Blog #10

1. A geisha practices the art of beauty first and foremost. This can be seen at it simplest in just the wear of a geisha. It broadens then to the art of entertainment, such as the pouring of tea or sake. It also includes the finer arts of music, dancing, and singing. Overall the art of the geisha is a way of life, a way of being. The way of beauty.

2. When my grandma was diagnosed with cancer, we began to see her slowly fade. It was as if there was no possiblity that she would ever be the woman she was, the mother she was, or the grandmother she was. In this way I could see the Japanese aware in my life. Who she was, was a beauty not fully appreciated until she began to "wilt and wither away."

3. Yes, while the actors an actresses were excellent and spoke English well, the slight accents upon the words drew away from the beauty and actually made them "ugly" so to speak. I found myself more drawn to the undertones of not speaking your native language than the actual beauty within the words.

4. I feel like one event that celebrates Kisetsu in America is the Fourth of July. While, at it's base it is a celebration of the independence of our nation, it also has undertones of celebrating summer with the foods and drinks that accommodate the season. However, if Japanese were to celebrate it they would not be eating hamburgers, corn on the cob, watermelon and such, but rather eel.

5. I feel the whole film past the point where she met the Chairman on the bridge was the exact sense of Otogibanashi. As she said in the last scene, "Every step I have taken since then, was to bring me closer to you." The years and years she suffered with immense patience just really embodies this ideal.

6. Wabi is a simplistic idea of beauty. Finding the simple things in something is what makes it beautiful. Sabi is a beauty found after something is lost to you. The appreciation of the beauty once had but now forever gone. I feel that we appreciate a more complex sense of beauty and we tend to appreciate the beauty we have in the moment rather than delve on the past.

7. Wabi is seen when the chairman looks into Chiyo's eyes and finds the very "plain" look in them to be beautiful. Sabi is seen when Chiyo feels she has lost the chairman, and sees the beauty that he was and believes she will never have again.

8. Hatsumomo probably died on the streets. She was turned away and only had the rags on her person. The relationship between Sayuri and the Chairman is that of a danna, its sort of a night time wife, one you do not show off in a formal setting. I believe she is happy, for she got what she prayed for.

9. Okaasan adopted Sayuri. I feel this sent pumpkin into a wild spiral for she lost the one thing she ever wanted. As she stated in the scene on the island.

10. Gambari is seen throughout the whole movie. The premise of becoming a gaisha is that you have to devote your life to the practice. This is textbook gambari.

11. I loved the movie. I felt the ending was awesome, although I had predicted it as I was watching it, it made me very happy. I feel seeing the struggles of her life, yet she was still able to gain the one thing she always wanted, proved gambari really is important to be successful.