Memoirs of a Geisha: Characters

 Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical novel written by Arthur Golden, and published in 1997. The book tells the story of a fictional feisha, Chiyo Sakamoto (later known as Nitta Sayuri), living in Gion.

 Memoirs of a Geisha  follows mainly the story of Sayuri, who's also followed by four other main characters.

 Chiyo Sakamoto / Nitta Sayuri: 

This is Chiyo. As a young girl, she was taken away from her family along with her sister and sold to an okiya in Gion, a fairly large geisha district. For years, before becoming an apprentice geisha, Chiyo works as a slave in the okiya. 

This is also Chiyo. However, now that she's become an apprentice geisha, she's known as 'Sayuri.' 

Mameha:  

Mameha is a very famous geisha in Gion. Mameha decides to take on Chiyo as an apprentice, for reasons that she doesn't know for a long time. Mameha spends a great deal of time with Sayuri, and teaches her everything she knows about being a geisha.

Hatsumono: 

Hatsumono is another very famous geisha.  She lives in and provides for the okiya that Sayuri is sent to as a child. From the moment they meet, Hatsumono sees her as a threat, and does everything she can to prevent her from becoming a successful geisha. She is the main antagonist in the book. 

Chairman:

The chairman is a man that Sayuri meets as a very young girl, before becoming an apprentice geisha. When they met, Chiyo is crying and has lost all the hope in her life. The chairman, however, cheers her up and gives her a different view on life. Because of this, she develops very strong feelings for him, and he basically fuels the motivation for her career. 

Nobu: 

Nobu is a man who works with the chairman. Mameha makes is so that he and Sayuri are very well acquainted, as she believes it would be good for her career. This saddens Sayuri, however, because she knows that if she is close with Nobu, she can never be close with the chairman.