Memoirs of a Geisha

"I never try to defeat the man I'm fighting," explained the Admiral. "I try to make him less confident. When you are more confident than your opponent, you will win."

None of us find as much kindness in the world as we should,

For two years now, I'd lived the hard and boring life of a maid.

During those first few weeks in that strange place, I couldn't have felt worse if I'd lost my arms and legs, rather than my family and my home. I was confused and miserable, and I had no doubt that life would never again be the same.

Back in the 1930s there were still rickshaws in Kyoto. Mr. Bekku led me by the elbow and we climbed into a rickshaw. "Cion," Mr. Bekku said to the rickshaw driver. It was the first time I ever heard the name of the famous geisha area of Kyoto.

took out a comb and started pulling it through my hair.

Ugh! You smell of fish," he said.

as the water dried out.

Instead of being dark brown like everyone rise's, my mother's eyes were a shining gray and mine are just the same. It's the water in both our personalities. My father had wood in his personality; mother and I were full of water.