World Lit

春に咲く
きれいな花も
散ってゆく

Even the prettiest flowers that bloom in the spring will eventually wither and cease to live.

I was taken from my home in a small village in the Kansai region five years ago. I am fifteen years old now and I will probably never see my family ever again. My parents were farmers and grew rice for a living. They could not support our family. My parents always got into fights over money and frequently kept Eiko, Yasuko, and I up at night. We pretended not to know anything about our family’s financial difficulties.
One day, there was a strange man in our small house. He was introduced to us as our uncle and we were told that Eiko and I would be staying over at his house for the summer. We left that day without any of our belongings because our uncle told us he had whatever we needed at his place. I can still remember the tears pouring down my mother’s face that day.
Our uncle didn’t say a word to us for the whole ride. We got to our destination the next day and he grabbed Eiko by the arm and walked her to a beautiful woman wearing the prettiest kimono I had ever seen. She had lips painted blood red and was holding a charming little umbrella to shade herself from the scorching summer sun. I started in awe as the woman took Eiko’s hand and walked off into the distance. My uncle returned and told me that they were going off on a walk and would return to his house later in the day. I believed him.
A few hours later, we reached his house. We walked inside and I saw that there were raised wooden clogs, the trademark of a geisha, at the entrance to the house. My uncle pushed me towards a woman wearing a kimono and told me that this was my new home. She handed him a purse full of what sounded like coins. I finally understood the situation. I was being sold to an okiya.
The woman put her hands on my chin and inspected me as if she was purchasing fruit at the market. She told the man, ‘This girl will do. She will grow up to be one of the prettiest geisha in the whole town.” I screamed, hoping that somebody would hear me and come to my rescue. I struggled to escape from her vice-like grip but the woman seized my arm and dragged me to a room to lock me up. I cried for days and refused to sleep or eat anything they gave me. I punched the floor until there were blisters on my hands. After what seemed like a week, I felt so weak that I collapsed onto the floor. The door that had slammed shut a week ago, slid open and a girl who appeared only a few years older than me came in. She told me, “You better get yourself together because if you don’t start working, they will beat you.” The girl’s name was Sakura. She helped me get dressed and showed me around the okiya. Everything was so clean and extravagant.
I started chores the next day. I worked hard so that Okaa-san would not beat me. I cleaned the house inside and out, washed clothes, and helped out my older geisha sisters. They treated me like their slave and I had to listen to their every command. Because I was the youngest of the okiya, I waited for them to come home past midnight from their appointments to welcome them home. Eventually, Okaa-san sent me to a special school to learn the ways of being a geisha.

It has been years since my kidnapping from my village. I still have never crossed paths with Eiko after our separation. Okaa-san has finally relieved me of my chores and is making me learn how to play a variety of different instruments such as the shamisen and the shakuhachi as well as traditional dances. Sakura and I go to calligraphy and tea ceremony class together. I am very good at playing the shakuhachi; I am top in my class. Sakura makes me play it for her during our free time and she often tells me that it reminds me of her sister back home who also played the shakuhachi.
Tonight is the first night Sakura and I are to be allowed out with Onee-san to go to an engagement to observe. It took hours for us to get dressed and to put on the white powder and makeup. Fortunately, we did not have to put everything on ourselves because Okaa-san helped us since it was our first time. After the many layers of clothing and makeup, we looked like real geisha. Sakura and I were excited to finally get a glimpse of what we were supposed to become. We left the okiya with Onee-san with our lacquered wooden clogs.
As we passed by the men walking on the street, we could feel them eye-ins us up and down. Onee-san told us to get used to it. Walking in the wooden clogs was difficult especially because we had to keep our straight posture while moving. When we got to the ocha-ya, Onee-san gave us instructions and we sat silently by the shoji. We made sure that we did not do anything rash so that Onee-san would not ruin her reputation. Onee-san was the best geisha in our okiya and brought in the most money. Any action foolish on our part would end up in terrible consequences. We just stayed in our spots, kneeling in the traditional seiza, and smiled and laughed along with the party.
The night ended and Sakura and I were relieved that we did not mess up our first time out in the open. Onee-san congratulated us, telling us that we would grow to be outstanding geisha in the district. I wondered if I could ever be as great as her. Could I bring in as much money or more than Onee-san and have as many customers as her? When will I be able to fully repay my debt? Will I ever get to see my beloved parents and sisters…?