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81 " I had unwittingly crossed a line. Not only was Hikari-chan an outcast, but she was also a half-breed, fathered out of wedlock by an American GI. It was all too much for Auntie Oima, who couldn’t contain her fear that I would be contaminated by association. Keeping my reputation unsullied was one of her major preoccupations. "
― Mineko Iwasaki , Geisha, a Life
82 " As soon as I walked through the door I went straight into the closet. I rocked myself and chanted, “I’m sorry. Forgive me. I’ll never do it again,” over and over again in my head, like a mantra. "
83 " I wonder why I was so hard on myself. It was something about my father, something about feeling so alone. I completely believed that the answer to everything was self-discipline. I believed that self-discipline was the key to beauty. "
84 " But life was too full for me to dwell on anything for very long. When I was seven I became self-conscious of the fact that I was a “very busy person.” I always had somewhere to go, something to do, someone to see. "
85 " There were three things I had to do on my way to class. "
86 " And a geiko brings with her the cornucopia of connections she has cultivated over her career, which can be very important for a young man starting out. "
87 " From the geiko’s point of view, she needs a partner who is as interesting as the men she meets every night of the week. Most have no desire to leave their aerie of glamour and openness for the constriction of a middle-class existence. "
88 " Even though I knew little about money, I knew that I was the main support of the household. "
89 " You’re not fine. You could die if you keep this up.” “Ah, the beautiful always die young. "
90 " Maybe there really was something wrong and I needed to have myself checked out. But I didn’t know when I would have the time to fit it in. "
91 " I had found what I was looking for. I was madly in love, and the intensity of our passion made a profound difference in my life. More than anything else, it affected my dancing, which attained the expressiveness I had been seeking for so long. "
92 " I felt powerless, like a carp on the cutting board ready to be sliced into sashimi. "
93 " Colocar el abanico entre una y la maestra es un acto ritual, y significa que la alumna está dispuesta a dejar atrás el mundo cotidiano y a entrar en el ámbito de los conocimientos de la profesora. Al hacer una reverencia, declaramos que estamos preparadas para recibir lo que la maestra está a punto de inculcarnos. "
94 " I had a serious conversation with the flowers and they told me where they came from. I was right. They were from the man who was secreted away in my heart. I missed him so much. I couldn’t wait to see him again. But, at the same time, I was scared of him. Whenever I thought of him a little door in my heart banged shut and I felt like crying. I had no idea what was going on. "
95 " My real problem isn’t in my throat or kidneys. The doctor should have operated on my heart instead. "
96 " La estética de los ochaya procede de la tradicional ceremonia japonesa del té, una difícil disciplina artística que sería más correcto traducir por "el camino del té".Este ceremonial es un intrincado ritual de normas fijas que no celebra sino el simple acto de disfrutar de una taza de té en compañía de amigos, una agradable forma de descansar de las preocupaciones cotidianas. De modo que se requiere un exceso de artificio para producir el efecto de simplicidad que manifiesta. Así, todos los objetos artesanales que se utilizan en él y el propio salón de té son obras de arte creadas con el máximo esmero. "