FAQ for
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Memoirs of a Geisha can be found here.

Yes. Memoires of a Geisha (1997) was written by American author Arthur Golden.

When Sayuri (Suzuka Ohgo) was still a young girl, the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) saw her crying and wiped away her tears with his handkerchief. Sayuri held onto that handkerchief to provide her with the motivation and hope that she could one day be a companion to the Chairman.

That was rice. Having a geisha's hair done was a long and arduous process, so they were taught to sleep on a raised pillow, and rice was placed around their head to remind them not to fall off the pillow. If they did, it meant returning to the hairdresser to have your hair done all over again.

That was actually wax. Wax was usually combed into the hair of most geisha in order to maintain their hairstyles. However, because of its obvious texture, the use of wax for hairstyling proved to be an extremely painful process for almost all geisha.

The shamisen, literally "three flavor strings".

It was a ploy to get the doctor hot and bothered enough that he would enter the bidding war for Sayuri's virginity.

Sayuri never saw Satsu (Samantha Futerman) again after she successfully escaped from the Miyagawa-Cho District.