Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by Arthur Golden published in 1997. It is the story of a geisha working in Kyoto during World War II. It is also the name of an upcoming (as of 2005) film based on the book, and directed by Rob Marshall, and starring Zhang Ziyi.

Controversy

After the novel was published, Arthur Golden was sued by the geisha with whom he worked for defamation and breach of contract. According to the plaintiff, the agreement was supposed to be total anonymity for the main character of his story. This was because there is a code of silence among the geisha community and breaking that code is a serious offense. Once the plaintiff's name was printed in the book, she received numerous death threats and requests to commit seppuku for dishonoring her profession. However, she opted to sue Golden for putting her name in the novel. The case is currently under litigation

Related Topics:
Contract - Plaintiff - Anonymity - Seppuku - Litigation

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