Ok, this is apparently not b&w, but I liked it more in color... still an edge, with side/back lighting.
And I couldn't help thinking to the book by Mr. Arthur Golden
So interesting - - because when I read your title and saw the image I thought, "but this is a flower." I wondered if geisha was the name of a flower. But then I read your text about the book. I know that book was a huge hit but I am too Japanese I think to read from an outsider perspective -- I tried to read it and could appreciate the writing but I kept abandoning the book and ultimately never finished it. In what way did this image remind you of the book?
@jyokota I admit I didn't like the book at all. I fear I, too, am "too Japanese" as a reader. I loved Murakami Aruki's 1Q84, and I like the Japanese writers' perspective on Western (well, seen from Japan, they could be considered Eastern) Countries (Ishiguro's The remains of the day, Otsuka's When the Emperor was divine...). I think Mr. Golden's book was just a very western attempt to depict something that western culture will never really attain. I can't really answer your question: perhaps the petals in this picture look to me like a silk fan, something to hide behind, the image treatment is rather elaborate, though the petals' ornaments are their own veins... don't know, maybe it's just a contradictory picture like the book!
@domenicododaro -- I like your explanation for the connection, and it turns out we have very similar reading taste! Therefore, you must find a translator for YOUR book for all of us who don't read Italian.
@kali66 I didn't watch the movie, so I am not able to say... The book has kind of an attitude, like "Here's everything you need to know to understand Japan" that is almost funny. @jyokota Oh, I think my publisher is looking for a foreign publisher to grant the foreign publication rights, but it seems that the novel is considered "too Italian to be worth the effort". So I am translating it by myself, a few lines a time, just to practice English! ;-) In 2040 it could be finished lol. @dbj_365 Thank you and I know, this red is incredibly rich. @francoise Thank you, Françoise!
when a once famous book reviewer (who happened to be a friend of mine, god bless his soul) asked me if i had read arthur golden's memoirs of a geisha, and i had to embarrassingly answer that "i had tried", he laughed, saying that i was one of the many (mostly) intelligent readers that felt that way about the book. i think that eventually i had given away the book, as it was one of those that i knew i would never attempt again to read. @jyokota@domenicododaro
however, when i saw this and its title, i asked myself, why not 9-1/2 weeks? because it reminded me of kim bassinger's naked silhouette in the movie in the strawberry scene.
@summerfield Interesting! About 9 1/2 weeks, you made me think that this image has something sensuous with it... We could start a "9 1/2 weeks" challenge: imagine what a fun it could be!
@domenicododaro@summerfield -- something "sensuous" about this image -- yes, I agree with that assessment! what I also appreciate about this image that it makes us think, feel, and return to the image with continued analysis. Well done, Domenico!
@jyokota thank you, Junko (is this your first name, isn’t it? Or do you follow the Japanese use to put the family name first? Please forgive my ignorance about names!) This is a big compliment!
@domenicododaro -- yes, my first name is Junko. Family name is Yokota. And you are right, that Japanese style it's family name first -- except that in western circles like this one I use the Western configuration of my first name first. In Japanese names, the "-ko" ending is for girls' names, more in generations past than now. And I did intend my comment to you as a compliment!
@jyokota Oh, I think my publisher is looking for a foreign publisher to grant the foreign publication rights, but it seems that the novel is considered "too Italian to be worth the effort". So I am translating it by myself, a few lines a time, just to practice English! ;-) In 2040 it could be finished lol.
@dbj_365 Thank you and I know, this red is incredibly rich.
@francoise Thank you, Françoise!
@jyokota @domenicododaro
however, when i saw this and its title, i asked myself, why not 9-1/2 weeks? because it reminded me of kim bassinger's naked silhouette in the movie in the strawberry scene.