American Geisha

'Come and be my geisha'. Responding to her solider husband's invitation, an American woman arrives in 1950's Japan and encounters something very different to the world of Madame Butterfly and Lafcadio Hearn she is expecting. Entertaining and insightful, this memoir captures the challenge and mutual incomprehension she experiences as she strives to learn about another culture and people, while they struggle to understand her. Written with tremendous zest and good humour, American Geisha is a timeless example of how to live abroad successfully in an increasingly global world, as well as a fascinating account of everyday life in Japan in the immediate post-war years.

Marion Taylor

1. Flowers and Welcome 2. The Japanese Workman 3. Good Samaritans 4. Greek Tragedies 5. My Two-Wheeler 6. Black Market Street 7. A Geisha House 8. The Springs of Noboribetsu 9. Bathing in the Nude 10. A Noh Play 11. Honourable Flowers 12. The Tea Ceremony 13. Carnival Night 14. To the Races 15. Lake Shikotsuko 16. "Never No War-U" 17. The Kabuki Theatre 18. Tokyo And Nikko 19. Back To Tokyo 20. Nara, Japan's First Capital 21. At a Buddhist Temple 22. The Course of True Love 23. A Japanese Art Shop 24. Number One Geisha 25. East is East 26. A Funeral 27. Mrs. Fortunate Mountain 28. Just Goodbye