Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha Who Bewitched the West - Hardcover

Downer, Lesley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1592400051 ISBN 13: 9781592400058

Publisher: Gotham, 2003

Synopsis

The author of Women of the Pleasure Quarters shares the story of the famous geisha whose life inspired Puccini's Madame Butterfly, from her training and participation in secret geisha traditions to her defection from her lucrative career to marry the penniless actor and political maverick Otojiro Kawakami and her rise to international celebrity. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Lesley Downer is the author of On the Narrow Road, which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book of the Year Award; The Brothers: The Hidden World of Japan's Richest Family, chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of 1995; and the highly acclaimed Women of the Pleasure Quarters. Ms. Downer is also a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal.

From Publishers Weekly:

The first Japanese actress of modern times, Sadayakko (1871-1946) shared the stage with Isadora Duncan and influenced Puccini's writing of Madame Butterfly. Unfortunately, this biography, a follow-up to Downer's Women of the Pleasure Quarters, never takes wing despite the author's best efforts to track down relatives who still remember the actress, sold by her family to become a geisha at age five. Pieced together from newspaper clippings and writings by contemporaries, the book fails to capture the excitement of Sadayakko's success. Like many geisha, who were considered social outcasts, Sadayakko married into the theater at age 19 by choosing a husband, Otojiro, from among the "riverbed beggars," as actors were then known. She joined him on stage during his troupe's first American tour, but soon she became a bigger star than he. Otojiro founded New Wave drama, or shimpa, which was much less stylized than traditional kabuki, yet Downer makes a strong case that Sadayakko was every bit as important as Otojiro to the development of Japanese theater. But Sadayakko, who was eager to support her husband, left no record to indicate the exact nature of her role, if any, in the development of his plays. After Otojiro's death, Sadayakko continued to act and to train other young actresses. Although Sadayakko was a captivating character, Downer doesn't come up with enough facts to present an equally captivating story.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gotham
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1592400051
• ISBN 13: 9781592400058
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352