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Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha Who Seduced the West [Paperback]

Lesley Downer (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 2 Feb 2004
Madame Sadayakko was the ultimate geisha, so exquisite that the prime minister of the day paid a fortune to deflower her. But she was a rebel who wanted to carve her own path in life. In 1899 she married a subversive avant garde actor and, with a troupe of other actors, they set out on the first ever tour of the West by a Japanese theatre company.



Sadayakko took to the stage and became an instant star. She danced for the American President and for the Prince of Wales in London, Picasso painted her, Gide swooned over her and Rodin admired her. But back in Japan, she suffered the stigma of being an ex-geisha and an actor and was forced, in the end, to make a terrible choice - between respectability and love.

Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Headline Review; New Ed edition (2 Feb 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0755310322
  • ISBN-13: 978-0755310326
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 35,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘An extraordinary adventure story’ -- Sunday Telegraph

‘Downer is an agile and evocative writer who treats this sensational tale with consistent elegance’ -- The Times

About the Author

Lesley Downer lived in Japan for more than ten years and speaks fluent Japanese. She has written many books about Japan and its culture, presented television programmes on the subject for both Channel 4 and the BBC and she contributes a weekly column to The Scotsman called 'Postcard from Japan'.
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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb! 29 May 2007
By Ms. Lockwood
The tale presented to us here is a fascinating one, written in such a way as to leave you hanging off Downer's every word. She wastes not one, and the prose is highly evocative of the period. Madame Sadayakko comes across as a feisty character, and the author gives the answers to every question one could possibly have about her. Highly recommended, to both those who know much and those just starting out in "the flower and willow world"!

Unfortunately, the reviewer below has confused Lesley Downer with Liza Dalby, who DID become the only (to date) non-Japanese Geisha in Japan. Do not, however, think that Downer does not know her stuff! For those who are in doubt, not only should this book prove she does, but they might try reading her fascinating novel "Geisha: the Secret History of a Vanishing World" - a superlative introduction to the Geisha world and how they live day to day.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read 25 Aug 2007
By M. Mukhtar
This book by Lesley Downer is an well scripted and researched book. This a very descriptive account of the life of Madame Sadayacco. With her husband she achieved her success in the western world. The story of a elegant woman who decided to go into acting at a young age to support her husband and make his business a success in the west and in her home country. She was a mesmerizing actress and her exquisite dancing stole the heart of millions in the western world and still an inspiration to many women. However, in Japan her career choice was not appreciated and respected and both an actress and a geisha were counted as low career choices. She tried along side her husband to make her career a success in Japan, but wasn't able to. She decided to leave both professions at the height of her success to live an ordinary life.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A strong life 26 Sep 2012
By Belle Among Vikings
Amazon Verified Purchase
I was really touched by this book. At the end I thought 'How many of us are living lives that will make history?' It is well written and loved the deep haiku poems at the beginning of each section. Through this biography I understood better the place of Japanese women in society in the past, and their moral obligations.
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