Fiona Graham: Difference between revisions
m r2.6.4) (robot Modifying: ja:フィオナ・グラハム |
No edit summary Tag: references removed |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Fiona Graham''' |
'''Fiona Graham''' is an Australian [[anthropologist]], [[Television producer|producer]] and [[Film director|director]] of anthropological [[Documentary film|documentaries]]. She worked in Tokyo's [[Asakusa]] district for more than three years as a ''[[geisha]]'' under the name {{Nihongo|'''Sayuki'''|紗幸||}}.<ref name="jt20110603">{{cite web |url= http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110303f3.html|title= Geisha cuts into kimono market|first= Alex|last= Martin|date= 3 June 2011|work= The Japan Times Online|publisher= The Japan Times Ltd. |location= Japan|format= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate= 6 June 2011}}</ref> Geisha do not reveal age according to geisha tradition. |
||
==Academic career== |
==Academic career== |
||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
==Geisha training== |
==Geisha training== |
||
In December 2007, after a year of preparation and training, Graham formally debuted as a |
In December 2007, after a year of preparation and training, Graham formally debuted as a geisha in the Asakusa District of Tokyo, after completing the normal preparation of around one year.<ref name="jt20080629">{{cite |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080629x3.html|title=Aussie geisha speaks out|date=29 June 2008|accessdate=3 June 2009|publisher=[[The Japan Times]]}}</ref> She is the first westerner to formally debut as a geisha. American Liza Dalby, who did fieldwork with geisha in Kyoto in the 1970s has never claimed to have been registered as a geisha, or to have formally debuted, and did not work or earn money as a geisha. Graham takes lessons in several arts, inlcuding shamisen and singing, but her main art is ''yokobue'' (Japanese bamboo flute). Graham became a ''geisha'' as an academic project for a year initially but decided to continue as she has only just debuted after the initial year. She continued as an Asakusa geisha for more than three years. In June 2011, one article cited an anonymous geisha as saying that Graham had left after failing to follow customs and show proper deference to more experienced practitioners.<ref name="telegraph20110604">{{cite web |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8556540/First-ever-Western-geisha-leaves-the-sisterhood.html|title= First ever Western geisha leaves the 'sisterhood'|first= Julian|last= Ryall|date= 4 June 2011|work= The Telegraph|publisher= Telegraph Media Group Limited|location= Japan|format= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate= 6 June 2011}}</ref>This is not confirmed in any other article or by the Asakusa Geisha Assocation. In The Australian, Graham is cited as saying she left because her geisha mother was hospitalised and no longer able to keep her. By Asakusa Association rules geisha may become independent - open their own geisha house - after four years, but the Asakusa Association did not apply the same rules to Graham as a foreigner. Graham continues to work as a geisha in Tokyo and around Japan. There are a number of geisha in Japan who are not affiliated to geisha associations and who work independently. Graham also runs a kimono store, "Sayuki no Kimonoya", in Asakusa, Tokyo.<ref name="jt20110603"/> |
||
==Bibliography == |
==Bibliography == |
||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Sayuki |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Sayuki |
||
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
||
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1961 |
|||
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Melbourne, Australia |
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Melbourne, Australia |
||
| DATE OF DEATH = |
| DATE OF DEATH = |
||
Revision as of 11:36, 27 June 2011
Fiona Graham is an Australian anthropologist, producer and director of anthropological documentaries. She worked in Tokyo's Asakusa district for more than three years as a geisha under the name Sayuki (紗幸).[1] Geisha do not reveal age according to geisha tradition.
Academic career
Graham first came to Japan at the age of 15 on a school exchange programme.[2]
She received a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford, and an M.B.A. from the same. Her first degrees in psychology and teaching were taken at Keio University, where Graham was the first Western woman to graduate.[3]
Geisha training
In December 2007, after a year of preparation and training, Graham formally debuted as a geisha in the Asakusa District of Tokyo, after completing the normal preparation of around one year.[4] She is the first westerner to formally debut as a geisha. American Liza Dalby, who did fieldwork with geisha in Kyoto in the 1970s has never claimed to have been registered as a geisha, or to have formally debuted, and did not work or earn money as a geisha. Graham takes lessons in several arts, inlcuding shamisen and singing, but her main art is yokobue (Japanese bamboo flute). Graham became a geisha as an academic project for a year initially but decided to continue as she has only just debuted after the initial year. She continued as an Asakusa geisha for more than three years. In June 2011, one article cited an anonymous geisha as saying that Graham had left after failing to follow customs and show proper deference to more experienced practitioners.[5]This is not confirmed in any other article or by the Asakusa Geisha Assocation. In The Australian, Graham is cited as saying she left because her geisha mother was hospitalised and no longer able to keep her. By Asakusa Association rules geisha may become independent - open their own geisha house - after four years, but the Asakusa Association did not apply the same rules to Graham as a foreigner. Graham continues to work as a geisha in Tokyo and around Japan. There are a number of geisha in Japan who are not affiliated to geisha associations and who work independently. Graham also runs a kimono store, "Sayuki no Kimonoya", in Asakusa, Tokyo.[1]
Bibliography
- Inside the Japanese Company by Fiona Graham, Curzon Press, 2003, ISBN 0-415-30670-1
- A Japanese Company In Crisis: Ideology, Strategy, And Narrative (Contemporary Japan) by Fiona Graham, Routledge, 2005, ISBN 0-415-34685-1
References
- ^ a b Martin, Alex (3 June 2011). "Geisha cuts into kimono market". The Japan Times Online. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ Ryall, Julian (9 January 2008). "Westerner inducted into mysteries of geisha". The Telegraph. Japan: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ Ryall, Julian and Norrie, Justin (8 January 2008). "Australian academic is a geisha down to a tea". The Sydney Morning Herald.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Aussie geisha speaks out, The Japan Times, 29 June 2008, retrieved 3 June 2009
- ^ Ryall, Julian (4 June 2011). "First ever Western geisha leaves the 'sisterhood'". The Telegraph. Japan: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 6 June 2011.