An authority on Japanese history and culture, LESLEY DOWNER is the author of several acclaimed works on Japan, including a travel book, "On the Narrow Road," and "The Brothers: The Hidden World of Japan's Richest Family," selected as a "New York Times" Notable Book. Having lived in Japan for a decade, she now divides her time between London and New York.
"Lesley Downer has crafted, with wonderful precision, the best-ever
portrait of those mysterious creatures who still ply their
venerable craft in the silent backwaters of Japan. "Women of the
Pleasure Quarter"s deserves to endure, and to become a
classic."
-Simon Winchester, author of "The Professor and the Madman
"
"Downer describes her increasing intimacy with the Kyoto geisha
with candor and grace. She is not a safari guide, leading us on a
wild geisha hunt. She is intelligent and curious and modest, and
the results of her very personal research are deeply
satisfying."
-"New York Times Book Review
"
"Excellent . . . Downer skillfully builds up a picture of the loves
of geisha, set against the Japanese attitude toward sex and
marriage . . . A well-rounded and enthralling account of the power
of that fantasy and the women behind it."
-"Literary Review "(London)
"Lesley Downer has created a masterpiece."
-"The Spectator "(London)
" Lesley Downer has crafted, with wonderful precision, the
best-ever portrait of those mysterious creatures who still ply
their venerable craft in the silent backwaters of Japan. "Women of
the Pleasure Quarter"s deserves to endure, and to become a
classic."
- Simon Winchester, author of "The Professor and the Madman
"
" Downer describes her increasing intimacy with the Kyoto geisha
with candor and grace. She is not a safari guide, leading us on a
wild geisha hunt. She is intelligent and curious and modest, and
the results of her very personal research are deeply
satisfying."
- "New York Times Book Review
"
" Excellent . . . Downer skillfully builds up a picture of the
loves of geisha, set against the Japanese attitude toward sex and
marriage . . . A well-rounded and enthralling account of the power
of that fantasy and the women behind it."
- "Literary Review "(London)
" Lesley Downer has created a masterpiece."
- "The Spectator "(London)
Inspired by Arthur Golden's massively popular Memoirs of a Geisha to "meet the real geisha" in the last stronghold of geisha training in Japan, Downer skillfully intertwines her profiles of Kyoto personalities and tea-house customs with a fluidly written geisha history that's unabashedly aimed at a Western audience. Author of On the Narrow Road and The Brothers: The Hidden World of Japan's Richest Family, Downer was no stranger to the country. However, she found the entrance to the "geisha world" heavily guarded. She writes: "I was always an outsider, I could never step through the looking glass." But small successes (finding the right cakes to present to "the mama," a very powerful geisha) and patience eventually won Downer a place at events that are "utterly closed to outsiders." These included an invitation to a young girl's misedashi ("store opening"), the "rite of passage" from trainee to geisha. We also learn, for example, of the distinction that has developed between a prostitute and a geisha (which translates as "arts person"), who undergoes intense and lengthy apprenticeships in dance and music. Written in dynamic, highly readable prose, the book is supported by exhaustive research and a lengthy bibliography. Readers who were as smitten with Golden's geisha as Downer was will find this good companion reading. Photos. (Mar. 6) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
"Lesley Downer has crafted, with wonderful precision, the best-ever
portrait of those mysterious creatures who still ply their
venerable craft in the silent backwaters of Japan. "Women of the
Pleasure Quarter"s deserves to endure, and to become a
classic."
-Simon Winchester, author of "The Professor and the Madman
"
"Downer describes her increasing intimacy with the Kyoto geisha
with candor and grace. She is not a safari guide, leading us on a
wild geisha hunt. She is intelligent and curious and modest, and
the results of her very personal research are deeply
satisfying."
-"New York Times Book Review
"
"Excellent . . . Downer skillfully builds up a picture of the loves
of geisha, set against the Japanese attitude toward sex and
marriage . . . A well-rounded and enthralling account of the power
of that fantasy and the women behind it."
-"Literary Review "(London)
"Lesley Downer has created a masterpiece."
-"The Spectator "(London)
" Lesley Downer has crafted, with wonderful precision, the
best-ever portrait of those mysterious creatures who still ply
their venerable craft in the silent backwaters of Japan. "Women of
the Pleasure Quarter"s deserves to endure, and to become a
classic."
- Simon Winchester, author of "The Professor and the Madman
"
" Downer describes her increasing intimacy with the Kyoto geisha
with candor and grace. She is not a safari guide, leading us on a
wild geisha hunt. She is intelligent and curious and modest, and
the results of her very personal research are deeply
satisfying."
- "New York Times Book Review
"
" Excellent . . . Downer skillfully builds up a picture of the
loves of geisha, set against the Japanese attitude toward sex and
marriage . . . A well-rounded and enthralling account of the power
of that fantasy and the women behind it."
- "Literary Review "(London)
" Lesley Downer has created a masterpiece."
- "The Spectator "(London)
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