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Publications [#237526] of Anne Allison

Published Articles

1. Allison, A, Memoirs of the orient, Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 27 no. 2 (January, 2001), pp. 381-397, JSTOR, ISSN 0095-6848 [Gateway.cgi], [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/22)

   Abstract:
   Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha - the fictionalized memoirs of a geisha set in the Gion district of Kyoto between the 1930s and 1950s - became a bestseller in the United States immediately following publication in 1997. This essay examines two issues: what accounts for the mass popularity of Memoirs in the United States, and is either the text or the interest (in Japan/ geisha) it spurs orientalist? Commonly enjoyed by fans as a "trip to an exotic land" that is also "authentic" in its (re)presentation of Japan, the book is widely read as a fantasy, the essay argues, that engages readers in a world that is enticingly other. © 2001 Society for Japanese Studies.