48 looked to me in my frightening state, as though they were designed
more to hurt people than to help them. Golden, 1997:35
Around that time, geisha culture was still popular and well-known in Japan. Kyoto, especially Gion also got affected by the culture and technology, so
gradually it grown into one of the biggest geisha district in Japan.
4.3.1.2 At 1938
On this year, Sayuri was graduated from apprentice geisha to full- fledged geisha. As the result, she was entertained the guest by herself, being
self-independence on her own action, and do not need to accompany Mameha again. We can see from the following quotation:
This was in the Summer of 1938, when I was eighteen years old. We call this change
―turning the collar,‖ because an apprentice wears a red collar while a geisha wears a white one. Golden: 1997, 290
Apprentice geisha usually graduated into full-fledged geisha after she was eighteen years old, but some of them graduated late after they reached 20
years old. It depends on the each apprentice preparation and their older-sister judgment to decide if they were ready to become a full-fledged geisha or not.
4.3.1.3 At 1945
Japan surrendered to Allied Force after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by Atomic bomb. In this time, Japanese people felt on high tense
49 and uneasiness because of the incoming Allied Force people, especially
American people, to their land. As the result, all activities included geisha activity being ceased. And
geisha culture itself was stopped developing due to government warning and also due most of geisha are working in the factory, leaving their identity as
geisha aside. We can see from the following quotation: The war ended for us in August 1945. Most anyone who lived in
Japan during this time will tell you that it was the very bleakest moment in a long night of darkness. Our country wasn
‘t simply defeated, it was destroyed
—and I don‘t mean by all the bombs, as horrible as those were. When your country has lost a war and an
invading army pours in, you feel as though you yourself have been led to the execution ground to kneel, hands bound, and wait for the
sword to fall. During a period of a year or more, I never once heard the sound of laughter. Golden, 1997: 349
As Japan surrendered to Allied Force, many Allied Force soldiers came to Japan. The incoming of foreigner caused an awkward situation to
Japanese people on what should they do, and how they should react. As the result, everyone that lived on this era felt oppressed and their freedoms were taken.
4.3.1.4 At 1948
