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.Peter MacIntosh, a documentary maker who has studied the secretive world of geisha for 18 years, said: "I have refused to call her Sayuki. When she starts acting like a geisha, then I'll call her by her geisha name
Coligny wrote:Translation: I left my balls in the locker and if I say anything going against the wolfpack will I'm'a' gunna be outa job...
No place for you, Aussie geisha told
Fiona Graham says the Asakusa Geisha Society 'would not allow me to become independent soley because I am a foreigner'. Picture: Ben Robins Source: The Australian
Rick Wallace, Tokyo correspondent From: The Australian June 06, 2011 12:00AM
AN Australian who became Japan's first Western geisha has rejected reports she has split with her professional association after losing its endorsement and intends to continue performing in the role.
Fiona Graham, who made history when she entered the mysterious world of the geisha in 2007, hit out at press reports she was being forced to leave the "sisterhood" after clashes with other members.
Ms Graham, who has taken the name Sayuki, told The Australian the Asakusa Geisha Association had rejected her request to operate independently after the "mother" of her geisha house fell ill and was unable to continue operations. "I asked the geisha association, given the circumstances of my mother, if they would allow me to become independent in December," she said.
"I was told very directly that the reason I couldn't have tenure was because I was a foreigner.
"Being the first white geisha was the hardest thing I have had to do.
"I have worked very, very hard, so it's a very hard thing when the geisha association would not allow me to become independent solely because I am a foreigner."
She said despite the refusal she would continue to operate as a geisha. "It's possible that I might have to move to another geisha district. But there are geisha districts who are willing to allow me in," she said.
"My current situation is unclear. The official papers saying I am no longer a geisha has not gone out from the geisha office yet.
"But I have the strong support of many of some geisha sisters both inside Asakusa and other districts."
Ms Graham said by March she was fully booked for the rest of the year and was continuing to fulfil her engagements with the other geishas she worked with.
Geishas focus on providing entertainment to guests over meals. The ancient art includes performing genteel tea ceremonies, drinking rituals, poetry, music and calligraphy.
Ms Graham shrugged off anonymous claims in a British newspaper that she had fallen out with the association after clashing with members.
"I have had enormous support from Japanese customers and I certainly plan to continue being a geisha," she said.
Ms Graham came to Japan at the age of 15 on exchange and fell in love with the culture. She went to a Japanese high school before attending Keio University and completing a doctorate in social anthropology at Oxford.
TennoChinko wrote:... She looked exactly like what she was supposed to be -- an over the hill 40-something white woman dressed up in some Madame Butterfly garb...
Screwed-down Hairdo wrote: She may not have a great future in the geisha world, but she's a woman and should have no trouble living out the rest of her career on student grants....
Mulboyne wrote:... They didn't have any indication from her at the time that she would want to set up independently. ...
Mulboyne wrote:I have a little more sympathy for her situation than I did at first. I still don't think becoming a geisha is a marvellous aspiration
Greji wrote:....some girls have to go to extreme lengths in order to get laid.....
Screwed-down Hairdo wrote:If that's the case, they need look no further....I will take one for the team and service any of them at the merest request (provided I can refuse to put my mouth to either set of their lips if they're unbearably ugly).
Taro Toporific wrote:MOVE OVER SAYUKI---HERE COMES ONOU.".....Many people have commented that Fukutaro is more Japanese than many Japanese..... "
Liza Crihfield Dalby (born 1950) is an American anthropologist and novelist specializing in Japanese culture.[1] In 1975, she traveled to Japan to research the geisha community.[2] Her book Geisha (filmed as American Geisha) is based on her experiences with the geisha community in Kyoto's Pontochō district.
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