Memoirs of a Geisha quotes

View Quote I shall destroy you.

View Quote Why Sayuri...look what I found. You've been hiding your love for a long time... The sacrifice every geisha must make!

View Quote Doctor is very expensive. You seem to be racking up quite a debt. Kimono, destroyed. Train ticket, Mr. Bekku, rice and pickles, geisha school, all of this, on top of the money I paid Mr. Tanaka. And for what? And now I hear your sister has run away! She didn't wait for you, and now she can never come back. You must forget you ever had a sister. We are your only family now.

View Quote Only reason Mother tolerates Hatsumomo is because she brings in good money. Never forget, it is Hatsumomo who pays for your supper, the clothes on your back. By the time she was twenty, she had already earned back her purchase price! Unheard of! She has been the talk of the hanamachi ever since.

View Quote Geisha needs an elegant wardrobe, just like an artist needs ink. If she is not properly dressed, then she is not a true geisha.

View Quote Hurry up! [chuckling] You're not making money standing there gawking at yourself!

View Quote Chairman: He would never tell you himself; he is far too modest. We were fighting in Manchuria together. There was an explosion. He protected me from the worst of it. As you might imagine, I owe him quite a debt. Nobu has taught me a great deal - patience, for example. And I in turn have tried to teach him: you have to savor life while you can.

View Quote Sayuri: The lesson of the cherry blossom!
Chairman: That is why Nobu likes you. We must not expect happiness, Sayuri. It is not something we deserve. When life goes well, it is a sudden gift; it cannot last forever! Hatsumomo: "Sayuri"... A name as sweet as she is! I'm afraid these days even a common chambermaid can call herself a geisha. So, it's nice to see such a sincere young maiko, isn't it?

View Quote General [laughing]: Why yes!
Mameha [to Sayuri]: Surely you would like to thank Hatsumomo for her gracious compliments?
Sayuri: There is so much I would like to say to Hatsumomo.
Hatsumomo: Sometimes, the smartest remark is silence.
Sayuri: What better advice to follow than your own?
Mameha: Sayuri... Hatsumomo: Ah, a maiko. I was one myself, once.
Sayuri: Of course... But it's been such a very long, long...long, long...time. [Everyone laughs] Baron: If there had been any tea in that pot, I believe Sayuri would have gotten it out!

View Quote [other men laugh]
Mameha: Don't tease, Baron. It is her very first time. Mameha: Now that your beloved Granny is gone, you have no need for a maid.

View Quote Mother: I would never question the great Mameha. But...you could choose anyone in the hanamachi!
Mameha [laughing]: You flatter me.
Mother: I'd give you my Pumpkin, if she were not already tied to Hatsumomo.
Mameha: Please, I'd never dream of asking.
Mother: Besides, I could always sell Chiyo to Mrs. Tatsuyo...
Mameha: With your eye for beauty and nose for talent, surely you can see what a terrible waste that would be?
Mother: If you were not the kind-hearted geisha I know you to be, then I might think you were scheming against Hatsumomo!
Mameha: Then I'm grateful that you don't have a suspicious mind, Mrs. Nitta.
Mother: Perhaps you could pique my interest with...
Mameha: Yes?
Mother: Your offer.
Mameha [pauses]: I will cover Chiyo's schooling, and all of her expenses, until after her debut.
Mother: Now I am certain, you are teasing.
Mameha: I could not be more sincere. If Chiyo has not repaid her debt within six months after her debut --
Mother: Impossible! Too little time!
Mameha: Then I will pay you twice over.
Mother: What...? [pause] Why...no geisha could ever...!
Mameha: I am sure you will not object to one trivial condition?
Mother: Yes?
Mameha: If Chiyo erases her debt in the time allowed...you will have no part in her future earnings. Mother: It's too good to be true. Mameha is up to something.

View Quote Auntie: She isn't in it for the money, that much is for certain. Rumor has it, ever since the prime minister bought her mizuage, she's been rich!
Mother: That so? Absurd to think she noticed Chiyo!
Hatsumomo: It's that kimono. She remembers how you destroyed it. Now, she wants to get even.
Mother: An odd picture, isn't it? Hatsumomo sweeping to teahouse after teahouse with our little Pumpkin, and Mameha with our maid!