The third and last in my series on books about women’s history, Geisha looks at the life of the geisha, and the world that they inhabit. All three of the books I’ve been writing about are about women who live in an opulent men’s world, in which they are placed on pedestals and given a certain amount of cache, but it is a precarious power, easily lost.

The author, an anthropologist, went to Japan and lived with the geisha, learning about how they live, how they get ready for work, the social structures within the geisha houses, and the way they interact with clients. She points out that, while many Western feminists at the time she was writing, disparaged the geisha, she points out that, as a class, they lived independently and controlled their own money.

In the book, she explores the relationships between the women who are geisha or work with the geisha, their role in Japanese society, how girls are trained to be geisha. She looks at the history of the geisha, their rise and fall, and their role throughout history; and what is expected from clients. She looks at geisha subcultures, regionally and with subspecialties. And, finally, she looks at their customs and traditions, the etiquette and rules that they live by.

This is another fascinating book, examining another historical group of women and how they live. This one is particularly interesting because Dalby lives among the geisha as an apprentice, wearing the make-up and clothing and accompanying the women on their business evenings, helping to serve and entertain their clients. Although, as a westerner, she could never fully capture their experiences, her dedication and willingness to learn from them gains their trust and she is able to share some of their personal stories about becoming and living as geisha.