25 Quotes by Mineko Iwasaki

I lay there alone for hours, crying my eyes out. I was still trying to rationalize the relationship: Why can’t I let things just stay as they are? What difference does it make if he’s married? But the fact is it did matter. I refused to be second best any longer.

We are de facto diplomats who have to be able to communicate with anyone. But this doesn’t mean we are doormats.

Without thinking, I took one of the black velvet ribbons from my hair, wrapped it around my neck, pulled as hard as I could, and tried to kill myself. It didn’t work.

A geiko’s kimono is a work of art and I would never wear a kimono that wasn’t absolutely perfect. All the kimono worn by maiko and geiko are one of a kind. Many of them are given names, like paintings, and are treasured as such. This is why I have such a vivid memory of everything I ever wore.

I was thoroughly fed up with the system. I had followed the rules for all these years, but there was no way I could stay in the system and do what I wanted to do. The whole reason why the organization of Gion Kobu had been systematized in the first place was to ensure the dignity and financial independence of the women who worked there. Yet the strictures of the Inoue School kept us subservient to its authority. There was no room for any sort of autonomy.

I took the obi from my father’s chest and took it with me. I kept it until I met my husband. I gave it to him. He still wears it.

I figured if I was enjoying myself, then the customers were probably enjoying themselves as well, and didn’t go out of my way to try to please them.

Sometimes I had to be nice to people whom I found physically repulsive. This was the hardest because repulsion is a difficult reaction to conceal. But the customers had paid for my company. The least I could do was treat every one of them graciously.

I opened my own place in June of 1977. I named it Club Hollyhock.