Memoirs of a Geisha | Characters & Character Analysis

Memoirs of a Geisha Characters

Nitta Sayuri/Chiyo Sakamoto

Sayuri is the main protagonist in the novel. The novel is narrated in a first person style from her perspective and it tells her life story. Her story begins when she is a child. As a child, she is known by the name "Chiyo." Chiyo spends the early years of her life with her fisherman father and ill mother growing up in a tiny fishing village called Yoroido. Her life is changed dramatically the day she has an accident and meets Mr. Tanaka.

Mr. Tanaka sells Chiyo and her sister Satsu to Okiya in Gion. They are separated for the first time in their lives and Chiyo is deeply unhappy. Chiyo is not made to feel welcome in her Okiya and dreams of being reunited with Satsu. Her chances of escape are thwarted and it seems unlikely that she will ever become a geisha. Her luck improves when she meets...
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