43 Sayuri wondered what happened on Mameha and why she act cold toward her,
until Mameha back like usual few days later.
4.2.2.3 Sayuri against Chairman
Chairman was a middle-aged man when Sayuri met him for the first time. He was probably around 45 years old man, with gray hair combed
straight back from his forehead. Chairman is the owner of Iwamura Electric. He is the first person in Gion showing kindness to Sayuri when he accidently
saw her crying near the river bank. The conflict with Chairman happened several weeks after the
incident of Amami. Sayuri was invited by Nobu to come at the Ichikiri Teahouse. When Sayuri got there, the only person there was Chairman. The
conflict appeared when Chairman told Sayuri that he noticed Sayuri, when they met again for the first time after many years at the Arena. Chairman also
confessed that he was the one who requested to Mameha to give guidance for Sayuri in order to be a successful Geisha. Sayuri was bit shocked when she
heard Chairman ‘s story because until now she believed that the reason why
Mameha helped her was because of her personal grudge to Hatsumomo. We can see from the following dialogue:
―Sayuri, I am the one who asked Mameha to take you under her care. I told her about a beautiful young girl I‘d met, with
startling gray eyes, and asked that she help you if she ever came upon you in Gion.‖ Golden, 1997:480
44 The truth was that from the beginning Chairman fell in love with
Sayuri, but he could not do anything because Nobu also liked Sayuri. After several explanations from Chairman, Sayuri confessed that she had also a
feeling toward Chairman, the conflict began to melt down. We can see from the following quotation:
―I have great affection for Nobu, but what I did on Amami…‖ Here I had to hold a burning in my throat a long moment before I could
speak again. ―What I did on Amami, I did because of my feelings for
you Chairman. Every step I have taken in my life since I was a child in Gion, I have taken in the hope of bringing myself closer to you.
‖ When I said these words, all the heat in my body seemed to rise
to my face. I felt I might float up into the air, just like a piece to ash from a fire, unless I could focus on something in the room. I tried to
find a smudge on the tabletop, but already the table itself was glazing over and disappearing in my vision. Golden, 1997:416
And after Chairman became Sayuri danna, there was a conflict happened. The cause was a complex situation where the Chairman wanted to
arrange an heir for his company, but due to an issue the plan was stalled. Sayuri realized the only way to run his plan was by moving away from Japan,
so she asked Chairman to let her move to New York City. At first, Chairman was against it, but he gave up and let Sayuri moved from Japan. We can see
from the following quotation: ―Of course, I can never go back to work in Gion; I know that
perfectly well. And yet I wonder, Danna-sama … isn‘t there a place
for a small teahouse in New York city? ‖
―I don‘t know what you‘re talking about,‖ he said. ―There‘s no reason why you should want to leave Japan.
‖ …
―Which is to say,‖ I went on, ―that a woman who made such a choice would probably never bring her child back to Japan at all.
‖
45 By this time the Chairman must have been understood what I
suggesting —that I remove from Japan the only obstacle in the way
of Nishioka Minoru ‘s adoption as his heir.
As Sayuri requested, Chairman and Sayuri moved to New York City,
in U.S.. Chairman also prepared her a small teahouse on New York City so Sayuri can spend her free time there. As danna, Chairman also provided
anything that Sayuri needs, include living expense, paying tax, and etc.
4.2.3 Sayuri againts Environment
