Culture in Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha is a film adapted from the book which has the same title, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Gol. It was taken place in Japan long time ago. It was about a woman named Chiyo, whose name was changed as Sayuri when she became a geisha and her life. 

Image is from here

This film shows us about cultures that live in Japan. Some of them are mentioned below.

• Poor family sells their daughter to be educated as geisha. For some people who don’t have enough money to live their life, they decide to sell their daughter to an okiya (a geisha boarding house). They who have been bought by the owner of an okiya and the owner will decide whether the girls will be sent to a geisha school or became a servant. It’s like Chiyo’s father who sells her and her sister because he doesn’t have any choice while his wife is suffering from cancer.
• People who live near the beach work as fishermen.
• Japanese people use train as their major transportation.
• To show respect to a boss, an underling/a servant must kneel and keep quiet. Yet, when someone meets the other and wants to go, she/he has to bow to show her/his respect. When first time Chiyo came to Nitta’s okiya, she had to kneel, bow, and keep quiet. She was forbidden to answer Nitta’s questions and stare at her. Different with Sayuri when she meets Mameha or Dr. Crab, they bow each other.
• Rich people usually smoke using pipe.
• Japanese house is built from wood and bamboo. Its door is pull-door.
• Girls’ feet are washed using a river-stone.
• Japanese people walk outside their house using wooden sandal.
• The substance/kind of Kimono shows the richness of its owner.
• A servant who makes a mistake will be hit using rattan stick as the punishment.
• People in Japan pray in a temple by ringing the big bell once and then begin to pray. For those who have money, they can put their coin to a wooden box under the bell.
• People drink use cup without handle. They should put their left hand on cup’s base and their right hand on the cup’s side. They should stick the cup to their lips.
• Old people believe that someone can be a lucky person after ramming two stones until producing sprinkling fire.