Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile

Salem, MA, and New York: Peabody Essex Museum; George Braziller, 2004. 159 pages, illustrations (chiefly color); 32 cm. Published in conjunction with the exhibition Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile, organized by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, (February 14 to May 9, 2004) and presented at the Asian Art Museum--Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, San Francisco (June 25 to September 26, 2004). Firm binding, clean inside copy. OVERSIZE! No priority/international, except by special arrangement. Richly illustrated with colour plates. "This volume provides a behind-the-scenes look at the life of the geisha and provides a comprehensive overview of geisha culture. There are contributions by many specialists on Japanese culture including Arthur Golden and Lisa Dalby." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Why do geisha exist?, by Arthur Golden; I: Understanding geisha; A world behind closed doors, by Lesley Downer; Identifying geisha in art and life: is she really a geisha?, by Andrew L. Maske; II: Confronting the image; First encounters--emerging stereotypes: westerners and geisha in the late nineteenth century, by Allen Hockley; The exotic geisha, by Liza Dalby; The floating world today: photographs by Yoko Yamamoto text by Andrew L. Maske; III: Living art; Performance and play: the art and accomplishments of geisha, by Andrew L. Maske; Geisha to the fore: Niwaka festivals and the new luminaries of Edo, by Money L. Hickman; Geisha on stage and screen, by Peter M. Grilli.. 1st. Paperback. Fine. Folio.