Disclaimer: I do not own Memoirs of a Geisha and I am not making any profit off of this.
Author's Notes: I wrote this based on the novel Memoirs of a Geisha written by Arthur Golden, but it can probably be read by people who have only seen the movie as well. Also, this is my very first fan fiction I have ever written or posted and it was originally meant to be part of a school project, so if it sucks I'm sorry. Go easy on me. Let me know if I made any mistakes. Nice comments and constructive criticism are very much appreciated, but no flames, thanks.
Pumpkin's Diary
Dear Diary,
My name is Pumpkin. I live in an okiya in Kyoto called the Nitta Okiya. I am originally from Sapporo. I lived there with my mother and father until my mother died because a demon brushed against her in the street. After that, my father sent me to live with my uncle. When my uncle lost his business, he talked to me about sending me here. He told me that there are two kinds of girls, smart and stupid. He told me that I was nice, but that I was one of the stupid ones. He said that I would never be able to make a living and survive on my own, so he would send me somewhere where I would be taken care of. Then he sent me here to this okiya where I will become a geisha. When I first got here the only person my age was a girl named Chiyo. She was sold here not too long after me. Chiyo is a pretty, nice girl with weird blue-gray eyes. I hope we can become friends. She and I both started going to geisha school not too long ago too. Even though she started school after me she seems to be doing better. I wish I could do better but it's hard and I always have to rush in the morning because the teachers are mean when we're late. The first day that Chiyo went to school she talked to me about running away. Her sister Satsu was sold too, but to somewhere else and she wants to find her so they can run away together. She told me I could come with them. But I said no. I can't run back home because my father died. He had a curse put on him and if I stay with them I'm afraid that I will not be able to take care of myself like my uncle said. If I leave I will mess up my chances of becoming a geisha like Hatsumomo, and I must not do that no matter what! I can't run away from the okiya, but I wish things at the okiya were different. They only let us eat fish twice a month! I wanted fish so badly that one day I ate a day-old piece of squid on a skewer that was lying on the street with flies on it! Well, I must go now to practice my shamisen for school.
Sincerely,
Pumpkin
Dear Diary,
I am becoming a geisha! Hatsumomo and I have gone through a ceremony that has made us "sisters." Hatsumomo is now my older sister. What that means is that she will introduce me to the men she knows and take me around to the different teahouses and help me to become a successful geisha. Being a successful geisha is important because I want Mother to adopt me so I will always have a place to live. The only problem with Hatsumomo being my older sister is that she is very mean. She doesn't want Sayuri and I to talk to each other anymore. That makes me mad because Sayuri is my friend and we always helped each other out. We still talk sometimes, though, which is good. In fact, I helped her out the other day. Sayuri thought that Hatsumomo told Dr. Crab a lie that would make him mad at her. She was right. Hatsumomo told Dr. Crab that Sayuri had a boyfriend that came to our okiya and slept with her. Hatsumomo wants to do anything she can to ruin Sayuri's career as a geisha. That is what I mean about her being a mean person. She actually thinks I want to be like her but I don't. I hope I am never that mean! My mother told me that evil spreads through the world by touch. I hope that doesn't mean that I will end up like Hatsumomo. Hatsumomo can be mean to me too. But she does help me. I'm really excited though. Hatsumomo told me that Mother promised that she would adopt me!
Sincerely,
Pumpkin
Dear Diary,
I am so angry! I cannot even believe it! Hatsumomo told me that Mother promised that she would adopt me! ME! Not Sayuri! But she has decided to adopt Sayuri instead now. She said that Hatsumomo did not do as good a job as she thought being my older sister and I have not been as successful as she'd hoped. Sayuri's mizuage was very expensive and all Mother ever worries about is money so now she is going to adopt Sayuri instead! I think another reason may be that no one trusts Hatsumomo and they think that if Mother adopts me that Hatsumomo will use me to get control of the okiya. So now because they don't trust her, I won't get the okiya! I can't believe Sayuri would do this to me! Sayuri knew that it was my dream to be adopted by Mother so I would get the okiya and have a place to live out my life. But no! Now she has to take that dream away from me. After everything I've done to help her too! I helped her with Dr. Crab, I helped her with her shamisen, and I helped her when she wanted a reason to leave the okiya so she could meet up with Mameha. I've done a lot for her. At the very least, you would think she would not take away my dreams.
Sincerely,
Pumpkin
Dear Diary,
World War Two started and all the Geisha districts have been shut down. All of the geisha have had to try to find men who patronized them to take care of them or jobs find jobs that they can take so that they will survive the war. Sayuri has been taken care of. Of course, I'm not surprised someone would take care of Sayuri. Little Miss Perfect Nitta Sayuri! Daughter of the Nitta Okiya! And now that all of the geisha districts have been shut down her precious okiya won't do her much good, now will it? I know I'm being bitter but it's unfair that first she gets the okiya and now she gets someone to take care of her when I don't. I would be happy that I know she would survive the war if it weren't for one thing. Not only do I have to work, but also I have to do it alone. Mameha and Sayuri were mean to Hatsumomo and started to drive her insane. After that she bit her friend, a gay Kabuki actor, and she was kicked out of the okiya. I don't even have my older sister to help me out now. I know we were never close sisters, she was always kind of mean, but we could help each other now if she were here. Last I heard she was working as a prostitute in the Miyagawa-cho district. I have worked hard in a factory since the war started and now the factory has been bombed. Now, that it is gone, I think I might have to become a prostitute myself. Maybe I will find her when I do.
Sincerely,
Pumpkin
Dear Diary,
The war has ended now. Guess whom I ran into? Sayuri. Her life hasn't changed much since I last saw her. It's still practically perfect and she hasn't been through much during the war. Not like I have. The only change I really see is that she got skinnier. So have I though and I think almost everyone else has too. When I first saw her she asked if I wanted to help her entertain a man called the Minister Sato Noritaka with her and Mameha in order to help Nobu and the Chairman with their business. I agreed to help her. She wanted to become friends again. We went to Amami for a party. It was fun. The most fun thing about it was that I finally got revenge on Sayuri. I could tell that Sayuri really liked the Chairman, but I knew that Nobu really liked her and that if Nobu asked to be her danna then she could never have the Chairman. I also knew that Nobu said that if she ever slept with the Minister that it would be unforgivable to him and he would not like her anymore. That's when she decided to sleep with the Minister to make Nobu stop liking her. She asked me to bring Nobu to where she would be sleeping with the Minister so he would see her. I told her I would, but really I had plans of my own. Finally, I would have the chance to take something away from her just as she had taken away from me. I decided to bring the Chairman instead. Sayuri came and found me after and asked me if I understood what she was asking because I brought the wrong person. I can't believe she actually thinks I'm that stupid! When she realized that I betrayed her, she (in the most pathetic little sounding way) said, "I thought you were my friend." I replied to her, "I thought you were my friend too once. But that was a long time ago." I am so glad that I finally got my revenge on her. Once, a long time ago, I thought that I would never want to be like Hatsumomo was. I don't feel that way anymore.
Sincerely,
Pumpkin