Chapter 21
What was surprising about the tea ceremony's location on the Baron's estate?
It was held not on a traditional tea pavilion, but aboard a small boat. (245)
What does the Baron do with Sayuri in private?
He undresses her and admires her body, much to Sayuri's horror. (260-263)
Who painted that season’s ‘Dances of the Old Capital’ poster, and who did he paint?
Uchida Kosaburo painted the poster for 'Dances of the Old Capital', in which he featured Sayuri in his famous painting of her gazing into the sunrise. (265-266)
Why was Chiyo’s ‘mizuage’ fee not truly the record even if the sum of money was greater?
Cash is worth less than the year before (inflation), so even if Sayuri's fee (11,500) was "greater" than Mameha's (7000-8000), because of inflation, Mameha's would be worth more if measured in present money. (279)
What is the change apprentices undergo when they become a geisha? Why is it called this?
The change is called "turning the collar," because an apprentice wears a red collar while a geisha wears a white one. (290)
What disagreement between Mameha and the Baron causes him to invite Sayuri instead of Mameha to his party at Hakone?
Mameha couldn't attend the party at Hakone due to a 'medical appointment', which was an abortion. The Baron, after a long silence, decided to then to take Sayuri in Mameha's place. (249-250)
What warning does the Chairman give Sayuri before he leaves?
The Chairman warns: "I'd watch out if I were you, when a man like the Baron decides he has something to give you" (258)
Why is Pumpkin crying and rushing down the stairs, looking for Hatsumomo?
Pumpkin was rushing to find Hatsumomo, tripping during the process, because she heard Mother had changed her mind about adopting her. This is later confirmed to be true.
What changes to an apprentice’s aesthetic happen after she undergoes ‘mizuage’?
What are the reasons Sayuri gives for the parties being so dull?
"First, just because a young girl has been sold by her family and raised from an early age to be a geisha doesn't mean she'll turn out to be clever, or have anything interesting to say. And second, the same thing goes for men." (290)
What claim does the Baron make that Nobu decides to counter?
"I never understand why women bother wearing kimono in the first place. Nothing is as beautiful as a woman without an item of clothing on her body" (248)
Nobu tries to steer away from the topic by mentioning Arashino's work.
What does the Chairman ask Sayuri’s opinion about?
A gift the Chairman had brought for the Baron: an antique cosmetic box, made by an Edo period artist. (256)
What was the gift Nobu gave Sayuri, and what does Mameha tell her to do with it?
Nobu gifted Sayuri a "simple jewel, a ruby as big as a peach pit". Mameha instructs Sayuri to take the ruby back to the okiya and give it to Mother. (270)
What was the gift Dr. Crab gave Sayuri after ‘mizuage’, and what was its purpose?
It was a package of expensive Chinese herbs that were meant to discourage pregnancy. (284)
How does Mother try to cheat Mameha out of her earnings from their bet?
She first tried to argue that the earnings Mrs. Okada had brought weren't accurate. When that failed, she resorted to changing the arrangement to "take half of what a geisha in her position might usually take, until Sayuri had repaid her debts. Now that her debts are repaid, she is entitled to the other half..." instead of double like they agreed. (298-299)
What metaphor does Mameha use to represent an “apprentice on the point of having her ‘mizuage’”
What does the Baron tell Sayuri he invited her to the party for?
The Baron invited Sayuri to the party "so all the men could have a chance to look at you; so you (...) must wander all around--inside the house, down by the lake, all through the woods, everywhere!" (255)
What does the doctor that Mother hired check for in Sayuri?
Mother hired a silver-haired doctor to inspect Sayuri and check if she had lost her virginity before her mizuage. (272-273)
Why did Sayuri make a good deal of never ignoring Nobu again at Iwamura Electric parties?
She understood what it meant to long for someone: Nobu longed for Sayuri's company just like Sayuri longed for the Chairman's. (286)
Who is Shizue, and why does Sayuri wish her destiny was like Shizue’s?
Shizue wasn't an especially popular geisha and was the mistress of a pharmacist. "You could have looked all over Kyoto and not found two people who enjoyed each other's company as they did." Sayuri wanted her destiny to be like Shizue's but with the Chairman; she wanted love, more than an empty connection. (294)
What items remind Nobu of the Baron? Why?
Antiques. Antiques remind Nobu of the Baron because he considers him a "relic of the feudal age" (249)
What gift does the Baron give Sayuri, that she keeps after the ordeal?
A kimono, made in the 1860s for the niece of the very last shogun. It had a design of "silver birds flying against a night sky, with a mysterious landscape of dark trees and rocks rising up from the hem". (260)
What was Mameha’s dance about, and how did it influence Sayuri’s performance?
Mameha's dance was a story called "A Courtier Returns to His Wife", where a courtier goes to meet with his affair, then returns to his wife, who overcome with sadness and shivering in the cold, dies shortly after.
Sayuri was overcome by sadness because of the previous performance which led to her performing better. (267-268)
How was Sayuri treated inside the okiya now that she was the adopted child?
Now that Sayuri had been adopted by the okiya, a few changes happened:
Mother stopped Hatsumomo's troublemaking, and Sayuri ate whenever she wanted, she chose her kimono first and Auntie fixed it for her before even Hatsumomo's. (285)
What is an ‘en’? What metaphor does Sayuri use to represent this?
An 'en' is a karmic bond that lasts a lifetime.
"In my day, we viewed ourselves as pieces of clay that forever show the fingerprints of everyone who has touched them. Nobu's touch had made a deeper impression on me than most." (295)