Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha

Lesley Downer


The author gives a fascinating and engaging history of the Geishas - the educated high class Japanese courtesans at the heart of Japan's Floating World who defied the traditional roles of Japanese women and shaped Japan's larger cultural heritage and Eastern ideas of sexuality and feminity. Downer describes daily activities in Geisha houses of today and also explores matters of the heart - including reasons girls enter this life.


This summary is courtesy of McNaughton Books