Memoirs of a Geisha 2005 quotes, page 3

Hatsumomo

It's that kimono. She remembers how you destroyed it. Now, she wants to get even.

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.

My mother always said my sister Satsu was like wood; as rooted to the earth as a sakura tree. But she told me I was like water. Water can carve its way even through stone...and when trapped, water makes a new path...

Mameha

No man would ever bid so much for a thing he had already taken.

Chairman Iwamura

None of us find as much kindness in this life, as we should.

Sayuri

Not every geisha uses that kind of currency.

Now I understood the thing I´d overlooked; the point wasn´t to become a geisha but to be one. To become a geisha...well, that was hardly a purpose in life. But to be a geisha... I could see it now as a stepping-stone to something else.

Auntie

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.

Mameha

Remember Chiyo, geisha are not courtesans, and we're not wives. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty. The very word "geisha" means artist, and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art.

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?

Chairman Iwamura

Smile for me, won't you?

Hatsumomo

Stay out of my room. I can't have you touching my things.

The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves... Until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.

Mother

These country girls. Too late to send her back now.

President Nobu

Three things matter in life... sumo, business, and war. Understand one, you know them all. But why should a Geisha care? You spend your time plucking strings and dancing.