Memoirs of A Geisha - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

At the age of nine, Chiyo Sakamoto is taken from her poverty-stricken fishing village of Yoroido on the coast of the Sea of Japan with her older sister Satsu and sold to an okiya (geisha boarding house) in Gion, the most prominent geisha district in Kyoto. Satsu is not sold into the okiya with her and is instead forced into becoming a prostitute in Kyoto's pleasure district. Chiyo lives in the okiya alongside another young girl named Pumpkin, elderly and grumbling Granny, money-obsessed Mother, and Auntie, a failed geisha. Also living in the okiya is the famous ill-mannered geisha Hatsumomo who promptly takes to disliking Chiyo, who she sees as a possible rival. Despite Pumpkin and Auntie's warnings, Chiyo plans to leave the okiya and escape the city with Satsu, but is caught when she falls off the roof and breaks her arm. Enraged at her for dishonoring the okiya, Mother stops investing in Chiyo and makes her pay off her increasing debts as a slave.

Several years later, a downtrodden Chiyo is given money and a handkerchief in the street by a strange but kind man known at this point only as the Chairman. She donates the money to the Yasaka Shrine in Gion, praying to become a geisha in the hopes of seeing him again, keeping the handkerchief as a memento. Chiyo is envious of Pumpkin, who is on her way to becoming a geisha under Hatsumomo's tutelage, while she remains a maid. Soon after visiting the shrine and during Granny's funeral, she is taken in as a protégé by Mameha, a rival of Hatsumomo and the owner of a kimono Hatsumomo previously made Chiyo ruin. Mameha persuades Mother to reinvest into Chiyo's training, and Chiyo adopts the new name of Sayuri, with Mameha acting as her "older sister" and mentor. Mameha mentions that despite Hatsumomo's popularity, she was in fact a failure due to once angering the mistress of her principal teahouse. As a result, she could never obtain a danna to sponsor her independence, which is why she has stayed in the okiya under Mother. It was also revealed that despite making a lot of money, Mother had refused to name Hatsumomo as the heir of the okiya because she's aware of the trouble she will bring: She will throw Mother out, sell off the okiya's kimonos, retire and live on the money.

Hatsumomo goes out of her way to destroy Sayuri by tarnishing her reputation in Gion, forcing Mameha and Sayuri to devise a plan to push Hatsumomo out of the Nitta okiya lest Sayuri's career ultimately die, and so arranges for her mizuage (portrayed as a deflowering "ceremony" for maiko as a step to becoming full-fledged geisha) to be bidden upon by several influential men, namely mentor Nobu Toshikazu, the president of Iwamura Electric; and reputed mizuage specialist "Dr. Crab", dubbed so by Sayuri due to his appearance. Unfortunately, Hatsumomo learns of the plan and tells Dr. Crab that Sayuri has already been deflowered. However, after gaining back the respect of Dr. Crab by convincing him that Hatsumomo is a known liar, he ultimately wins the bid for Sayuri's mizuage and she uses his payment to cover all of her fees. This leads Mother, who had already been considering adopting Pumpkin as her heiress, to adopt Sayuri instead, which ultimately destroys the two girls' friendship. This change enrages both Pumpkin and Hatsumomo for different reasons: Pumpkin was looking forward to the adoption so that she could have some kind of security in her old age, while Hatsumomo was looking forward to Pumpkin's adoption so she could secure her own position as head geisha. Hatsumomo's behaviour begins to worsen and she is eventually thrown out of the okiya, with Pumpkin leaving soon after.

As it turns out, Dr. Crab was actually bidding against the Baron, Mameha's danna, for Sayuri's mizuage. The Baron had previously undressed Sayuri against her will at a party, which Mameha had warned against. Nobu instead bids to become Sayuri's danna, but loses out to General Tottori. At this time, Japan is on the brink of entering World War II and many Geisha are evacuated to other cities to work in factories, which require hard labor and are primary bomb targets. The General is demoted and is unable to use any influence to send Sayuri somewhere safer but Nobu, despite losing respect for Sayuri, is able to send her far north to live with Arashino, a kimono maker. At the end of the war, Nobu visits Sayuri and asks that she return to Gion to help entertain the new Deputy Minister Sato, whose aid can be instrumental in rebuilding Iwamura Electric, the company which the Chairman and Nobu run.

Sayuri, Mameha and Pumpkin entertain the Minister together regularly and within time, Nobu formally begins proposals to become Sayuri's danna. Sayuri still maintains strong feelings for the Chairman and doesn't want Nobu to become her danna, so on a weekend trip to the Amami Islands with Iwamura Electric, she plans to seduce the Minister and be caught in humiliation by Nobu. She asks Pumpkin to bring Nobu to a theater while she is with the Minister. Pumpkin still harbors resentment towards Sayuri for being adopted by Mother and noticing her feelings towards the Chairman, purposely brings him to the theater instead.

Sayuri eventually meets the Chairman again and reveals that her acts in Amami were for personal reasons. He reveals to Sayuri that he had always had feelings towards her, despite her thinking he didn't, but explains that he felt it disrespectful to take away the woman his friend had showed so much interest in, especially considering Nobu had once saved the Chairman's life. He also reveals that he found out the truth after confronting Pumpkin and told Nobu afterwards, causing Nobu to cease becoming Sayuri's danna. Sayuri and the Chairman kiss, which she feels is her first kiss expressing true love.

Sayuri eventually retires from being a geisha and the Chairman becomes her danna. It is revealed that they have an illegitimate son together. Foreseeing the consequences this could have regarding the inheritance of Iwamura Electric, she relocates to New York City in later life. Here she opens her own small teahouse for entertaining Japanese men on business in the United States, which Mother takes a financial interest in, but Sayuri severs her links to the Nitta okiya and in effect, Japan. The Chairman remains her danna until his death and the story concludes with a reflection on her life.