Quotes from Mineko Iwasaki

I had a serious conversation with the flowers and they told me where they came from. I was right. They were from the man who was secreted away in my heart. I missed him so much. I couldn't wait to see him again. But, at the same time, I was scared of him. Whenever I thought of him a little door in my heart banged shut and I felt like crying. I had no idea what was going on.

We are de facto diplomats who have to be able to communicate with anyone. But this doesn't mean we are doormats.

In my mind I believe that her love for him still exists and that it will continue on for a thousand years, or into eternity.

De verdad le quedan dudas todavía? —le pregunté—. ¿A pesar de tener noventa años? —Hay ciertas cosas de las que nunca podemos estar seguros —aseveró—, aunque vivamos cien años. Eso demuestra que somos humanos.

En realidad, mi verdadero problema era que nunca había estado enamorada y, por tal motivo, mi forma de bailar carecía del profundo sentimiento que sólo se consigue después de experimentar una pasión amorosa.

I took the obi from my father's chest and took it with me. I kept it until I met my husband. I gave it to him. He still wears it.

The transmission was done. I was free. The dance was mine.

She was thanking everybody because she believed, as do many Japanese, that it takes a village to raise a child. I was the product of a group effort rather than any given individual. And the group was Gion Kobu.

One time after the adoption papers came through I was fooling around with a water pistol and, in a childish bid for attention, sprayed her. She came after me and said, "If you were my real child I'd give you a good spanking." It was like a slap in the face. I thought I was her child.

Aha, Mine-chan, I see. It all becomes clear. And I have to hand it to you, you are a little rascal." As far as I'm concerned, there is never an excuse for bad behavior.

A real mother could not have done more. Maybe the time has come to change my mind, I thought. When we finished the meal I took the plunge. I looked directly at her and said, "Mom, let's go home.

This has been one of the best days of my life," she said.

I lay there alone for hours, crying my eyes out. I was still trying to rationalize the relationship: Why can't I let things just stay as they are? What difference does it make if he's married? But the fact is it did matter. I refused to be second best any longer.

I was thoroughly fed up with the system. I had followed the rules for all these years, but there was no way I could stay in the system and do what I wanted to do. The whole reason why the organization of Gion Kobu had been systematized in the first place was to ensure the dignity and financial independence of the women who worked there. Yet the strictures of the Inoue School kept us subservient to its authority. There was no room for any sort of autonomy.

This arcane system has been in place, unchanged, for over a hundred years. It contains no procedure for modification, no avenue for improvement or reform. Complaining or resisting is taboo. As noted, I had been trying to initiate changes in the system since I was fifteen. To no avail.

I would mediate engagements for the women who wanted to get married and help the others find new positions or start their own businesses.

So, I'm sorry, but as long as things remain as they are I don't feel comfortable taking on any younger sisters.

I was glad for the additional income and, whenever possible, used the exposure to express my thoughts about the geiko system.