No, it is not based on a true story. However, a real geisha, named Mineko Iwasaki, sued the author of the book because of defamation. Surprisingly, not the plot, but some characters in the book resembled some of the real characters in Mineko Iwasaki's life that she shared with the author in a private conversation.
Mameha says that she knew Mother would adopt Sayuri, because yesterday the bidding ended with Dr. Crab agreeing to pay 11,500 yen for her mizuage – the highest amount ever paid for a mizuage in Gion.
Memoirs of a Geisha,” labeled as “a movie about Japanese played by Chinese, written by whites,” was first delayed, then forced to be censored for a sex scene, delayed once again, and now banned.
After spending some hard years as a prostitute during World War Two, Pumpkin tries to sabotage Sayuri's relationship with the Chairman in order to get back at Sayuri for succeeding where she herself failed.
But when Nobu rejects Sayuri, the Chairman becomes her danna (a man who pays a geisha to be his long-term mistress). He does not marry her (he already has a family), but he pays all of her expenses and allows her to move to New York to open her teahouse and rear their son. He takes care of Sayuri until his death.
–Relationship with an older man: Sayuri constantly seeks to gain the attention of The Chairman in the novel, who is said to be 20 years older than she is.
The Chairman's dealings with Chiyo (and later, Sayuri) are marked with generosity and magnanimity. It's clear that he returns Sayuri's affection, but he refuses to pursue the relationship because doing so would put him in competition with his boss and friend, Nobu, to whom he owes a great debt.
Sayuri's eyes symbolically relate to the old saying that “eyes are the windows to the soul.” Sayuri's translucent blue-grey eyes lead many characters to believe that she has a lot of water in her personality.
Though she hides her cruel nature from the men she entertains, Hatsumomo insults or sabotages anyone she dislikes. Jealous of any geisha who might be prettier than her, Hatsumomo fears that Sayuri will replace her as the most popular geisha in Kyoto.
After taking Sayuri's virginity, which causes her to bleed, Dr. Crab saves a small amount of her blood in a little vial. Ick. And, to make it even worse, he doesn't even spell her name right on the vial.
Sayuri's beloved older sister. Since Satsu is not as pretty or as clever as Sayuri, Mr. Tanaka sells her to a brothel instead of an okiya. Satsu despises life as a prostitute, so she runs away to her home village where she reunites with her boyfriend.
As Sayuri gains popularity, Hatsumomo tries to hurt Sayuri's reputation and career in the hopes of Mother adopting Pumpkin instead. Mameha orchestrates a bidding war for Sayuri's mizuage and uses the record-breaking payment for Sayuri's mizuage to cover all of her debts.
However, it is hinted and implied in the novel that Hatsumomo collapsed into alcoholism, and as Sayuri guesses, was successful in eventually drinking herself to death, presumably dying from the negative effects the alcohol had on her physical health.
Some geisha would sleep with their customers, whereas others would not, leading to distinctions such as kuruwa geisha – a geisha who slept with customers as well as entertaining them through performing arts – yujō ("prostitute") and jorō ("whore") geisha, whose only entertainment for male customers was sex, and machi ...
But today, it is very unusual for a geisha to have a personal relationship with a danna, and should they ever have one (which is rare because most of them love to be autonomous now), it's mainly because of the patron's desire to help prolong the geisha arts and traditions — nothing more.
Mameha's wealthy and aristocratic patron who bids against Dr. Crab for Sayuri's virginity. A drunk and an uncaring man, he forces Sayuri to undress in front of him so that he can pleasure himself while looking at her in the mirror.
A man in love with Sayuri, Nobu spends much of the novel trying to get Sayuri to become his personal geisha.
Now shockingly Kanha spots Sayuri and Chiru romancing together and he learns that they are dating each other. Kanha cannot accept this because he feels Sayuri is the wrong girl. He just does not like her and so he cannot let her come into Chiru's life.
In the past, some geisha were supported financially by patrons called “danna.” A danna would pay for almost all of a geisha's lifestyle, including her clothes, jewelry, and living expenses. As funding such an extravagant lifestyle is expensive, a danna would need to be an incredibly wealthy man.
She tells Chiyo where her sister has been taken—to a whorehouse across town. Chiyo attempts to escape, but injures herself in the process. She is removed from school and doomed to be a maid in the okiya forever. And she never sees her sister again.
Mineko Iwasaki (岩崎 峰子/岩崎 究香, Iwasaki Mineko, born Masako Tanaka (田中 政子), 2 November 1949) is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29.
The show often features South Korean celebrities parenting without the help of a wife. Sayuri, who is not married, has a son named Zen through artificial insemination.
The ugly, dim-witted Deputy Minister who uses his influence to reverse the American government's decision to strip the Chairman and Nobu's company of its assets. Since Nobu finds Sato detestable, Sayuri sleeps with him in order to infuriate Nobu, hoping that Nobu will lose interest in her as a result.
Ser father was old and her mother terminally ill; thus the parents were persuaded to sell their daughters for a more secured life. Chiyo and sister Satsu were promptly sent to Gion(geisha district) right away.
Even though she spends years as the private mistress to the General, Sayuri only experiences true sexual awakening when, in her thirties, she kisses the Chairman, the love of her life.