an angel face, her name is Hatsumomo. When she newly met Chiyo, she already labeled her as garbage
and let Chiyo knows that she dislikes her. Mameha, also a well-known geisha in Gion because of her
gorgeousness, hates also Hatsumomo, that is why she steals one of Mamehas kimonos and makes Chiyo
put a spot of ink to it, then she tells Mother that Chiyo ruined it herself. After that, Chiyo receives a
beating as a punishment and adds a cost to her debt for the payment in kimono.

Hatsumomo then gives information to Chiyo about her sister as for the exchange in ruining
Mamehas kimono. Hatsumomo tells Chiyo that her sister Satsu is in the brothel. Chiyo goes there to
find her sister and when they met they both agreed to meet at the bridge on the sunset. Unfortunately,
when she got back to the okiya, Hatsumomo blames Chiyo stole her emerald brooch and sold it for cash.
Chiyo then being held to okiya for 50 days.

Chiyo tried to escape, she climbed to the roof but unfortunately fell off the ground. Mother
caught her and in exchange for the expenses in her medicine, Chiyo is no longer going to school to train.
The mother then gives Chiyo a package, inside is his parent's mortuary tablets, she also finds out that
her sister escaped with Mr. Tanaka’s assistant’s son. Chiyo felt alone and need to stand on her own feet
and plan her future without her family.

As time goes on, Chiyo still has no access to training as geisha. One day, Hatsumomo teased
Chiyo that she will never be a geisha. Chiyo went to the bridge and cry, then a man came up to comfort
her and gives her a handkerchief to dry her tears, he also gives Chiyo a coin to buy some flavored shaved
ice. The man is Chairman Iwamura and his kindness gives hope in Chiyo’s life.

Mameha requests Mother that Chiyo will be her younger sister to train as a geisha. A couple of
years passed, Chiyo debuts came, and then she was renamed Sayuri. Mameha then started to train
Sayuri to get a Danna, their target is President Nobu Toshikazu. On the sumo match, Chiyo and Nobu
met, along with Nobu is the Chairman who gave Sayuri a handkerchief and hope in life. However, her
target is Nobu which is why she flirted with him.
Mameha then begins to organize bidding for Sayuri's mizuage, a rare ritual where a geisha loses
her virginity to a man who has the highest bid and be her first lover. Sayuri has the highest record for
her mucilage price, while Dr. Crab is her highest bidder.

Because Sayuri has the highest mizuage, she's being adopted by her mother instead of Pumpkin.
The mother's decision frustrates and made Hatsumomo angry. Hatsumomo makes fool things and
embarrassed herself so she is being kicked out of the okiya by the Mother.

Then World War II begins that affect the whole of Japan, this leads to all the okiyas in Gion
closed. Sayuri from being famous now needs to wash clothes, but she remains composed. She lives with
the Arashino family a well-known kimono maker in Japan.

Finally, the war ends, Nobu finds Sayuri to help him win the American Investment as a geisha.
Sayuri accepts the request because if the Chairman. When she comes back to Gion There is a lot of
changes anyone can claim to be a geisha and Pumpkin acts naturally and not traditionally a geisha
would. Sayuri entertains the American general as a part of the plan but Nobu cannot stand it and wants
to be Sayuri's danna.

One night, Sayuri asked Pumpkin a favor to bring Nobu while he is having intimate with an
American, but to her surprise Pumpkin bring the Chairman instead of Nobu as revenge for stealing her
inheritance right in okiya and for younger sister Hatsumomo. Thereafter, she has no dignity to face the
man she loves who is the chairman.

After many years, Sayuri and Chairman met again. He confessed that all along he knew Sayuri is
the young girl he gave a handkerchief to in the past and he asked Mameha to be her teacher and to
protect her.

Setting

The story started in a small fishing town in Yoroido, Japan. Yorido is a small town that only has one road
and it is located where Chiyo was born. And it leads right to the front door of Japan Coastal Seafood
Company, the most prominent business in Yoroida, and was run by Mr. Tanaka Ichiro. She calls their
house a Tipsy House for it was built on the cliff. Take note that Yoroido is only a fictional town.

The rest of the movie was taken in Gion, a district in Kyoto, Japan. It is the most prominent Geisha
district in Kyoto, Japan. It is before, during, and after World War II.

POINT OF VIEW

The movie Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005 have a first-person point of view. The story is being
narrated by the character herself and by her perspective, as a young girl, her tone is a typical child who
is confused and afraid. When she gets a little older her tone is more aware of her surroundings, and
when she met the Chairman her perspective in life has started to have hope.
Symbols

Symbols are typically an object or anything that contributes to the growth of the characters as the story
goes by. There are three (3) major symbols that were significant in the movie: Chiyo's eye, the
Chairman's handkerchief, and Geisha's Kimono.

Chiyo’s Eyes

There is an old saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Her eyes were honest and true yet it is
the total opposite of her being a geisha. Being a geisha means you try to satisfy the needs of men
whether it is for entertainment or pleasure even if they are boring or act rudely. And yet, Chiyo's eyes
were honest and true but she must have to hide it because the main objective of a geisha is to create an
illusion that her customers wanted and their eyes must be expressive. Yet, she may be able to conceal or
hide her true feelings, someone with great eyes will still find the truth behind this superficiality. The
Chairman was able to see through those superficial emotions and feelings.

The Chairman’s Handkerchief

While Chiyo is crying alongside the stream the Chairman gave her a handkerchief, (wrap around a coin)
with this simple act of kindness Chiyo was moved and felt comforted. In the world she lives where sex is
a commodity and love are an illusion the handkerchief that the chairman gave, she finds love. While
being a geisha she keeps the handkerchief in her kimono and it always reminds her of the kindness of
the chairman and the possibility of love, a true love in the fantastical world she lived in. And after
meeting many times they become lovers and find true love.

Geisha's Kimonos

Geisha's kimono is not just a simple dress or just for customs, it also symbolizes the status and wealth of
a geisha. The materials and texture of the kimono represent the status and wealth of a geisha. The
higher the texture and rarer the materials the wealthier they are. The apprentice geisha's kimonos have
a red collar that represents their status and if it is white, she is an entertainer.

MORAL

One of the important morals in the movie is being courageous. Chiyo at a very young age had to
face many struggles and difficulties in life, yet she manages to endure the pains and bear the
belittlement of other people, she remains to withstand in the end.

Another moral is trusting the worthy one. Although we cannot distinguish easily who we can
trust and who we cannot because of the deceiving way they treat us, it is important to know people
around us. As for Sayuri, she did not expect that Pumpkin will betray her, they have been together since
they were a child. You cannot tell who is being true to you even how long you have known the person.
Consistency and Love can also find in Memoirs of a geisha, as Sayuri remains loyal to the
Chairman since she was still a little girl. Maybe other men had her first but only the Chairman have her
heart, her love consistently only for one man.