Princes, kings and president of the United States: the story of the most expensive geisha in Japan
'07.03.2021'
Source: Rambler
Japanese woman Mineko Iwasaki is known not only in her native country, but also far beyond its borders. Ppopularity came to her thanks to her activities: at the age of 21, Mineko became a professional geisha.
She worked almost seven days a week for eight years while health allowed her: she participated in state-level celebrations, entertained presidents, princes and kings and earned millions, writes Rambler.
Little Masako was born in the family of a ruined aristocrat of Sinezo Tanaka from the clan of Minamoto in 1949. Her family was in distress, so the girl and her sisters were sent to live in Oqia, a place where they learn the ancient craft of future geishas.
The hostess loved Masako so much that she offered her parents to adopt her. They understood that this was a chance for a girl to get a start in life, so they agreed. It was then that Masako received a new name and last name - Mineco Iwasaki.
When the girl was six years old, she began to teach traditional Japanese dancing, playing musical instruments, calligraphy, etiquette rules and the subtleties of the tea ceremony.
By the age of 15, Mineko had become a "maiko", that is, reached one of the stages of training as a professional geisha. Even then, Iwasaki began attending meetings with clients, accompanied by a senior mentor. The fame of the capable Mineko, who also has great charisma, spread first in Kyoto, and when she became a geisha at the age of 21, already throughout Japan. She happened to receive US President Gerald Ford, director Elia Kazan, famous actors, members of the British royal family.
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In the early 90s, Mineko told about herself and her profession to the American writer Arthur Golden. He was fond of the history and customs of the Land of the Rising Sun, he was interested in geisha girls and the peculiarities of their profession. Golden acted dishonestly, firstly, he altered everything in his own way and portrayed the geisha as sex workers, and secondly, he violated the terms of anonymity by publishing Mineko's name in the "Thanks" section.
Iwasaki was in despair, but did not give up, deciding to sue Golden. She won the case and received a decent amount from the author for causing moral damage, and after a while Mineko wrote the book “The Real Memoirs of a Geisha,” in which she told her real story.
By the way, Iwasaki even went on tour to personally present the book in different countries. So, in St. Petersburg Ivasaki said that she did not sell her body, as Golden claimed in her novel! She sold art, which her profession was obliged to geisha: the art of femininity, Japanese dance, conversation, cooking and many other subtleties that she has comprehended since childhood.
For eight years Mineko almost did not rest, but earned a lot of money. However, in 29 years she realized that she no longer wants to sacrifice her health and personal life, so she decided to quit the profession of a geisha.
Mineco's personal life, indeed, did not develop during her work, despite the fact that she had a huge number of suitor. For a long time she was secretly connected with the popular Japanese actor Shintaro Katsu, who was almost twice as old and married. They broke up because Shintaro did not dare to leave the family and make their relations with Mineko official.
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When she broke up with her profession, she met with the artist and restorer Dzinitiro Sato. In 1982, the couple played a wedding, and a year later they had a daughter, Kosuke.
Today, they live in the suburbs of Kyoto and eschew extra attention. Earlier, Mineko owned beauty salons, but now she is engaged in art with her husband: she paints and restores canvases.
