Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Coming Out at 10 December 2005 in theaters.
Drama, Romance
Memoirs of a Geisha is epic drama film based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Arthur Golden, produced by Steven Spielberg (through production companies Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment) and Douglas Wick (through Red Wagon Entertainment). Directed by Rob Marshall, the film was released in the United States on December 9, 2005 by Columbia Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures, with the latter receiving studio credit only.
The film tells the story of a young Japanese girl, Chiyo Sakamoto, who is sold by her impoverished family to a geisha house (okiya) in order to support them by training as and eventually becoming a geisha. The film centres around the sacrifices and hardship faced by pre-WW2 geisha, and the challenges posed by the war and a modernizing world to geisha society.
Chiyo Sakamoto, a young girl living in a poor village, is sold to a geisha house by her father alongside her sister, Satsu, so that they might send money back home. Chiyo is taken in by Kayoko Nitta, the “Mother” (proprietress) of a geisha house in Gion in Kyoto. Satsu is instead taken to a brothel nearby, being judged to be too ugly to become a successful geisha. Chiyo meets “Granny” and “Auntie”, two other women who run the house, and the okiya’s only working geisha, Hatsumomo, who is beautiful but cruel. Chiyo meets another young girl nicknamed Pumpkin, who she immediately becomes friends with.
Director: Rob Marshall
Writers: Robin Swicord, Arthur Golden (book)
Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Suzuka Ohgo, Togo Igawa, Li Gong
Cast:
| Suzuka Ohgo | … | Chiyo |
| Togo Igawa | … | Tanaka |
| Mako | … | Sakamoto |
| Samantha Futerman | … | Satsu |
| Elizabeth Sung | … | Sakamoto’s Wife |
| Thomas Ikeda | … | Mr. Bekku |
| Li Gong | … | Hatsumomo |
| Tsai Chin | … | Auntie |
| Kaori Momoi | … | Mother |
| Zoe Weizenbaum | … | Young Pumpkin |
| David Okihiro | … | Shamisen Teacher |
| Miyako Tachibana | … | Dance Teacher |
| Kotoko Kawamura | … | Granny |
| Karl Yune | … | Koichi |
| Eugenia Yuan | … | Korin |
| Yôko Narahashi | … | Mameha’s Maid |
| Michelle Yeoh | … | Mameha |
| Kenneth Tsang | … | The General |
| Ken Watanabe | … | Chairman |
| Navia Nguyen | … | Izuko – Geisha in Green |
| Natsuo Tomita | … | Geisha in Lavender |
| Yûki Kudô | … | Pumpkin |
| Ziyi Zhang | … | Sayuri |
| Fumi Akutagawa | … | Yukimoto Teahouse Matron |
| Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa | … | The Baron |
| Koji Toyoda | … | Male Hairdresser |
| Rick Mali | … | Man in Grey Hat |
| Steve Terada | … | Boy on Bike |
| Laura Miro | … | Yukimoto Teahouse Geisha / Spring Festival Dancer |
| Diane Mizota | … | Yukimoto Teahouse Geisha / Spring Festival Dancer |
| Yasusuke Uike | … | Sumo Referee |
| Shûhei Mainoumi | … | Small Sumo Wrestler |
| Daisuke Dewaarashi | … | Large Sumo Wrestler |
| Kôji Yakusho | … | Nobu |
| Ren Urano | … | Sumo Ring Announcer |
| Ace Yonamine | … | Sumo Wrestler |
| Anthony Begonia | … | Sumo Wrestler |
| Albert ‘Sumo’ Lee | … | Sumo Wrestler |
| Dino Rivera | … | Sumo Wrestler |
| Randall Duk Kim | … | Dr. Crab |
| Takayo Fischer | … | Tanizato Teahouse Owner |
| Asako Takasue | … | Tanizato Teahouse Matron |
| Clarissa Park | … | Dancer at Party |
| Nobu Matsuhisa | … | Kimono Artist |
| James Taku Leung | … | Kimono Factory Worker |
| Chad Cleven | … | Drunken G.I. |
| Richard J. Bell | … | Drunken G.I. |
| Cameron Duncan | … | Drunken G.I. |
| Faith Shin | … | Little Kiko |
| Brannon Bates | … | Military Police Officer |
| Ted Levine | … | Colonel Derricks |
| Paul Adelstein | … | Lieutenant Hutchins |
| Shizuko Hoshi | … | Sayuri Narration (voice) |
| Michelle Aguilar Camaya | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Janelle Dote | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Kim Halzle | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Ashia Meyers | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Hikari | … | Spring Festival Dancer ( |
| Shiho Miyazawa | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Minae Noji | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Mami Saito | … | Spring Festival Dancer |
| Shannon Abero | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Kiyoko Ando | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Miki Fujita | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Chieko Hidaka | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Wendy Lam | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Kana Miyamoto | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Brooke Miyasaki | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Nao Nojima | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Shelly Oto | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Nikki Tuazon | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Addie Yungmee | … | Festival Rehearsal Dancer |
| Cassidy Adams | … | Student Dancer |
| Lena Ahn | … | Student Dancer |
| Allison Chan | … | Student Dancer |
| Deziree Del Rosario | … | Student Dancer |
| Emilie Endow | … | Student Dancer |
| Rosie Endow | … | Student Dancer |
| Hannah Hwang | … | Student Dancer |
| Emma Fusako Ishii | … | Student Dancer |
| Amy Saki Kawakami | … | Student Dancer |
| Stefani Lee | … | Student Dancer |
| Teanna Lee | … | Student Dancer |
| Melissa Morinishi | … | Student Dancer |
| Michelle Obi | … | Student Dancer |
| Kasey Okazaki | … | Student Dancer |
| Jacqueline Osaki | … | Student Dancer |
| Ayaka Oyama | … | Student Dancer |
| Jade Refuerzo | … | Student Dancer |
| La Na Shi | … | Student Dancer |
| Stacy Suzuki | … | Student Dancer |
| Miwa Tachibana | … | Student Dancer |
| Jordan Tambara | … | Student Dancer |
| Shaye Uyematsu | … | Student Dancer |
| Etsuo Hongo | … | Shamisen Musician |
| Tateo Takahashi | … | Shamisen Musician |
| Masakazu Yoshizawa | … | Shamisen Musician |
| Kazumi Aihara | … | The Baron’s Guest |
| Jennie Baek | … | Geisha |
| Yuki Bird | … | Wealthy Guest |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia
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