Memoirs of a Geisha is a captivating look into the world of geisha that was so popular among Japanese so many years ago. It transports the reader into a by-gone era where young girls are sold to be raised as geisha, and where their virginity is sold to the highest bidder.
The book is written as a sort of autobiography about one of Gion's most celebrated and respected geisha, although it is actually a novel. Memoirs of a Geisha is Golden's first novel. It is extremely well researched, as it provides an accurate account of the life of a geisha.
The book follows the progress of a small girl, Chiyo-chan, as she finds herself going through all sorts of cruelty as she trains to be become a geisha.
Chiyo-chan had a very unglamorous life until she was about nine years old. That is when her mother became very ill, and because Chiyo's father was too old to care for his two daughters, he was forced to sell them into a world completely unknown to them.
Chiyo was sent to an okiya where she would be trained to become a geisha, while her sister, Satsu, is sent to a prostitute district.
At the okiya, she meets Hatsumomo, who is a very popular geisha in the Gion district, and the only geisha living at the Nitta Okiya. .
Hatsumomo is a very beautiful woman, but Chiyo-chan is also very beautiful. This sparks an envy in Hatsumomo because she knows that if Chiyo succeeds in becoming a geisha, she will automatically become a rival. She also becomes jealous of Chiyo because only one geisha can be adopted to become the daughter of the okiya, and Hatsumomo is determined to be the one to be adopted.
Hatsumomo immediately starts trying to find ways to destroy Chiyo's career as a geisha before it even begins, and makes Chiyo's life at the okiya a living nightmare.
At one point, Chiyo tries to escape the Nitta Okiya to run away with her sister, but after her plans fail, she is no longer allowed to study to become a geisha.