Woman of Pleasure is a slim novel whose size belies its powerful contents. For readers who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha, a novel by Arthur Golden (1997), Murata’s novel is the more historically accurate complement. Like Golden’s popular (but flawed and orientalist) work, this is a novel about Japanese geishas and their Floating World; however, unlike Golden, Murata draws on real events from Meiji-era Japan, weaving a story which is both fiction and history at their best. In Murata’s novel, geishas are not isolated from the rest of Japanese society, but integral to the larger whole.

The view of the floating world Murata offers us is raw and real, not romanticized; here we see women as they were, as actors with agency and power. We are given a glimpse into the real operations of a hanamachi and geisha houses of varying ranks and size, and the concerns of its most visible denizens. This is a powerful novel, one which removes geishas from the stereotypical niche they are often penned into, and places them in historical and economic context; Murata’s geishas are not dolls, but fleshy, flawed, and powerful individuals. This isn’t a romance, but an honest portrayal of what people do when they are denied their basic needs.

I am considering assigning A Woman of Pleasure in one of my history courses, as it emphasizes the change an individual and collective can invoke.

Based on real life events during Meiji-era Japan, this is an immersive look at the lives of the prostitutes living and working in the red light district. It is a beautifully written historical fiction novel for readers looking for a character driven look into history.

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this fascinating, complex, dynamic historical fiction novel, Kiyoko Murata brings the life of a young girl, Aoi Ichi, recently sold to a brothel in Kunamoto, Japan, to the pages of this novel. Aoi Ichi, the protagonist, experiences several dramatic changes over the novel, from losing her birth name to learning a host of new activities and skills, not least of which are those actually involved in the work of a prostitute. Murata has populated the various brothels and Kunamoto itself with some complex, dynamic, and detailed characters with complex backstories and personalities; Aoi Ichi in particular is a complex protagonist who struggles to adjust to her new reality. Aoi Ichi also has some wonderfully complex relationships with other women, her oiran Shinonome and her writing instructor Tetsuko, which adds another fascinating dynamic to her perspective and her narrative. Weaving in Aoi Ichi’s poetry throughout the novel not only shifts the structure and format of the novel but also gives readers a new, hidden, and unique insight into Ichi’s mind (beyond the novel). A fantastic novel, a fantastic author, and a fantastic translator, this historical fiction novel is a fascinating insight into Meiji Japan, sexuality norms, and the lives of women across this period.

A Woman of Pleasure delves into the everyday lives and interactions among women. Romance isn't a focal point, and the drama is relatively subdued. Nevertheless, the unfolding plot through the perspectives of three main characters offers an intriguing narrative.

Each of these characters presents a unique source of hope for the reader. Despite the potentially dark and depressing theme of women facing hardships as sex workers, the book strikes a delicate balance. It portrays the harsh realities without dwelling excessively, maintaining a thread of hope throughout. However, beneath the surface, there's a simmering anger. The women, discontent with their lives, take steps to change their circumstances. While I won't delve into details to preserve the plot's secrecy, the narrative eventually revolves around their collective decision to reject dehumanizing treatment.

In summary, readers with an interest in Japanese literature or the red light districts of early 1900s Japan may find this book captivating. It offers a compelling exploration of women rebelling against their challenging circumstances, making it a potential source of enjoyment for those intrigued by such narratives.

Ichi is fifteen when she is taken from her island home of Iojima and sold to the preeminent brothel in the Kumamoto licensed quarter in Kyushu. She is ranked physically “exceptional” and assigned to learn from Shinonome, one of two exquisitely perfect oiran (courtesan). Ichi is illiterate, unworldly, brash, and very independent. At the Female Industrial School, the girls are taught calligraphy, reading, and composition. Their teacher, Tetsuko, adds rudimentary mathematics to the curriculum, so the girls can understand the terms of their contracts (debt which often increases as their fathers continue to borrow) and keep track of their earnings, hopefully thwarting the brothel’s crooked bookkeeping. Only sixteen when she first sits behind the storefront lattice waiting for clients, Ichi has a level of acceptance way beyond her years. She calculates she will have to stay healthy and take clients every day for eight years to repay her way to freedom.

The first of Murata’s novels to be translated for western audiences is inspired by the harsh yet fascinating lives of the brothel courtesans of early 20th-century Japan and specifically the historical 1904 courtesan strike. As a western reader I was initially looking for a familiar cadence, which isn’t there. Rapid switches in point of view are abrupt. We hear Ichi, then Shinonome, then Tetsuko, past and present, with little preamble. Events are succinct, without long expositional passages or dialogue. Once in the swing of this matter-of-fact approach to storytelling, I found this an absorbing history, delving into universal themes of patriarchy, sexism, and oppression. As brutal as the reality is, darkness never overwhelms Murata’s narrative. Her portrayal of such a courageous young protagonist is so realistic, the reader can’t help admiring and applauding the determination of these resolute women.

Immersive. I immediately felt dropped into the world, and it also reminded me of a fairy tale. Maybe it was the sparse style or the fast moving plot. Grateful to read this. It feels like a Japanese feminist take on the past.

Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Kiyoko Murata’s A Woman of Pleasure follows 15-year-old Aio Ichi, sold and transported in 1902 from her southern island home to the urban Shinonome brothel. Here, like all the girls and women of Japan's Medji-era pleasure districts, Ichi is ranked and then further and continuously commodified, with her every aspect—from her appearance to her speech and manner of walk—reshaped with a single goal in mind: to please men.

As we learn about the poverty the Shinonome residents were sold out of and encounter even less fortunate women in the district, women sold and resold to rougher and less ethical brothels, we’re forced to confront our own notions of fortune and luck. We read and must decide which we’re more comfortable with—generational poverty or perpetual indenture. We must weigh how we value education against its purpose within the novel. And we must remain mindful that, although categorized as historical fiction, what we’re really reading is fictionalized history—and that history nearly always reaches with long arms into the present.

With prose that is sometimes sparse and always unapologetic, this is a novel that is difficult to love, but I love it all the more for that difficulty. Although it tells the story of hierarchy and competition among and within Japan's turn-of-the-twentieth-century brothels; of the near impossibility of a woman ever meeting the terms of her contract, which she had no hand in creating and no control over amending; of the poverty many of the women were sold out of, it never feels like it’s truly about those things.

This is a novel about subversive women. It’s about reciprocity and mutual support among those with seemingly nothing to give. It’s about self-emancipation and the possibility of systemic change. Brutal without being bleak and hopeful without ever seeming cavalier, A Woman of Pleasure is, quite simply, a book worth reading.

I feel like people are going to immediately want to compare this to Memoirs of a Geisha. I’ve never read it, but I have seen the movie and I don’t necessarily think that if you like one you’ll like the other. From what I can tell, Memoirs of a Geisha is a bit heavier on the romance and the drama and I’ve heard that the writing is…flowery. A Woman of Pleasure focuses more on the everyday life and interactions between the women themselves. Romances isn’t even a focus is in this book at all and the drama is weak. However, it’s still interesting to watch what little plot there is unfold through the views of three main characters.

Ichi Aoi, is the character that we see the most of. She’s young, hopeful, rambunctious, and foolish. Her thoughts are sometimes perplexing, but also she’s fun. Her circumstances are not great, but she has hope through most of the novel that she’ll be able to pay off her debt and return home to die on the waves of the ocean. Shinonome is a more formidable character as the highest earning oiran in the brothel. She’s smart and knows how to play the game. However, she’s not happy and I think that her version of hope comes and goes. I’m not sure if for most of the novel she can really envision a different life for herself. Last is Tetsuko, she’s a bit no nonsense, as she is the daughter of a samurai, but she really cares about the girls in her care. She wants better things for them and is going to do her best to get it for them. She’s is hopeful, but also realistic.

All three of these characters exhibit a variation of hope for the reader. Most of us would consider a novel about down on their luck women being sold as prostitutes to be quite dark and depressing, but this one strikes a nice balance. It shows the realities of such work without dwelling on them and carrying the feeling of hope over its entire course. However, it also has a level of simmering anger beneath the surface. The women aren’t happy and they want to change their lives, so they do. I’m not going to go into detail because I want to keep what little plot there is a secret, but eventually they get tired of being treated as less than animals.

I keep on mentioning that there is little plot in this book. I suppose what I really mean is that there is little action. Most of this novel is driven by the growth of Ichi as a character. She matures and becomes more wise to her circumstances as she keeps going. The shift in goals and desires with both Shinonome and Tetsuko also serve to drive this book forward. Most of the writing focuses on their thoughts and ideas as they shift and change over the course of the year or so that this takes place over.

Overall, I think that readers of Japanese literature will find this interesting. If you’re interested in Japanese red light districts in the early 1900s, you may find this interesting. If you’re looking for something sort of sordid or titillating this isn’t going to be the book for you. There is nothing salacious about this novel. If you’re interested in the lead up and act of women rebelling against their circumstances, you may also enjoy this. It’s a book that’s really for the ladies, but I won’t tell a man he shouldn’t read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC of this novel, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read a lot of Japanese authors so I was excited to read this translation of A Woman of Pleasure. It was a fascinating read as it shines a different kind of light on the women who serve men as oiran and prostitutes. It was interesting to read about their backgrounds, relationships and everyday life. I can imagine that due to the dialects, this was a challenge to translate and kudos to the translator for really giving us a flavor of the speech and the communication issues due to regional differences. It's also an excellent story for our times in terms of women elevating their circumstances through creating solidarity amongst themselves. Fans of Japanese literature should find this book to be irresistible.