The first complete English translation of Kafu's 1918 portrait of
geisha life is historically gripping, if not quite dramatically
so.Recently widowed Komayo has returned to Tokyo to take up the
only livelihood she knows, the profession of geisha. Lovely, in her
mid-20s, she hits on a bit of luck when she runs into Yoshioka at
the theater. He's now a successful businessman. Komayo was
Yoshioka's first encounter with a geisha back in his student days.
Still enchanted with her, he wants to reestablish their connection.
It is not long before Yoshioka becomes her patron, a euphemism
tangled in the complex economic and social structure of geisha
life. Though ostensibly hostesses, geisha are financially indebted
to the house that represents them (for their costly wardrobes and
board), and the only feasible way to be released from contract is
to acquire a patron who will hopefully buy it. Sexual favors are
traded for patronage, and the geisha will hedge her bets by having
a number of patrons, hoping one will repay the debt, in effect
creating a life of limited, genteel prostitution. Away on holiday
Komayo meets Segawa, a rising star on the stage, and the two begin
a love affair. She tries to keep Segawa a secret, but soon Yoshioka
finds out and begins to plot her humiliation. Meanwhile, Komayo
becomes involved with a grotesque antiques dealer, whose patronage
helps pay for the increasing expenses Komayo incurs in gifts for
Segawa. Into these complications come the rivals of the novel's
title - other geishas who steal the attention of Yoshioka and
Segawa. Originally serialized, the novel detours into the lives of
those in the Shimbashi geisha district of 1912, offering for view
the hangers-on, hack writers, men of power and the waitresses and
attendants who serve the geisha, in effect shaping a beautifully
realized portrait of this significant Japanese subculture. There is
a bit of the cultural expansiveness of Dickens or Zola here, and if
Komayo's dilemma feels a bit light to a modern sensibility, Kafu
creates a world around her that is fascinating to behold. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Originally published in 1918, "Rivalry" is regarded as the
masterpiece of Nagai Kafu, a Japanese novelist known for his
brilliant renderings of Tokyo in the early years of modern Japan.
Stephen Snyder offers the first English translation of the
complete, uncensored text, which has long been celebrated as one of
the most convincing and sensually rich portraits of the geisha
profession.
"Rivalry" tells a sweeping story in which sexual politics
compete with sisterly affection in a world ruled by material
transaction. Komayo is a former geisha who, upon the death of her
husband, must return to the "world of flower and willow" to escape
poverty. A chance encounter with an old patron, Yoshioka, leads to
a relationship in which both lovers hope to profit: Yoshioka
believes Komayo can restore his lost innocence; Komayo plans to use
Yoshioka's patronage to compete in the elaborate music and dance
performances staged by her fellow geisha.
Yoshioka is eager to ransom Komayo, but as she considers his
offer, Komayo falls in love with Segawa, a young actor who promises
to turn the talented geisha into the finest dancer in the Shimbashi
quarter. Though her feelings for Segawa are genuine, Komayo is
eager to use her lover's position to become the lead performer
among her peers. Her ambition even tempts her to take on a third
patron known only as the "Sea Monster," a repellent but wealthy
antiques dealer whose deep pockets promise to shoot Komayo to the
height of celebrity.
Though she finds herself at the pinnacle of a glittering career,
Komayo nevertheless becomes the target of a bitter rivalry between
her three lovers that leaves her both thrilled and exhausted, both
brutalized and redeemed. Kafu's compelling tale takes readers from
the intimate corners of the geisha house to the back rooms of
assignation, from the dressing areas of the great kabuki theaters
to the lonely country villa of a theater critic and connoisseur of
Shimbashi women. His lush depictions of architecture and costumes
and his incisive descriptions of urban life and individual motive
provide a vivid backdrop for Komayo's struggle-one woman's
absorbing quest to find fame, affection, and financial security in
the refined but ruthless theater of Shimbashi.
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