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4.3.2 Setting of Place 4.3.2.1 Kyoto
Kyoto around that time was already a big city with the population over 400.000 people Mikiso, 1992:241. Sayuri and Satsu brought by Mr.
Bekku to Gion, an area inside Kyoto. Sayuri was left in Okiya Nitta, while Satsu followed Mr. Bekku into an area called Miyagawa-cho. We can see
from the following quotation: I caught glimpse of rooftops reaching as far as the base of hills in the
distance. I could never have imagined a city so huge. Even to this day, the sight of streets and buildings from a train often makes me
remember the terrible emptiness and fear I felt on that curious day when I first left my home. Golden, 1997: 45
As the quotation above said, when Sayuri arrived on Kyoto for the
first time, she felt amazed with the situation and the city size. Yoroido were very small on size and on the wealthy if it
‘s compared against Kyoto. Kyoto around that time was one of the biggest city in Japan.
4.3.2.2 Okiya Nitta
It was Sayuri new home. Okiya was a place where geisha lives, while Nitta
‘s name came from the owner of okiya name, in this case, it was the name of Mother. Sayuri lived in this okiya along with Mother, Auntie,
Granny, Hatsumomo, Pumpkin, and several maids, until she became a full- fledged Geisha. We can see from the following quotation:
At length the rick saw turned down an alleyway of wooden houses. The way they were all packed together, they seemed to share one
52 continuous façade
—which one again gave the terrible feeling of being lost. Golden, 1997: 46
The first impression that Sayuri got when she arrived on Nitta Okiya was the okiya itself does not have any differences with the rest of building on
the Gion district. It made by wood and being packed together in a line. Sayuri stayed on this okiya when she lived in Gion.
4.3.2.3 School
The school here was a place where a girl trained into a geisha. It was located in the back part of Kaburenjo Theatre. At the school, all young girls
learned music, dance, singing, etc, as they hoped someday they can became a geisha. Sayuri herself attended the school a month after she arrived in Kyoto.
We can see from the following quotation: Halfway down the wall we went into a spacious classroom in the
traditional Japanese style. Along one wall hung a large board with pegs holding many tiny wooden plaques; on each plaque was written
a name in fat, black strokes. My reading and writing were still poor; I
‘d attented school in the mornings in Yoroido and since coming to Kyoto had spent an hour every afternoon studying with Auntie, but I
could read very few of the names. Pumpkin went to the board and took, from a shallow box on the mats, a plaque bearing her own
name, which she hung on the first empty hook. The board on the wall, you see, was like a sign-up sheet. Golden, 1997:55
As the quotation above said, the school was very important for
young geisha to learn and to study various arts. Every arts studied on the their respectative classrooms. And also all expense to study for the girls will be
paid by their own okiya.
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4.3.2.4 Ichiriki Teahouse
