祗園の教訓―昇る人、昇りきらずに終わる人

by Mineko Iwasaki

十五分で初対面の人の気持ちをほぐす、名前はお客様のやりとりを聞いて覚える、三年前に出た話題も忘れない……。世界八カ国で翻訳され、大好評。お座敷で知った一流になる人の共通点とは？

255 pages, Paperback Bunko

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Mineko Iwasaki (born Masako Tanaka) 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. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki was the heir apparent (atotori) to her geisha house (okiya) while she was just a young apprentice.
American author Arthur Golden interviewed her for background information when writing his 1997 book, Memoirs of a Geisha. Iwasaki later regretted interviewing for Golden, having cited a breach of confidentiality, and later sued and settled out of court with Golden for the parallelism between his book and her life. In 2002, she released her own autobiography, titled Geisha of Gion in the UK and Geisha: A Life in the US.