Geisha’s dark side
Kiritaka’s claims of assault and harassment face a wall of silence from the modern Geisha community. This raises the question of how common similar things were in the pre-World War II era, when geisha protected their own in a tight community dedicated to preserving Japanese culture and tradition. But other geisha are joining the outcry against the abuses of these treasured artisans.
Mineko Iwasaki, former geisha and author of Geisha: A Life, joins Kiritaka and Tamura in speaking out about this dark aspect of the geisha experience. She included it in her book, Geisha of Gion. Kiritaka says that despite criticism, “dozens of former maikos” have contacted her wanting to support her claims with their own stories.
