|
|
Article: Obituary: Tsutakiyokomatsu Asaji
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- August 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
My first encounter with a geisha took place nearly 40 years
ago. The late Fifties in Japan was a time of unprecedented change
brought about by the national restructuring of the economy that was
to lead to the "economic miracle". Cultural life was gradually
becoming stereotyped and its skills had diminished. The art and
craft of the way of a geisha were already on the wane.
Today, the numbers of these elegant and accomplished
entertainers are decreasing as girls refuse to submit themselves to
the arduous training required. Tsutakiyokomatsu Asaji was one of
the rare last representatives of a bygone glory, and a centenarian
witness to a lost paradise.
I had just arrived in Japan, but I had ...