MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of English Language and Literature

Arthur Golden’s “Memoirs of Geisha“:

Translation and analysis with special regard to

syntax and FSP

Diploma thesis

Brno 2022

Supervisor Author

doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D. Bc. Michaela Doležalová

Anotace

Diplomová práce se zabývá anglicko-českým překladem vybraných kapitol knihy Memoirs of

Geisha od autora Arthura Goldena, a jeho syntaktickou analýzou. Práce je rozdělena do dvou

hlavních částí. Praktická část obsahuje samotný překlad tří a půl kapitol knihy a teoretická část

se zaměřuje na analýzu čtyř vybraných syntaktických struktur. Teoretickou část pak uzavírá

aktuální členění větné, které bylo pro překlad textu klíčové.

Klíčová slova

překlad, analýza, trpný rod, vytýkací konstrukce, AČV, román, Gejša, Arthur Golden

Annotation

Diploma thesis deals with English-Czech translation of selected chapters from Memoirs of

Geisha by Arthur Golden, and its syntactic analysis. The thesis is divided into two main parts.

The practical part consists of the translation itself and the theoretical part focuses on analysis

of four selected syntactic structures. The theoretical part ends with a subchapter on Functional

Sentence Perspective because it is the key to successful translation.

Keywords

translation, analysis, passive voice, cleft sentences, FSP, novel, Memoirs of Geisha, Arthur

Golden

Prohlášení

Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných

pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty

Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském,

o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve

znění pozdějších předpisů.

Declaration

I hereby declare that this diploma thesis was done independently, using only the information

provided by the sources cited in the text and included in the list of references in accordance

with the Disciplinary regulations for the students of the Faculty of Education of the Masaryk

University.

In Brno, 2022

…………………………………

Bc. Michaela Doležalová

Acknowledgment

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D.,

for his guidance, support, and patience. I would also like to thank my loved ones, who have

always believed in me and stood by my side. And lastly, I would like to thank my sister, because

she has been my rock through this process and I would be lost without her.

Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 6

2. MEMOIRS OF GEISHA .................................................................................................... 7

3. PRACTICAL PART ........................................................................................................... 8

4. THEORETICAL PART ................................................................................................... 63

4.1 Passive voice .............................................................................................................. 64

4.1.1 Translating sentences with passive voice .................................................................. 68

4.2 Cleft sentences ........................................................................................................... 73

4.2.1 Translating cleft sentences ......................................................................................... 76

4.3 Clauses with hypothetical meaning ........................................................................... 78

4.3.1 Translating clauses with hypothetical meaning ......................................................... 80

4.4 Extraposition of clausal subject ................................................................................. 81

4.4.1 Translating sentences with extraposed clausal subject .............................................. 82

4.5 Functional Sentence Perspective ............................................................................... 83

5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 90

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 93

6.1 Primary source ........................................................................................................... 93

6.2 Secondary sources ...................................................................................................... 93

6

1. INTRODUCTION

Translation from one language to another is a fascinating process, depending on the

knowledge of the translator. But it is not only the knowledge of languages itself; a good

translator must take under consideration the cultures behind used languages, their native

speakers etc. There is a quote that perfectly summarizes the work of a translator, saying

"Translation is a point of contact between peoples, and since it is rare that two peoples have the

same access to power, the translator is in a privileged position as mediator, to make explicit the

differences between cultures, expose injustices or contribute to diversity in the world." (Baker

and Maier, 2011, p. 100)

This thesis deals with translation and analysis of Arthur Golden’s novel Memoirs of Geisha.

Fist, in the practical part, an English to Czech translation can be seen, dealing with three and a

half chapters from the novel, which also includes footnotes explaining some commonly

unknown cultural aspects of Shōwa era (1926 – 1945) in Japan. The translated chapters describe

the young life and training of an apprentice geisha (or a maiko); it was chosen for this thesis,

because it is the most interesting and dynamic part of the story.

The second part of the thesis is focused on syntactic analysis of the translated text. This part

has eight subchapters analyzing different syntactic elements. The areas of syntax included in

the thesis are passive voice, cleft sentences, clauses with hypothetical meaning and

extraposition of clausal subject. Each area is first put in context of theoretical background,

followed by analysis based on the translated text with charts full of concrete examples.

Altogether, sixty-five sentences were analyzed and used in this thesis to illustrate the challenges

and obstacles that translators must face in this process.

The last subchapter of the theoretical part discusses Functional Sentence Perspective (or

Aktuální členění větné). The main differences between English and Czech perspective are

described from the theoretical point of view, which is then followed by a chart with specific

translating problems that happened during the translation in this thesis.

7

2. MEMOIRS OF GEISHA

Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of Geisha provides a unique look into the world of Geisha, which

has always been extremely secretive. There are many reasons for this secrecy, such as protecting

the mystery of the profession, protecting the practices which would not be allowed in modern

society or even protecting the geishas themselves. This novel was therefore one of the first

exposés of this exclusively Japanese profession. The author based the novel on series of

interviews with a real geisha, who only agreed to telling her story upon a promise that the novel

would not be published before her death. This fact only proves that the world of geisha has

always been carefully guarded as one of the biggest secrets in Japan.

One of the key elements of the story is the Japanese terminology, which even the author

himself left intact, therefore as a translator I decided to follow his lead and the specific

vocabulary remains unchanged even in my version of the Czech translation. Instead of

translating the terms I decided to include foot notes explaining the terminology, made

specifically for those unaware of the many of Japanese culture and based only on my own

knowledge as an amateur Japanologist.

The chapters chosen for this thesis take us through the process of becoming a geisha, which

is the most shocking part of the novel. Some of the practices are nowadays banned but some

still remain the standard in this profession. There are not as many geishas today as there were

in the pre-war times, but it is still an extremely prestigious occupation. Japanese are very proud

of their geishas and the job is still considered to be exclusively Japanese. Only a rare few women

from around the world have successfully entered the world of geisha without being of Japanese

nationality.

8

3. PRACTICAL PART

HAPTER THIRTEEN

During the spring of 1934, after I'd been in

training for more than two years, Hatsumomo

and Mother1 decided that the time had come for

Pumpkin to make her debut as an apprentice

geisha2.

Of course, no one told me anything about it,

since Pumpkin was on orders not to speak with

me, and Hatsumomo and Mother wouldn't

waste their time even considering such a thing.

I found out about it only when Pumpkin left the

okiya3 early one afternoon and came back at the

end of the day wearing the hairstyle of a young

geisha-the so-called momaware4, meaning

"split peach."

When I took my first look at her as she stepped

up into the entrance hall, I felt sick with

disappointment and jealousy.

Her eyes never met mine for more than a flicker

of an instant; probably she couldn't help

thinking of the effect her debut was having on

me.

With her hair swept back in an orb so

beautifully from her temples, rather than tied at

the neck as it had always been, she looked very

much like a young woman, though still with her

same babyish face.

For years she and I had envied the older girls

who wore their hair so elegantly.

KAPITOLA TŘINÁCTÁ

Na jaře roku 1934, kdy už jsem byla v učení víc

jak dva roky, se Hatsumomo s matkou

rozhodly, že nastal čas na Dýnin debut. Měla se

stát gejšou-učednicí.

Mně o tom samozřejmě nikdo nic neřekl,

protože Dýně měla zakázáno se mnou mluvit a

Hatsumomo s matkou by něčím takovým ani

neztrácely čas.

Přišla jsem na to jen díky tomu, že Dýně brzy

ráno opustila okiyu a na konci dne se vrátila s

účesem, který nosí mladé gejši. Jmenuje se

momaware, což znamená „rozpůlená broskev“.

Když jsem ji uviděla kráčet do vstupní haly,

zalil mě nepříjemný pocit zklamání a žárlivosti.

Její oči se na okamžik střetly s mými. Nejspíš

přemýšlela, jestli mě její debut trápí.

Vlasy měla sčesané dozadu do nádherného

drdolu, místo každodenního jednoduchého

copu, vypadala už jako mladá žena, i když stále

s jejích dětským obličejem.

Léta jsme obě záviděly starším dívkám jejich

elegantní účesy.

1The expression Mother is used to call the female owner of the okiya. When a young girl is sold to the okiya to

become a geisha, the owner automatically becomes her “mother” – legally speaking. 2 An apprentice geisha, in Japanese known as maiko, is a young girl in training; she is not allowed to entertain on

her own. She can only work under a supervision of her „older sister “, known as onesan. A maiko would only

become a full pledged geisha after selling her mizuage to the highest bidder, but the practice was outlawed in 1956,

so nowadays to finish their training, young geishas simply take series of exams. 3 An okiya is a house, in which geishas and apprentice geishas live during their career. It is usually owned and ran

by a Mother and maintained by live-in maids. Every okiya has a kimono collection, worn exclusively by geishas

who represent it. 4 A momoware is the first hairstyle worn by every apprentice geisha. It has a suggestive meaning, symbolizing

their purity. It is also a reference to their future mizuage.

9

Now Pumpkin would be setting out as a geisha

while I remained behind, unable even to ask

about her new life.

Then came the day Pumpkin dressed as an

apprentice geisha for the first time and went

with Hatsumomo to the Mizuki Teahouse, for

the ceremony to bind them together as sisters.

Mother and Auntie went, though I wasn't

included. But I did stand among them in the

formal entrance hall until Pumpkin came down

the stairs assisted by the maids.

She wore a magnificent black kimono with the

crest of the Nitta okiya and a plum and gold

obi5; her face was painted white for the very

first time.

You might expect that with the ornaments in

her hair and the brilliant red of her lips, she

should have looked proud and lovely; but I

thought she looked more worried than anything

else. She had great difficulty walking; the

regalia of an apprentice geisha is so

cumbersome.

Mother put a camera into Auntie's hands and

told her to go outside and photograph Pumpkin

having a flint sparked on her back for good luck 6the very first time.

The rest of us remained crowded inside the

entrance hall, out of view. The maids held

Pumpkin's arms while she slipped her feet into

the tall wooden shoes we call okobo7, which an

apprentice geisha always wears.

Then Mother went to stand behind Pumpkin

and struck a pose as though she were about to

spark a flint, even though it was always Auntie

or one of the maids who did the job.

Teď byla Dýně jednou z nich, zatímco já jsem

zůstala pozadu, bez možnosti zeptat se jí na její

nový život.

A pak přišel den, kdy se Dýně poprvé oblékla

jako gejša-učednice a odešla s Hatsumomo do

čajovny Mizuki, aby se zúčastnily obřadu,

který je měl spojit jako sestry.

I matka s tetičkou se zúčastnily, jen mě nikdo

nepozval. Já jsem s nimi jen čekala ve vstupní

hale na Dýni, která za pomoci služek sešla po

schodech dolů.

Měla na sobě nádherné černé kimono s erbem

rodiny Nitta přepásané švestkově-zlatým obi.

Poprvé měla též obličej nabarvený na bílo.

Dalo by se očekávat, že s nádhernými

ozdobami ve vlasech a rudě namalovanými rty

bude vypadat pyšně a krásně, ale podle mě, víc

než cokoliv jiného, vypadala spíš ustaraně.

Měla velmi těžký krok, protože oděv i šperky

začínající gejši jsou velmi objemné.

Matka podala tetičce fotoaparát a poslala ji ven,

aby vyfotila, jak Dýni poprvé za zády křesají

jiskru pro štěstí.

My ostatní jsme zůstali namačkaní ve vstupní

hale. Služky pomohly Dýni nazout vysoké

dřevěné boty, známé jako okobo, které běžně

nosí začínající gejši.

Za ni se postavila matka, pózující jako by se

chystala vykřesnout jiskru pro štěstí, i když

normálně to byla práce tetičky nebo jedné ze

služek.

5 An obi is an essential part of a female kimono; simply said, it could be compared to a belt (in its function, but

definitely not in its shape). It is extremely long, very beautiful and it needs a skilled person, usually a male dresser,

to tie it properly. It is usually stuffed with extra padding, especially at the back, to achieve a desired shape. 6 The life of a geisha is surrounded by many rituals and superstitions, which are closely connected to Japanese

religion (Shintoism and Buddhism). Having a flint sparked on one’s back, is one of the rituals performed regularly

as she goes to her engagements. The person doing this ritual simply stands behind the geisha with two ceremonial

pebble stones and with them draws a spark to wish her good luck. 7 Okobo are a type of Japanese shoes, worn mostly by apprentice geishas or special performers (dancers). They are

quite tall, very heavy (wooden), and poorly constructed. They are worn the same way we nowadays were flip-

flops, which means they stay on the foot only by a couple of laces/pieces of fabric.

10

When at last the photograph was taken,

Pumpkin stumbled a few steps from the door

and turned to look back.

The others were on their way out to join her,

but I was the one she looked at, with an

expression that seemed to say she was very

sorry for the way things had turned out.

By the end of that day, Pumpkin was officially

known by her new geisha name of Hatsumiyo.

The "Hatsu" came from Hatsumomo, and even

though it ought to have helped Pumpkin to have

a name derived from a geisha as well known as

Hatsumomo, in the end it didn't work that way.

Very few people ever knew her geisha name,

you see; they just called her Pumpkin as we

always had.

I was very eager to tell Mameha about

Pumpkin's debut. But she'd been much busier

than usual lately, traveling frequently to Tokyo

at the request of her danna8, with the result that

we hadn't set eyes on each other in nearly six

months.

Another few weeks passed before she finally

had time to summon me to her apartment.

When I stepped inside, the maid let out a gasp;

and then a moment later Mameha came

walking out of the back room and let out a gasp

as well.

I couldn't think what was the matter. And then

when I got on my knees to bow to Mameha and

tell her how honored I was to see her again, she

paid me no attention at all. "My goodness, has

it been so long, Tatsumi?" she said to her maid.

"I hardly recognize her."

"I'm glad to hear you say it, ma'am," Tatsumi

replied.

Když fotku konečně pořídily, Dýně klopýtla

pár kroků od dveří a ohlédla se přes rameno.

Ostatní už byli venku, ale Dýně se dívala na

mě. V očích se jí zračila lítost. Mrzelo ji, jak se

vše v poslední době vyvíjelo.

Na konci dne už byla Dýně oficiálně známá

jako Hatsumiyo, což byl její nový umělecký

pseudonym, který pocházel ze jména

Hatsumomo. To mělo Dýni pomoci v jejích

začátcích, protože Hatsumomo byla opravdu

slavná gejša. Nakonec to ale bylo naprosto

zbytečné.

Jen velmi málo lidí ji totiž znalo pod jménem

Hatsumiyo, každý jí říkal Dýně, tak jako tomu

bylo odjakživa.

Nemohla jsem se dočkat, až o Dýnině debutu

povím Mameze. Ale ona byla poslední dobou

velmi zaneprázdněná. Cestovala na žádost

jejího danna do Tokia, díky čemuž jsme se

neviděly skoro šest měsíců.

Uplynulo ještě dalších pár týdnů, než měla

konečně čas pozvat mě k sobě do bytu.

Jakmile jsem vstoupila, služka zalapala po

dechu. O chvíli později přišla ze zadního

pokoje Mameha a dostalo se mi stejné reakce.

Nechápala jsem, co se to děje. Poklekla jsem,

abych se Mameze poklonila a pověděla jí,

jakou mi je ctí ji znovu vidět, ale ona mi vůbec

nevěnovala pozornost. „Můj bože, Tatsumi, to

už je tak dávno?“ řekla své služce. „Málem

jsem ji nepoznala.“

„Ještě že jste to řekla, madam,“ odpověděla

Tatsumi.

8 A danna is a person, who acts as a sponsor to a geisha. They pay for the education, everyday life expenses,

sometimes even buy them a personal kimono collection. Every geisha can only have one danna at the time. Some

geishas sustain the same relationship for the whole career, but some have multiple danna during their time. A

danna is a man, who is very well set in the society, wealthy and powerful, usually trapped in an unhappy arranged

marriage, seeking a romantic bond elsewhere. In the past, geishas quite often took the relationship to a more

personal level, but it was never considered as prostitution. As the world of geishas is very well guarded and

surrounded by secrets, we are unable to say whether this practice is still happening or not.

11

"I thought something had gone wrong with my

eyes!" I wondered at the time what they were

talking about. But evidently in the six months

since I'd last seen them, I'd changed more than

I realized.

Mameha told me to turn my head this way and

that, and kept saying over and over,

"My goodness, she's turned into quite a young

woman!"

At one point Tatsumi even made me stand and

hold my arms out so she could measure my

waist and hips with her hands, and then said to

me, "Well, there's no doubt a kimono will fit

your body just like a sock fits a foot."

I'm sure she meant this as a compliment, for she

had a kindly look on her face when she said it.

Finally, Mameha asked Tatsumi to take me into

the back room and put me into a proper kimono.

I'd arrived in the blue and white cotton robe I'd

worn that morning to my lessons at the school,

but Tatsumi changed me into a dark blue silk

covered with a design of tiny carriage wheels

in shades of brilliant yellow and red.

It wasn't the most beautiful kimono you would

ever see, but when I looked at myself in the

full-length mirror as Tatsumi was tying a bright

green obi into place around my waist, I found

that except for my plain hairstyle, I might have

been taken for a young apprentice geisha on her

way to a party.

I felt quite proud when I walked out of the

room, and thought Mameha would gasp again,

or something of-the sort.

But she only rose to her feet, tucked a

handkerchief into her sleeve, and went directly

to the door, where she slipped her feet into a

green pair of lacquered zori9 and looked back

over her shoulder at me.

„Už jsem si myslela, že mám něco s očima!“ Já

mezitím přemýšlela, o čem ty dvě mluví.

Očividně jsem se za těch šest měsíců, co jsme

se neviděly, změnila víc, než jsem si myslela.

Mameha mi poručila otočit hlavu na jednu

stranu, pak na druhou a pořád dokola.

„Můj bože, už je z ní mladá žena!“

V jednu chvíli mě Tatsumi dokonce přinutila

stát se zvednutými pažemi, aby mi rukama

mohla změřit pas a boky, a pak mi povídá: „No,

je jasné, že kimono ti bude sedět jako ulité.“

Určitě to myslela jako kompliment, protože se

u toho mile usmívala.

Pak Mameha konečně požádala Tatsumi, aby

mě vzala do zadního pokoje a oblékla mě do

pořádného kimona.

Přišla jsem v modro-bílých šatech, které jsem

na sobě měla dnes ráno ve škole, ale Tatsumi

mě převlékla do tmavě modrého hedvábí se

vzorem malých koleček, jako od vozu,

v nádherných odstínech žluté a červené.

Nebylo to nejkrásnější kimono, jaké jste kdy

viděli, ale když jsem se podívala do zrcadla,

zatímco mi Tatsumi zavazovala okolo pasu

jasně zelené obi, zjistila jsem, že kromě mého

obyčejného účesu by mě mohli považovat za

mladou gejšu-učednici na cestě na večírek.

Když jsem vešla zpět do místnosti, cítila jsem

se docela pyšně a myslela jsem si, že Mameha

opět zalapá po dechu, nebo něco podobného.

Ale ona jen vstala, zastrčila si kapesníček do

rukávu a okamžitě zamířila ke dveřím, kde

vklouzla do páru zelených lakovaných zori a

ohlédla se na mě.

9 Zori are another type of Japanese shoes. Like most others, they take a shape of “flip-flops” with flat bottom and

just two pieces of lace/cloth holding it at one’s feet. For all these types of Asian shoes, they also have adequately

shaped socks with divided section in between the big toe and other toes.

12

"Well?" she said. "Aren't you coming?" I had

no idea where we were going, but I was thrilled

at the thought of being seen on the street with

Mameha. The maid had put out a pair of

lacquered zori for me, in a soft gray.

I put them on and followed Mameha down the

dark tunnel of the stairwell.

As we stepped out onto the street, an elderly

woman slowed to bow to Mameha and then, in

almost the same movement, turned to bow to

me. I scarcely knew what to think of this, for

hardly anyone ever took notice of me on the

street. The bright sunlight had blinded my eyes

so much, I couldn't make out whether or not I

knew her.

But I bowed back, and in a moment, she was

gone. I thought probably she was one of my

teachers, but then an instant later the same thing

happened again-this time with a young geisha

I'd often admired, but who had never so much

as glanced in my direction before.

We made our way up the street with nearly

everyone we passed saying something to

Mameha, or at the very least bowing to her, and

then afterward giving me a little nod or bow as

well. Several times stopped to bow back, with

the result that I fell a step or two behind

Mameha.

She could see the difficulty I was having and

took me to a quiet alleyway to show me the

proper way of walking. My trouble, she

explained, was that I hadn't learned to move the

upper half of my body independently of the

lower half.

When I needed to bow to someone, I stopped

my feet. "Slowing the feet is a way of showing

respect," she said. "The more you slow up, the

greater the respect. You might stop altogether

to bow to one of your teachers, but for anyone

else, don't slow more than you need to, for

heaven's sake, or you'll never get anywhere.

„Takže?“ řekla. „Ty nepůjdeš?“ Neměla jsem

tušení, kam jdeme, ale byla jsem nadšená, že

mě na veřejnosti uvidí společně s Mamehou.

Služka nachystala pár lakovaných zori i pro mě,

ve světle šedé barvě.

Obula jsem si je a následovala Mamehu po

temném schodišti.

Jak jsme vkročily na ulici, kolemjdoucí postarší

žena se zastavila, aby se Mameze poklonila a

následně složila poklonu i mě. Nevěděla jsem,

co si o tom myslet, protože si mě většinou na

ulici nikdo nevšímal. Jasné slunce mě natolik

oslepilo, že jsem nedokázala rozeznat, zda ji

znám či nikoliv.

Ale poklonu jsem opětovala a ona byla ve

vteřině pryč. Napadlo mě, jestli to nebyla jedna

z mých učitelek, ale za moment se celá situace

opakovala znovu. Tentokrát se u nás zastavila

mladá gejša, kterou jsem mockrát obdivovala,

a která o mě dřív ani očkem nezavadila.

Jak jsme šly ulicí, skoro každý, na koho jsme

narazily, se u nás zastavil, aby s Mamehou

prohodil slovo, nebo se alespoň poklonil a

následně věnoval přikývnutí či poklonu i mně.

Několikrát jsem se zastavila, abych klanění

odpověděla, čímž jsem začala o krok či o dva

za Mamehou zaostávat.

Když viděla, jak těžko se mi chodí, vzala mě do

tiché boční uličky, aby mi předvedla správnou

chůzi. Mým problémem bylo, že jsem se

nenaučila hýbat horní polovinou těla nezávisle

na té spodní.

Když bylo potřeba někomu se uklonit, musela

jsem se zastavit. „Zpomalit krok znamená

vyjádřit respekt,“ řekla. „Čím víc zpomalíš, tím

větší vyjádříš respekt. Když se klaníš svým

učitelům, můžeš zastavit úplně, ale pro všechny

ostatní, proboha, nezpomaluj víc, než je nutné,

jinak nikdy nikam nedojdeš.

13

Go along at a constant pace when you can,

taking little steps to keep the bottom of your

kimono fluttering. When a woman walks, she

should give the impression of waves rippling

over a sandbar." I practiced walking up and

down the alley as Mameha had described,

looking straight toward my feet to see if my

kimono fluttered as it should.

When Mameha was satisfied, we set out again.

Most of our greetings, I found, fell into one of

two simple patterns.

Young geisha, as we passed them, usually

slowed or even stopped completely and gave

Mameha a deep bow, to which Mameha

responded with a kind word or two and a little

nod; then the young geisha would give me

something of a puzzled look and an uncertain

bow, which I would return much more deeply-

for I was junior to every woman we

encountered.

When we passed a middle-aged or elderly

woman, however, Mameha nearly always

bowed first10; then the woman returned a

respectful bow, but not as deep as Mameha's,

and afterward looked me up and down before

giving me a little nod.

I always responded to these nods with the

deepest bows I could manage while keeping my

feet in motion. I told Mameha that afternoon

about Pumpkin's debut; and for months

afterward I hoped she would say the time had

come for my apprenticeship to begin as well.

Instead, spring passed and summer too, without

her saying anything of the sort.

In contrast with the exciting life Pumpkin was

now leading, I had only my lessons and my

chores, as well as the fifteen or twenty minutes

Mameha spent with me during the afternoons

several times a week.

Pokračuj stejným tempem, pokud můžeš, a

dělej malé krůčky, aby se ti netřepal spodní lem

kimona. Když žena kráčí, měla by vytvářet

dojem vln na klidném moři.“ Párkrát jsem

přešla uličku tam a zpět, jak mi Mameha

poradila, a po očku jsem pozorovala lem svého

kimona, jestli se hýbalo tak, jak by mělo.

Když byla Mameha konečně spokojená,

pokračovaly jsme v cestě. Zjistila jsem, že

většina pozdravů spadá do určitých vzorců.

Mladé gejši, které nás míjely, většinou

zpomalily nebo se dokonce zastavily a uctily

Mamehu hlubokou poklonou, na kterou

Mameha zareagovala milým slovem a malým

pokývnutím. Mě potom věnovaly nejasný

pohled a malou poklonu, kterou jsem opětovala

hlubší poklonou, protože jsem pracovně mladší

než ženy, které jsme potkávaly.

Když jsme ale míjely ženy starší, než byla

Mameha, skoro vždycky je pozdravila první.

Tyto ženy pak pozdrav s respektem opětovaly,

i když se neklaněly tak hluboko, pak si

prohlédly mě od hlavy k patě a jemně přikývly

hlavou.

Vždycky jsem klanění opětovala, jak hluboce

jsem jen dokázala i bez toho, abych zastavila

svůj krok. To odpoledne jsem Mameze

pověděla o Dýnině debutu. Následující měsíce

jsem pak doufala, že mi oznámí, že nastal čas,

abych se také stala učednicí.

Místo toho uběhlo jaro i léto a žádné takové

oznámení nepřišlo.

Na rozdíl od Dýnina nového vzrušujícího

života, já měla jen studium, domácí povinnosti

a k nim párkrát týdně patnáct až dvacet minut

s Mamehou.

10 The depth of one’s bow depended always on social status/rank and seniority in the field. This meant that novice

geishas had to bow extremely deep unlike their more experienced and reputable colleagues.

14

Sometimes I sat in her apartment while she

taught me about something I needed to know;

but most often she dressed me in one of her

kimonos and walked me around Gion while

running errands or calling on her fortune-teller

or wig maker. Even when it rained, and she had

no errands to run, we walked under lacquered

umbrellas, making our way from store to store

to check, when the new shipment of perfume

would arrive from Italy, or whether a certain

kimono repair was finished though it wasn't

scheduled to be completed for another week. At

first I thought perhaps Mameha took me with

her so that she could teach me things like

proper posture-for she was constantly rapping

me on the back with her closed folding fan to

make me stand straighter-and about how to

behave toward people. Mameha seemed to

know everyone, and always made a point of

smiling or saying something kind, even to the

most junior maids, because she understood well

that she owed her exalted position to the people

who thought highly of her.

But then one day as we were walking out of a

bookstore, I suddenly realized what she was

really doing.

She had no particular interest in going to the

bookstore, or the wig maker, or the stationer.

The errands weren't especially important; and

besides, she could have sent one of her maids

instead of going herself.

She ran these errands only so that people in

Gion would see us strolling the streets together.

She was delaying my debut to give everyone

time to take notice of me.

One sunny October afternoon we set out from

Mameha's apartment and headed downstream

along the banks of the Shirakawa, watching the

leaves of the cherry trees11 flutter down onto

the water.

Někdy jsme seděly v jejím bytě a ona mě učila

něco důležitého, ale většinou mě oblékla do

jednoho z jejích kimon a procházela se se mnou

Gionem, zatímco vyřizovala pochůzky nebo

navštěvovala věštce či parukáře. Procházely

jsme se, dokonce i když pršelo a neměla žádné

pochůzky k vyřízení. S lakovanými deštníky

v rukou jsme se procházely od výlohy k výloze,

abychom zjistily, kdy přijde nové zboží z Itálie

či jestli dokončili opravu jejího kimona, která

ale neměla být dokončena ještě další týden.

Nejdříve jsem si myslela, že mě Mameha bere

s sebou, aby mě naučila věci jako správné

držení těla, kvůli kterému mě neustále klepala

po zádech skládacím vějířem, aby mě přinutila

stát vzpřímeně, nebo aby mi ukázala, jak se

chovat k lidem.

Zdálo se mi, že Mameha se zná s každým, a

každému věnovala při nejmenším úsměv nebo

milé slovo, dokonce i těm nejpodřadnějším

služkám. Rozuměla, že její uznávanou pozici

ve společnosti si udržuje díky uznání místního

lidu.

Ale jednoho dne, když jsme vycházely

z knihkupectví, jsem náhle pochopila, co

doopravdy měla za lubem.

Neměla doopravdy v úmyslu chodit do

knihkupectví, k parukáři nebo do papírnictví.

Tyto pochůzky nebyly nijak důležité, a navíc

mohla místo sebe poslat služky.

Důvodem, proč tyto pochůzky vyřizovala

sama, jsem byla já. Lidé nás tak mohli vidět

procházet se společně ulicemi Gionu.

Odkládala můj debut, aby si mě stihlo všimnout

co nejvíce lidí.

Jedno slunečné říjnové odpoledne jsme se

vydaly z Mamehina bytu po nábřeží řeky

Shirakawa a pozorovaly jsme, jak lístky

okrasných třešní padají na hladinu vody.

11 There are many species of cherry trees, especially in Japan, and by using the most general term „cherry trees“,

the author avoided calling them by any specific Japanese name, like for example Sakura.

15

A great many other people were out strolling

for just the same reason, and as you would

expect, all of them greeted Mameha. In nearly

every case, at the same time they greeted

Mameha, they greeted me.

"You're getting to be rather well known, don't

you think?" she said to me. "I think most people

would greet even a sheep, if it were walking

alongside Mameha-san12." "Especially a

sheep," she said. "That would be so unusual.

But really, I hear a great many people asking

about the girl with the lovely gray eyes. They

haven't learned your name, but it makes no

difference. You won't be called Chiyo much

longer anyway."

"Does Mameha-san mean to say -" "I mean to

say that I've been speaking with Waza-san" -

this was the name of her fortune-teller - "and he

has suggested the third day in November as a

suitable time for your debut."

Mameha stopped to watch me as I stood there

still as a tree and with my eyes the size of rice

crackers. I didn't cry out or clap my hands, but

I was so delighted I couldn't speak.

Finally, I bowed to Mameha and thanked her.

"You're going to make a fine geisha," she said,

"but you'll make an even better one if you put

some thought into the sorts of statements you

make with your eyes."

"I've never been aware of making any statement

with them at all," I said. "They're the most

expressive part of a woman's body, especially

in your case. Stand here a moment, and I'll

show you."

Mameha walked around the corner, leaving me

alone in the quiet alleyway.

Ulice byly dnes plné lidí, kteří vyrazili na

procházku, jak se zdálo, za stejným účelem

jako my, a všichni zdravili Mamehu. Téměř

pokaždé, co pozdravili Mamehu, pozdravili i

mě.

„Lidé si tě začínají pamatovat, nemyslíš?“

konstatovala. „Myslím, že většina

kolemjdoucích by pozdravila i ovci, kdyby

kráčela s Mamehou.“

„Hlavně tu ovci,“ odpověděla. „Ale vážně,

slyšela jsem spoustu lidí ptát se na dívku

s krásnýma šedýma očima. Ještě sice neznají

tvé jméno, ale na tom vůbec nezáleží. Stejně už

ti nebudeme říkat Chiyo dlouho.“

„Chce tím Mameha říct –“ „Chci tím říct, že

jsem mluvila s panem Wazou,“ zmínila svého

věštce. „Ten říkal, že třetí den v listopadu by

bylo vhodné datum tvého debutu.“

Mameha se zastavila a pozorovala, jak jsem

zkoprněla šokem, neschopná jediného slova.

Neskákala jsem radostí, ani jsem netleskala, ale

byla jsem tak šťastná, že jsem oněměla. Pak

jsem se probrala, Mameze jsem se poklonila a

poděkovala jí.

„Bude z tebe skvělá gejša,“ řekla mi. „Ale

budeš ještě lepší, když se zamyslíš nad tím, co

říkáš lidem očima.“

„Netušila jsem, že očima něco povídám,“

odpověděla jsem. „Ženské oči toho jsou

nejdůležitější částí ženského tělo, hlavně u

tebe. Na chvíli se tu zastav, ukážu ti to.“

Mameha zašla za roh a nechala mě samotnou

v tiché uličce.

12 Japanese are extremely polite people. The politeness can be seen it the way they greet each other, as I have

already mentioned, or more specifically in ways they call each other. The most common honorific is -san. This

suffix is used in public, in schools and other very formal settings, expressing the highest level of respect. By

connecting this suffix to the first name, not the surname, it shows that Mameha and Chiyo are more familiar. As

Mameha’s position in their society is much higher, she does not honor Chiyo with the same honorific.

16

A moment later she strolled out and walked

right past me with her eyes to one side. I had

the impression she felt afraid of what might

happen if she looked in my direction.

"Now, if you were a man," she said, "what

would you think?" "I'd think you were

concentrating so hard on avoiding me that you

couldn't think about anything else."

"Isn't it possible I was just looking at the

rainspouts along the base of the houses?" "Even

if you were, I thought you were avoiding

looking at me."

“That’s just what I’m saying. A girl with a

stunning profile will never accidentally give a

man the wrong message with it. But men are

going to notice your eyes and imagine you’re

giving messages with them even when you

aren’t.

Now watch me once more.”

Mameha went around the corner again, and this

time came back with her eyes to the ground,

walking in a particularly dreamy manner.

Then as she neared me her eyes rose to meet

mine for just an instant, and very quickly

looked away. I must say, I felt an electric jolt;

if I’d been a man, I would have thought she’d

given herself over very briefly to strong

feelings she was struggling to hide.

“If I can say things like this with ordinary eyes

like mine,” she told me, “think how much more

you can say with yours.

It wouldn’t surprise me if you were able to

make a man faint right here on the street.”

“Mameha-san!” I said. “If I had the power to

make a man faint, I’m sure I’d be aware of it by

now.” “I’m quite surprised you aren’t. Let’s

agree, then, that you’ll be ready to make your

debut as soon as you’ve stopped a man in his

tracks just by flicking your eyes at him.”

Za moment se zase objevila a prošla okolo mě

se sklopenýma očima. Měla jsem pocit jako by

se bála, že když se na mě podívá, tak se něco

stane.

„Tak, kdybys byla muž, co by sis o tom

myslela?“ zeptala se. „Myslela bych si, že se mi

za každou cenu snažíte vyhnout a nedokážete

se tak soustředit na nic jiného.“

„A není možné, že jsem se třeba jen dívala na

kapky deště tekoucích po základech domů?“ „I

kdyby, stejně bych si myslela, že jste se mi

vyhýbala.“

„To je přesně to, o čem mluvím. Dívka s tak

nádherným pohledem nikdy neudělá na muže

špatný dojem. Muži si všimnou tvých očích a

ty si představ, co svým pohledem vyjadřuješ, ať

už si to uvědomuješ, nebo ne.

Zkusíme to ještě jednou, dávej pozor.“

Mameha opět zašla za roh a tentokrát se vrátila

s pohledem skloněným k zemi a lehkou

elegantní chůzí.

Jakmile se začala blížit ke mně, zvedla hlavu a

jen na moment se její pohled setkal s mým, než

oči opět sklopila k zemi. Musím přiznat, že její

pohled byl elektrizující. Kdybych byla muž,

myslela bych si, že na moment bezmezně

podlehla svým pocitům, které již nedokázala

skrýt.

„Když já dokážu pohledem říct tolik, pomysli,

kolik bys dokázala říct ty svým.

Nepřekvapilo by mě, kdyby kvůli tvému

pohledu na ulici nějaký muž omdlel.”

„Mameho!“ řekla jsem. „Kdybych uměla muže

odrovnat pohledem, jsem si jistá, že bych o tom

věděla.“ „Jsem docela překvapená, že to ještě

nevíš. Pojďme se domluvit, že budeš mít svůj

debut, až dokážeš zastavit muže jediným

mrknutím oka.“

17

I was so eager to make my debut that even if

Mameha had challenged me to make a tree fall

by looking at it, I’m sure I would have tried. I

asked her if she would be kind enough to walk

with me while I experimented on a few men,

and she was happy to do it.

My first encounter was with a man so old that,

really, he looked like a kimono full of bones.

He was making his way slowly up the street

with the help of a cane, and his glasses were

smeared so badly with grime that it wouldn’t

have surprised me if he had walked right into

the corner of a building.

He didn’t notice me at all; so we continued

toward Shijo Avenue. Soon I saw two

businessmen in Western suits, but I had no

better luck with them. I think they recognized

Mameha, or perhaps they simply thought she

was prettier than I was, for in any case, they

never took their eyes off her.

I was about to give up when I saw a delivery

boy of perhaps twenty, carrying a tray stacked

with lunch boxes. In those days, a number of

the restaurants around Gion made deliveries

and sent a boy around during the afternoon to

pick up the empty boxes.

Usually, they were stacked in a crate that was

either carried by hand or strapped to a bicycle;

I don’t know why this young man was using a

tray. I could see that Mameha was looking right

at him, and then she said: “Make him drop the

tray.” Before I could make up my mind whether

she was joking, she turned up a side street and

was gone. I don’t think it’s possible for a girl of

fourteen—or for a woman of any age—to make

a young man drop something just by looking at

him in a certain way; I suppose such things may

happen in movies and books.

I would have given up without even trying, if I

hadn’t noticed two things.

Byla jsem tak odhodlaná svůj debut uskutečnit,

že i kdyby mě Mameha vyzvala abych jediným

pohledem složila strom, tak bych to určitě

zkusila. Poprosila jsem ji, aby se se mnou ještě

chvíli procházela, abych mohla na pár mužích

experimentovat, a ona mi ráda vyhověla.

Můj první pokus byl muž tak starý, že vypadal

doslova jako kimono plné kostí.

O holi se pomalu ubíral ulicí. Brýle měl tak

zapatlané špínou, že kdyby narazil do rohu

nějakého domu, vůbec bych se tomu nedivila.

Vůbec si mě nevšiml. Pokračovaly jsme proto

po Shijo bulváru. O chvíli později jsem uviděla

dva obchodníky v oblecích západního střihu,

ale taky bez úspěchu. Myslím, že poznali

Mamehu, nebo si prostě jen mysleli, že je hezčí

než já, tak či tak z ní ani na vteřinu nespustili

oči.

Už jsem to chtěla vzdát, když jsem si všimla

poslíčka, okolo dvaceti, který nesl podnos plný

prázdných krabic od oběda. V té době bylo

běžné, že některé restaurace Gionu měly

roznáškový systém a odpoledne pak posílali

poslíčky vyzvednout prázdné krabičky.

Obvykle je měli naskládané v koši, který nesli

v rukou nebo jej vezli na kole, takže jsem

nechápala, proč je tento mladík nese na

podnose. Viděla jsem, že se Mameha dívá

přímo na něj, když řekla: „Přinuť ho upustit ten

podnos.“ Dřív, než jsem měla šanci se

rozhodnout, zda vtipkuje, zahnula za roh ulice

a zmizela. Nemyslím si, že čtrnáctiletá dívka,

nebo žena jakéhokoliv věku, dokáže pouhým

pohledem způsobit, aby mladý muž upustil

plný tác. Takové věci se možná dějí ve filmech

nebo knížkách.

Nejspíš bych to ani nezkusila, kdybych si

nevšimla dvou maličkostí.

18

First, the young man was already eyeing me as

a hungry cat might eye a mouse; and second,

most of the streets in Gion didn’t have curbs,

but this one did, and the delivery boy was

walking in the street not far from it.

If I could crowd him so that he had to step up

onto the sidewalk and stumble over the curb, he

might drop the tray.

I began by keeping my gaze to the ground in

front of me, and then tried to do the very thing

Mameha had done to me a few minutes earlier.

I let my eyes rise until they met the young

man’s for an instant, and then I quickly looked

away. After a few more steps I did the same

thing again.

By this time, he was watching me so intently

that probably he’d forgotten about the tray on

his arm, much less the curb at his feet.

When we were very close, I changed my course

ever so slightly to begin crowding him, so that

he wouldn’t be able to pass me without

stepping over the curb onto the sidewalk, and

then I looked him right in the eye.

He was trying to move out of my way; and just

as I had hoped, his feet tangled themselves on

the curb, and he fell to one side scattering the

lunch boxes on the sidewalk.

Well, I couldn’t help laughing!

And I’m happy to say that the young man began

to laugh too.

I helped him pick up his boxes, gave him a little

smile before he bowed to me more deeply than

any man had ever bowed to me before, and then

went on his way.

I met up with Mameha a moment later, who had

seen it all. “I think perhaps you’re as ready now

as you’ll ever need to be,” she said.

Zaprvé, ten mladík si mě prohlížel tak, jak

hladová kočka kouká na myš. A za druhé,

většina ulic Gionu neměla obrubníky, ale tato

ano, a tento poslíček šel kousek od něj.

Kdybych se k němu přiblížila dostatečně

blízko, možná by ho to přinutilo uhnout na

chodník a zakopnout tak o obrubník, a tudíž i

upustit podnos.

Začala jsem sklopeným pohledem k zemi přede

mnou, a pak jsem se pokusila o to stejné, co

předvedla Mameha mě před pár minutami. Pak

se mé oči jen na moment střetly s jeho, než

jsem opět sklopila oči k zemi. Po pár krocích

jsem to celé zopakovala.

Tentokrát mě sledoval tak upřeně, že nejspíš

zapomněl na podnos v rukách, natož pak na

obrubník.

Když už jsme se k sobě blížili, změnila jsem

svou trasu tak, abych šla po silnici blíž k němu

a on tak musel přejít na chodník a pak jsem se

mu znovu upřeně podívala do očí.

Snažil se mi vyhnout, a přesně jak jsem

doufala, nohy se mu zasekly o obrubník a on

upadl i s krabicemi, které rozsypal na chodník.

Nešlo se nesmát!

A jsem moc ráda, že se začal smát i on.

Pomohla jsem mu sesbírat krabice, věnovala

mu malý úsměv, on se mi uklonil tak hluboko,

jako nikdo předtím a pak se vydal na cestu.

O moment později jsem se opět setkala

s Mamehou, která všechno pozorovala.

„Možná že jsi již dostatečně připravená,“ řekla.

19

And with that, she led me across the main

avenue to the apartment of Wazasan, her

fortune-teller, and set him to work finding

auspicious dates for all the various events that

would lead up to my debut - such as going to

the shrine to announce my intentions to the

gods, and having my hair done for the first

time, and performing the ceremony that would

make sisters of Mameha and me.

I didn’t sleep at all that night. What I had

wanted for so long had finally come to pass,

and oh, how my stomach churned!

The idea of dressing in the exquisite clothing I

admired and presenting myself to a roomful of

men was enough to make my palms glisten with

sweat.

Every time I thought of it, I felt a most delicious

nervousness that tingled all the way from my

knees into my chest. I imagined myself inside a

teahouse, sliding open the door of a tatami

room13. The men turned their heads to look at

me; and of course, I saw the Chairman there

among them.

Sometimes I imagined him alone in the room,

wearing not a Western-style business suit, but

the Japanese dress so many men wore in the

evenings to relax.

In his fingers, as smooth as driftwood, he held

a sake cup; more than anything else in the

world, I wanted to pour it full for him and feel

his eyes upon me as I did.

I may have been no more than fourteen, but it

seemed to me I’d lived two lives already.

S těmito slovy mě vedla přes hlavní bulvár do

Wazasanova bytu, jejího věštce. Tomu dala za

úkol najít správná data pro jednotlivé události

vedoucí k mému debutu, jako návštěva chrámu

kvůli oznámení mých plánů bohům, moje první

schůzka s kadeřnicí, nebo ceremoniál spojující

mě a Mamehu se svazek sesterský.

Tu noc jsem oči nezamhouřila. To, po čem jsem

tak dlouho toužila, mám konečně na dosah, a

jak se mi z toho stáhl žaludek!

Z představy, jak jsem oblečená do jedné

z přepychových rób, které jsem vždy

obdivovala, a jak se představuji místnosti plné

mužů, se mi dlaně zalily potem.

Pokaždé, když jsem na to pomyslela, jsem

ucítila tu nejlahodnější nervozitu, která mě

šimrala od kolen až po hruď. Představovala

jsem si, jak v čajovně otevírám dveře salonku s

tatami. Všichni muži upřou pohled na mě a

mezi nimi je samozřejmě i Ředitel.

Občas si jej představím v salonu samotného,

oblečeného ne do obleku, ale do japonského

mužského šatu, který mnoho mužů nosí

k večernímu odpočinku.

Jeho prsty, hladké jako samet, držely šálek na

saké. Víc než cokoliv na světě jsem chtěla ten

šálek naplnit a ucítit opět jeho pohled, tak jako

dřív.

I když mi bylo sotva čtrnáct, přišlo mi, že už

jsem prožila dva životy.

13 In Japanese culture, the teahouses are usually filled with so-called tatami rooms, which are private or semi-

private rooms with tatami mats to sit on, in which people entertain their guests. It can be a group of business

partners, or just a group of friends, and they can entertain alone or hire geishas. Geishas usually entertain in pairs

or groups, one plays the shamisen, the traditional musical instrument, and sings, while the others dance. They all

then teach their customers funny games, they converse, perform tea ceremonies and pour sake, Japanese rice wine.

20

My new life was still beginning, though my old

life had come to an end some time ago. Several

years had passed since I’d learned the sad news

about my family, and it was amazing to me how

completely the landscape of my mind had

changed. We all know that a winter scene,

though it may be covered over one day, with

even the trees dressed in shawls of snow, will

be unrecognizable the following spring. Yet I

had never imagined such a thing could occur

within our very selves. When I first learned the

news of my family, it was as though I’d been

covered over by a blanket of snow.

But in time the terrible coldness had melted

away to reveal a landscape I’d never seen

before or even imagined.

I don’t know if this will make sense to you, but

my mind on the eve of my debut was like a

garden in which the flowers have only begun to

poke their faces up through the soil, so that it is

still impossible to tell how things will look.

I was brimming with excitement; and in this

garden of my mind stood a statue, precisely in

the centre. It was an image of the geisha I

wanted to become.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I’ve heard it said that the week in which a

young girl prepares for her debut as an

apprentice geisha is like when a caterpillar

turns into a butterfly. It’s a charming idea; but

for the life of me I can’t imagine why anyone

ever thought up such a thing.

A caterpillar has only to spin its cocoon and

doze off for a while; whereas in my case, I’m

sure I never had a more exhausting week.

Můj nový život byl teprve na začátku, ale můj

starý život byl již nějakou dobu u konce.

Uběhlo několik let, než jsem se dozvěděla

smutné zprávy o mé rodině, ale bylo úžasné, jak

se za tu dobu změnil můj způsob myšlení.

Všichni známe tu zimní krajinu, která je chvíli

pokrytá sněhem, dokonce i stromy jsou přikryté

sněhovou peřinou, ale s příchodem jara je

krajina k nepoznání. Nikdy bych ale nevěřila,

že by se taková věc mohla stát i nám samotným.

Když jsem se prvně dozvěděla novinky o mé

rodině, bylo to jako bych byla přikryta

sněhovou pokrývkou.

Ale časem se ten hrozivý mrazík rozpustil a

odhalil tak krajinu, o které se mi nikdy dříve

nesnilo.

Nevím, jestli vám to dává smysl, ale předvečer

mého debutu byl jako zahrada, ve které poupata

teprve začínala vykukovat z hlíny, a tudíž

nebylo možné rozpoznat, jak budou později

vypadat.

Překypovala jsem nadšením. V mé snové

zahradě stála socha, přesně uprostřed.

Ztělesňovala gejšu, kterou jsem se chtěla stát.

KAPITOLA ČTRNÁCTÁ

Slyšela jsem, že týden, ve kterém se mladá

dívka připravuje na svůj debut jako gejša-

učednice, je jako když se z housenky stane

motýl. Je to kouzelná myšlenka, ale já jsem

nedokázala pochopit, proč by si někdo něco

takového vůbec myslel.

Housenka se jen musí zamotat do kokonu a na

chvíli si zdřímnout, přičemž v mém případě se

jednalo o nejvíc vyčerpávající týden mého

života.

21

The first step was to have my hair done in the

manner of an apprentice geisha, in the “split

peach” style, which I’ve mentioned.

Gion had quite a number of hairdressers in

those days; Mameha’s worked in a terribly

crowded room above an eel restaurant.

I had to spend nearly two hours waiting my turn

with six or eight geisha kneeling here and there,

even out on the landing of the stairwell.

And I’m sorry to say that the smell of dirty hair

was overpowering.

The elaborate hairstyles geisha wore in those

days required so much effort and expense that

no one went to the hairdresser more than once

a week or so; by the end of that time, even the

perfumes they put in their hair weren’t of much

help.

When at last my turn came, the first thing the

hairdresser did was put me over a large sink in

a position that made me wonder if he was going

to chop off my head.

Then he poured a bucket of warm water over

my hair and began to scrub it with soap.

Actually “scrub” isn’t a strong enough word,

because what he did to my scalp using his

fingers is more like what a workman does to a

field using a hoe.

Looking back on it, I understand why. Dandruff

is a great problem among geisha, and very few

things are more unattractive and make the hair

look more unclean.

The hairdresser may have had the best motives,

but after a while my scalp felt so raw, I was

almost in tears from the pain.

Finally he said to me, “Go ahead and cry if you

have to. Why do you think I put you over a

sink!” I suppose this was his idea of a clever

joke, because after he’d said it, he laughed out

loud.

Prvním krokem bylo nechat se učesat ve stylu

gejši-učednice, tedy již zmiňovaný účes

„rozpůlená broskev“.

Gion byl v té době plný kadeřnictví. Kadeřník

Mamehy pracoval v přeplněné místnosti nad

úhoří restaurací.

Musela jsem čekat skoro dvě hodiny, než jsem

přišla na řadu, spolu s dalšími šesti až osmi

gejšami, které klečely všude možně, dokonce i

na schodech.

A bohužel musím přiznat, že zápach špinavých

vlasů byl nesnesitelný.

Okázalé účesy nošené gejšami vyžadovaly v té

době mnoho úsilí a peněz, takže si nikdo

nemohl dovolit chodit do kadeřnictví víc jak

jednou týdně. Koncem týdne už nepomáhaly

ani parfémy, které se do vlasů aplikovaly.

Když jsem konečně přišla na řadu, kadeřník mě

ze všeho nejdřív nahnul nad velké umyvadlo, a

to tak, jako by mi chtěl useknout hlavu.

Pak mi polil vlasy kbelíkem teplé vody a začal

je drhnout mýdlem.

„Drhnout“ vlastně nebylo dostatečně silné

slovo, protože to, co prsty prováděl mé hlavě,

připomínalo spíše dělníka na poli s motykou

v ruce.

Když se ohlédnu zpět, je mi jasné, proč.

Mezi gejšami jsou lupy velkým problémem,

jsou neatraktivní a vlasy pak působí víc

špinavé.

Kadeřník to nejspíš dělal s nejlepšími úmysly,

ale po chvíli jsem měla pokožku hlavy tak

citlivou, že jsem skoro až slzela bolestí.

Pak mi konečně povídá: „Jen klidně breč,

pokud musíš. Proč myslíš, že jsem tě naklonil

nad umyvadlo!“ Předpokládám, že to měl být

pokus o chytrý vtípek, protože jakmile to

vyslovil, začal se hlasitě smát.

22

When he’d had enough of scraping his

fingernails across my scalp, he sat me on the

mats to one side and tore a wooden comb

through my hair until the muscles of my neck

were sore from pulling against him. At length

he satisfied himself that the knots were gone,

and then combed camellia oil into my hair,

which gave it a lovely sheen. I was starting to

think the worst was over; but then he took out

a bar of wax. And I must tell you that even with

camellia oil as a lubricant and a hot iron to keep

the wax soft, hair and wax were never meant to

go together.

It says a great deal about how civilized we

human beings are, that a young girl can

willingly sit and allow a grown man to comb

wax through her hair without doing anything

more than whimpering quietly to herself.

If you tried such a thing with a dog, it would

bite you so much you’d be able to see through

your hands.

When my hair was evenly waxed, the

hairdresser swept the forelock back and

brought the rest up into a large knot like a

pincushion on the top of the head.

When viewed from the back, this pincushion

has a split in it, as if it’s cut in two, which gives

the hairstyle its name of “split peach.” Even

though I wore this split-peach hairstyle for a

number of years, there’s something about it that

never occurred to me until quite some time later

when a man explained it.

The knot - what I’ve called the “pincushion” -

is formed by wrapping the hair around a piece

of fabric.

In back where the knot is split, the fabric is left

visible; it might be any design or color, but in

the case of an apprentice geisha -after a certain

point in her life, at least - it’s always red silk.

Když už mi dostatečně poškrábal pokožku

hlavy, usadil mě na jednu z rohoží a začal mi

škubat vlasy dřevěným hřebenem tak dlouho,

dokud jsem neměla namožené krční svaly

z toho, jak jsem tlačila hlavou proti němu.

Když se konečně přesvědčil, že jsou vlasy bez

uzlíků, včesal mi do nich olej z kamélií, díky

kterému se krásně leskly. Začínala jsem věřit,

že to nejhorší mám za sebou, ale pak vytáhl

tabulku vosku. A musím vám říct, že i

s olejíčkem ve vlasech a horkým železem

udržujícím vosk měkkým, jsem dospěla

k závěru, že vlasy a vosk nepatří k sobě.

To, že si mladá dívka dobrovolně sedne a nechá

dospělého muže, aby jí včesával do vlasů vosk,

zatímco ona jen tiše trpí, vypovídá dost o

vyspělosti lidské civilizace.

Kdybyste to stejné zkusili se psem, kousl by

vás tak, že byste měli v ruce díru.

Když jsem měla vlasy rovnoměrně pokryté

voskem, sčesal mi je z čela a smotal je do

velkého uzlu, podobného jehelníčku, na

vrcholku hlavy.

Z pohledu zezadu měl jehelníček mezírku

vytvářející dojem, jako by byl rozpůlený, čímž

vznikl název účesu „rozpůlená broskev.“ I když

jsem tento účes nosila několik let, jedna věc mi

nikdy nepřišla na mysl, dokud mi ji někdo

nevysvětlil.

Ten uzel, kterému jsem říkala „jehelníček,“ je

tvořen omotáváním vlasů okolo pruhu látky.

Vzadu, tam kde jsou vlasy rozpůleny, je látka

záměrně vidět. Může mít jakoukoliv barvu

nebo vzor, ale v případě gejši – učednice je to

po určité životní události vždycky červený

satén.

23

One night a man said to me: “Most of these

innocent little girls have no idea how

provocative the ‘split peach’ hairstyle really is!

Imagine that you’re walking along behind a

young geisha, thinking all sorts of naughty

thoughts about what you might like to do to her,

and then you see on her head this split-peach

shape, with a big splash of red inside the cleft .

. . And what do you think of?” Well, I didn’t

think of anything at all, and I told him so. “You

aren’t using your imagination!” he said.

After a moment I understood and turned so red

he laughed to see it.

On my way back to the okiya, it didn’t matter

to me that my poor scalp felt the way clay must

feel after the potter has scored it with a sharp

stick.

Every time I caught a glimpse of myself in the

glass of a shop, I felt I was someone to be taken

seriously; not a girl anymore, but a young

woman. When I reached the okiya, Auntie

made me model my hair for her and said all

sorts of kind things. Even Pumpkin couldn’t

resist walking once around me admiringly -

though Hatsumomo would have been angry if

she’d known.

And what do you suppose Mother’s reaction

was?

She stood on her tiptoes to see better -which did

her little good, because already I was taller than

she was - and then complained that I probably

ought to have gone to Hatsumomo’s

hairdresser rather than Mameha’s.

Every young geisha may be proud of her

hairstyle at first, but she comes to hate it within

three or four days. Because you see, if a girl

comes home exhausted from the hairdresser

and lays her head down on a pillow for a nap

just as she did the night before, her hair will be

flattened out of shape.

Jednou večer mi jeden muž povídá: “Většina

těchto nevinných mladých dívek nemá ani

ponětí, jak provokativní účes “rozpůlené

broskve” ve skutečnosti je! Představ si, že jdeš

za mladou gejšou a napadají tě různé nemravné

myšlenky o tom, co všechno bys jí chtěla

provést, a pak na její hlavě uvidíš tento účes

rozpůlené broskve s rudým středem… A na co

pomyslíš?” No, mě nenapadlo vůbec nic a taky

jsem mu to řekla. „Nepoužíváš svou

představivost!“ odvětil.

Po chvilce jsem si to uvědomila a zrudla jsem,

což jej rozesmálo.

Když jsem se vracela do okiji, moje hlava byla

jako když hrnčíř vyryje rýhy do hlíny, ale

vůbec mi to nevadilo.

Pokaždé, jsem se zahlédla ve výloze nějakého

obchodu, jsem si připadala jako někdo, koho je

třeba brát vážně. Už nejsem dívka, ale mladá

žena. Když jsem přišla domů, předvedla jsem

tetičce svůj účes a ona mě zahrnula

komplimenty. Dokonce ani Dýně nemohla

odolat a alespoň jednou prošla s obdivem

okolo, i když by tím naštvala Hatsumomo,

kdyby se to dozvěděla.

A jak myslíte, že reagovala matka?

Stoupla si na špičky, aby lépe viděla, což jí ale

moc nepomohlo, protože jsem už tehdy byla

vyšší než ona, a pak si začala stěžovat, že jsem

radši měla jít ke kadeřníkovi, co češe

Hatsumomo.

Každá mladá gejša je ze začátku na svůj účes

pyšná, ale během dvou až tří dní jej začne

nenávidět. Abyste to chápali, když dívka přijde

vyčerpaná od kadeřníka a chce si odpočinout

s hlavou na polštáři tak jako předchozí noc, její

vlasy se přeleží a ztratí ten správný tvar.

24

The moment she awakens, she’ll have to go

right back to the hairdresser again. For this

reason, a young apprentice geisha must learn a

new way of sleeping after her hair is styled for

the first time. She doesn’t use an ordinary

pillow any longer, but a takamakura14 - which

I’ve mentioned before. It’s not so much a

pillow as a cradle for the base of the neck. Most

are padded with a bag of wheat chaff, but still

they’re not much better than putting your neck

on a stone.

You lie there on your futon with your hair

suspended in the air, thinking everything is fine

until you fall asleep; but when you wake up,

you’ve shifted somehow so that your head has

settled back on the mats, and your hairstyle is

as flat as if you hadn’t bothered to use a tall

pillow in the first place.

In my case, Auntie helped me to avoid this by

putting a tray of rice flour on the mats beneath

my hair. Whenever my head drooped back

while I slept, my hair sank into the rice flour,

which stuck to the wax and ruined my hairstyle.

I’d already watched Pumpkin go through this

ordeal. Now it was my turn. For a time I woke

up every morning with my hair ruined and had

to wait in line at the hairdresser for my chance

to be tortured.

Every afternoon during the week leading up to

my debut, Auntie dressed me in the complete

regalia of an apprentice geisha and made me

walk up and down the dirt corridor of the okiya

to build up my strength.

In the beginning I could scarcely walk at all,

and worried that I might tip over backward.

Young girls dress much more ornately than

older women, you see, which means brighter

colors and showier fabrics, but also a longer

obi.

Hned jak se ráno probudí, musí se vrátit zpátky

ke kadeřníkovi. Právě kvůli tomu se mladé

gejši – učednice učí nový způsob spaní,

neprodleně po první návštěvě kadeřníka. Už

nepoužívá běžný polštář, ten nahradí

takamakura, o kterém jsem se již zmínila.

Není to vlastně tak úplně polštář, jako spíš

podstavec pod krk. Většina je polstrovaná

pytlíkem pšeničných plev, ale stejně to není o

moc lepší než si lehnout na kámen.

Takže ležíte na futonu s vlasy ve vzduchu,

myslíte si, že vše je v pořádku a usnete. Ale

když se vzbudíte, zjistíte, že jste se s sebou

v noci tak házeli, že spíte s hlavou na rohoži a

váš účes je splasknutý tak jakoby jste se ani

neobtěžovali ten speciální polštář použít.

Tetička mi ale pomohla vyhnout se tomuto

problému tak, že na rohože pod mou hlavu

umístila tác plný rýžové mouky. Pokaždé, když

jsem ztratila kontrolu nad svou hlavou, se mi

vlasy zabořily do mouky, ta se spojila s voskem

v mých vlasech a pokazila mi účes.

Pamatuji si, když toto utrpení prožívala Dýně.

Teď byla řada na mě. Nějakou dobu jsem se

budila se zničeným účesem, což vedlo

k častému mučení u kadeřníka.

Týden před mým debutem mě tetička každé

odpoledne oblékala do kompletního oděvu

gejši-učednice a nutila mě chodit ta a zpět po

zaprášené chodbě okiji abych získala kondici.

Na začátku jsem zvládla udělat sotva pár kroků,

protože jsem se bála, že přepadnu dozadu.

Mladé dívky mají oděv mnohem zdobnější než

starší ženy, což znamená jasnější barvy a

okázalejší materiály, ale také delší obi.

14 Takamakura is a type of pillow, designed specifically for the geisha community. It helps prolong the quality of

their hairstyle, but it is just a little bit padded, very uncomfortable and extremely unhealthy for the cervical spine.

25

A mature woman will wear the obi tied in back

in a manner we call the “drum knot,” because it

makes a tidy little box shape; this doesn’t

require very much fabric. But a girl younger

than around twenty or so wears her obi in a

showier fashion.

In the case of an apprentice geisha, this means

the most dramatic fashion of all, a darari-obi -

“dangling obi” - knotted almost as high as the

shoulder blades, and with the ends hanging

nearly to the ground.

No matter how brightly colored a kimono

might be, the obi is nearly always brighter.

When an apprentice geisha walks down the

street in front of you, you notice not her kimono

but rather her brilliantly colored, dangling obi -

with just a margin of kimono showing at the

shoulders and on the sides.

To achieve this effect the obi must be so long

that it stretches all the way from one end of a

room to the other. But it isn’t the length of the

obi that makes it hard to wear; it’s the weight,

for it’s nearly always made of heavy silk

brocade. Just to carry it up the stairs is

exhausting, so you can imagine how it feels to

wear it—the thick band of it squeezing your

middle like one of those awful snakes, and the

heavy fabric hanging behind, making you feel

as if someone has strapped a traveling trunk to

your back. To make matters worse, the kimono

itself is also heavy, with long, swinging

sleeves. I don’t mean sleeves that drape over

the hand onto the ground.

You may have noticed that when a woman is

wearing kimono and stretches out her arms, the

fabric below the sleeve hangs down to form

something like a pocket.

This baggy pocket, which we call the furi, is the

part that’s so long on the kimono of an

apprentice geisha.

Dospělé ženy nosí obi svázané na zádech do

„bubnového uzlu,“ který vytváří úhledný uzel

podobný malé krabičce. Tento uzel nevyžaduje

moc materiálu. Ale dívka mladší dvaceti let

nosí obi okázalejším způsobem.

V případě gejši-učednice to znamená

nejdramatičtější způsob ze všech, a to darari-

obi neboli „visící obi,“ svázané hned pod

lopatkami a visící téměř k zemi.

Nezáleží na tom, jak je kimono jasné a barevné,

obi je skoro vždycky jasnější.

Když jde gejša-učednice před vámi po ulici,

nevšimnete si jejího kimona, ale spíš jejího

okázalého visícího obi a možná okraj kimona

vykukujícího po stranách na ramenou.

Pro dosáhnutí tohoto efektu je potřeba, aby se

obi, kvůli své délce, táhlo přes celou místnost.

Délka obi ale není důvodem, proč je tak těžké

jej nosit. Problémy působí jeho váha, protože

se většinou vyrábí z těžkého hedvábného

brokátu. Už jen vynést jej do patra je

vyčerpávající, takže si jistě dokážete představit,

jaké to je mít ho na sobě – těsně stažené v pase,

jako by vás objímal jeden z těch příšerných

hadů, a těžká látka visící vzadu, díky které se

cítíte, jako by vám někdo na záda přivázal plný

kufr. A aby toho nebylo málo, i samotné

kimono je dost těžké, a navíc má dlouhé

plandavé rukávy. Tím nemyslím rukávy, které

by visely přes ruku až na zem.

Možná jste si všimli, že když má žena na sobě

kimono a roztáhne ruce, látka pod rukávy visí

dolů a vytváří tak dojem kapsy.

Tato kapsa, které říkáme furi, je na kimonu

gejši-učednice ta nejdelší část.

26

It can easily drag along the ground if a girl isn’t

careful; and when she dances, she will certainly

trip over her sleeves if she doesn’t wrap them

many times around the forearm to keep them

out of the way.

Years later a famous scientist from Kyoto

University, when he was very drunk one night,

said something about the costume of an

apprentice geisha that I’ve never forgotten.

“The mandrill of central Africa is often

considered the showiest of primates,” he said.

“But I believe the apprentice geisha of Gion is

perhaps the most brilliantly colored primate of

all!”

Finally the day came when Mameha and I were

to perform the ceremony binding us as sisters.

I bathed early and spent the rest of the morning

dressing.

Auntie helped me with the finishing touches on

my makeup and hair. Because of the wax and

makeup covering my skin, I had the strange

sensation of having lost all feeling in my face;

every time I touched my cheek, I could feel

only a vague sense of pressure from my finger.

I did it so many times Auntie had to redo my

makeup. Afterward as I studied myself in the

mirror, a most peculiar thing happened.

I knew that the person kneeling before the

makeup stand was me, but so was the

unfamiliar girl gazing back.

She wore the magnificent makeup of a geisha.

Her lips were flowering red on a stark white

face, with her cheeks tinted a soft pink.

Her hair was ornamented with silk flowers and

sprigs of unhusked rice. She wore a formal

kimono of black, with the crest of the Nitta

okiya. When at last I could bring myself to

stand, I went into the hall and looked in

astonishment at myself in the full-length

mirror.

Pokud je dívka nepozorná, může je táhnout za

sebou po zemi. A pokud si je pořádně neomotá

kolem předloktí, je snadné o ně zakopnout

během tance.

O mnoho let později mi vědec z univerzity

v Kyotu řekl o kostýmu gejši-učednice něco, co

mi navždy utkvělo v paměti.

„Mandril, žijící v centrální Africe, je

považován za nejokázalejšího primáta ze

všech,“ řekl mi. „Ale věřím, že gejša-učednice

z Gionu je nejspíš nejdokonaleji zbarvený

primát ze všech!“

Konečně nastal ten den, kdy jsme s Mamehou

měly provést ceremoniál svazující nás ve

svazek sesterský. Brzo ráno jsem se vykoupala

a většinu dopoledne jsem strávila přípravami.

Tetička mi pomohla s posledními úpravami

mého líčení a účesu. Díky všemu tomu vosku a

líčidlům jsem si připadala, jako bych ztratila

všechen cit v obličeji.

Pokaždé, když jsem dotkla tváře, jsem skoro

ani necítila tlak prstu.

Udělala jsem to tolikrát, že mi tetička musela

líčení poupravit. Když jsem se pak prohlížela

v zrcadle, stala se velmi podivná věc.

Věděla jsem, že ta osoba, klečící před skříňkou

na líčidla, jsem já, ale stejně zmateně na mě

koukala ta neznámá dívka v zrcadle.

Měla na sobě dokonalé líčení opravdové gejši.

Její rty rozkvétaly na jasně bílém obličeji

s tvářemi lehce do růžova.

Její vlasy byly zdobeny hedvábnými květinami

a snítkami neloupané rýže. Oděna byla do

slavnostního černého kimona se znakem rodu

Nitta. Když jsem se konečně odhodlala

postavit, sešla jsem do haly a udiveně jsem se

prohlížela ve velkém zrcadle.

27

Beginning at the hem of my gown, an

embroidered dragon circled up the bottom of

the robe to the middle of my thigh.

His mane was woven in threads lacquered with

a beautiful reddish tint. His claws and teeth

were silver, his eyes gold—real gold.

I couldn’t stop tears from welling up in my eyes

and had to look straight up at the ceiling to keep

them from rolling onto my cheeks.

Before leaving the okiya, I took the

handkerchief the Chairman had given me and

tucked it into my obi for good luck. Auntie

accompanied me to Mameha’s apartment,

where I expressed my gratitude to Mameha and

pledged to honor and respect her.

Then the three of us walked to the Gion Shrine,

where Mameha and I clapped our hands and

announced to the gods that we would soon be

bound as sisters15. I prayed for their favor in the

years ahead, and then closed my eyes and

thanked them for having granted me the wish

I’d pleaded for three and a half years earlier,

that I should become a geisha.

The ceremony was to take place at the Ichiriki

Teahouse, which is certainly the best-known

teahouse in all of Japan.

It has quite a history, partly because of a

famous samurai who hid himself there in the

early 1700s. If you’ve ever heard the story of

the Forty-seven Ronin - who avenged their

master’s death and afterward killed themselves

by seppuku16 - well, it was their leader who hid

himself in the Ichiriki Teahouse while plotting

revenge.

Spodní část róby, od lemu až ke stehnům, byla

zdobena výšivkou draka.

Jeho hříva byla utkaná z načervenalých

lakovaných nití. Drápy a zuby měl stříbrné a

oči ze zlata – opravdového zlata.

Nedokázala jsem potlačit slzy, tak jsem musela

pozvednout hlavu ke stropu, aby se mi

nekutálely po tvářích.

Před odchodem z okiji jsem si vzala kapesníček

od Ředitele a zastrčila jsem si ho za obi jako

talisman pro štěstí.

Tetička mě doprovodila do Mamehina bytu,

kde jsem jí vyjádřila své díky a slíbila, že ji

budu ctít a respektovat.

Pak jsme všechny tři šly do Gionského chámu,

kde jsme s Mamehou zatleskaly a oznámily

bohům, že již brzy budeme spojeny jako sestry.

Modlila jsem se za jejich podporu v budoucích

letech, a pak jsem zavřela oči a děkovala jim za

splněné přání, když jsem si před třemi a půl lety

přála stát se gejšou.

Ceremoniál se měl odehrát v čajovně Ichiriki,

nejznámější čajovně v celém Japonsku.

Má bohatou historii, částečně díky slavnému

samuraji, který se tam schovával na počátku

osmnáctého století. Pokud jste někdy slyšeli

příběh Čtyřiceti sedmi Roninů, kteří pomstili

smrt svého pána a pak spáchali sebevraždu

seppukou, tak právě jejich vůdce byl ten, který

se schovával v čajovně Ichiriki, zatímco

spřádal plány k pomstě.

15 In Japanese religions, especially Buddhism and Shintoism, everything is closely connected to superstitions, luck,

and spirits. So naturally, the world of geisha revolves around many ceremonies and trips to fortune tellers, just like

this ceremony, bonding together an experienced geisha with her novice trainee. A familiar name is used again, the

two geishas become “sisters” and their professional lives are connected forever. The older sister is responsible for

the younger one’s training. The younger geisha carries a great responsibility not to destroy the good name of her

older sister. 16 Seppuku is one of the darker Japanese practices forever remembered in their history. To attempt a suicide is

considered a disgraceful practice, seppuku being the exception. Japanese samurai believed the highest honour was

to die in a battle. If a samurai was in danger of dying dishonourably, they often committed seppuku, a suicide by

their own sword. The sword was aimed at one’s stomach, pushed inside and then twisted, ensuring the biggest

damage to internal organs, and thus ensuring the success of one’s death.

28

Most of the first-class teahouses in Gion are

invisible from the street, except for their simple

entrances, but the Ichiriki is as obvious as an

apple on a tree.

It sits at a prominent corner of Shijo Avenue,

surrounded by a smooth, apricot-colored wall

with its own tiled roof.

It seemed like a palace to me. We were joined

there by two of Mameha’s younger sisters, as

well as by Mother.

When we had all assembled in the exterior

garden, a maid led us through the entrance hall

and down a beautiful meandering corridor to a

small tatami room in the back. I’d never been

in such elegant surroundings before. Every

piece of wood trim gleamed; every plaster wall

was perfect in its smoothness.

I smelled the sweet, dusty fragrance of

kuroyaki - “char black” - a sort of perfume

made by charring wood and grinding it into a

soft gray dust.

It’s very old-fashioned, and even Mameha,

who was as traditional a geisha as you would

find, preferred something more Western. But

all the kuroyaki worn by generations of geisha

still haunted the Ichiriki.

I have some even now, which I keep in a

wooden vial; and when I smell it, I see myself

back there once again.

The ceremony, which was attended by the

mistress of the Ichiriki, lasted only about ten

minutes.

A maid brought a tray with several sake cups,

and Mameha and I drank together.

I took three sips from a cup, and then passed it

to her and she took three sips.

We did this with three different cups, and then

it was over. From that moment on, I was no

longer known as Chiyo. I was the novice geisha

Sayuri.

Většina prvotřídních čajoven je na Gionských

ulicích neviditelná, kromě jejich jednoduchých

vstupních dveří, ale Ichiriki je

nepřehlédnutelná, jako slunce za jasného dne.

Nachází se na prominentním rohu bulváru

Shijo, obklopená hladkou, broskvově

zbarvenou zdí a taškovou střechou.

Připadala mi jako palác. Čekaly nás tam dvě

další Mamehiny mladší sestry a také matka.

Když jsme se všechny shromáždily ve

venkovní zahradě, služka nás uvedla vstupní

halou a dál krásnou klikatou chodbou až na

konec do malého pokoje s tatami. Nikdy dřív

jsem nebyla v tak elegantním pokoji.

Každý kus dřevěného obložení se leskl a každá

stěna byla dokonale hladká.

Ucítila jsem sladkou, prašnou vůni kuroyaki,

též známou jako uhelná čerň, což je druh

parfému vyráběný z opáleného dřeva

namletého na jemný šedý prášek.

Je to velmi staromódní, a dokonce i Mameha,

která byla tak tradiční gejša, jak jen to bylo

možné, preferovala něco více západního. Ale

vůně kuroyaki, nošená generacemi gejš, stále

obývala Ichiriki.

Dokonce ještě trochu mám, ve dřevěné

lahvičce a pokaždé když si přičichnu, je to jako

bych byla zpět na začátku.

Samotný ceremoniál, kterého se zúčastnily i

majitelky Ichiriki, trval sotva deset minut.

Služka přinesla na podnose několik hrnečků na

saké a já s Mamehou jsme si připily.

Vypila jsem tři doušky a pak jsem hrníček

podala Mameze, která též vypila tři doušky.

Toto jsme zopakovaly ještě dvakrát a pak byl

ceremoniál u konce. Od toho momentu jsem již

nebyla Chiyo. Stala jsem se začínající gejšou,

jménem Sayuri.

29

During the first month of apprenticeship, a

young geisha is known as a “novice” and

cannot perform dances or entertain on her own

without her older sister, and in fact does little

besides watching and learning.

As for my name of Sayuri, Mameha had

worked with her fortune-teller a long while to

choose it. The sound of a name isn’t all that

matters, you see; the meaning of the characters

is very important as well, and so is the number

of strokes used to write them - for there are

lucky and unlucky stroke counts.

My new name came from “sa,” meaning

“together,” “yu,” from the zodiac sign for the

Hen - in order to balance other elements in my

personality - and “ri,” meaning

“understanding.”

All the combinations involving an element

from Mameha’s name, unfortunately, had been

pronounced inauspicious by the fortune-teller.

I thought Sayuri was a lovely name, but it felt

strange not to be known as Chiyo any longer.

After the ceremony we went into another room

for a lunch of “red rice,” made of rice mixed

with red beans.

I picked at it, feeling strangely unsettled and

not at all like celebrating.

The mistress of the teahouse asked me a

question, and when I heard her call me

“Sayuri,” I realized what was bothering me.

It was as if the little girl named Chiyo, running

barefoot from the pond to her tipsy house, no

longer existed. I felt that this new girl, Sayuri,

with her gleaming white face and her red lips,

had destroyed her.

Mameha planned to spend the early afternoon

taking me around Gion to introduce me to the

mistresses of the various teahouses and okiya

with which she had relationships.

But we didn’t head out the moment lunch was

done.

První měsíc výcviku se mladé gejši říká

„novicka,“ nemůže předvádět tance nebo bavit

klienty bez přítomnosti své starší sestry, vlastně

nedělá skoro nic kromě pozorování a učení se.

Co se týče mého nového jména, Sayuri,

Mameha na něm dlouhou dobu pracovala se

svým věštcem. To, jak jméno zní, není to

hlavní, na čem záleží. Význam jednotlivých

písmen je též velmi důležitý, stejně tak jako

počet tahů potřebných k jejich napsání, protože

existují počty, co přináší štěstí ale i neštěstí.

Moje nové jméno vzniklo ze „sa“, což znamená

„společně,“ „yu“ symbolizuje znamení

zvěrokruhu Slepice, pro vyvážení jiných

elementů mé osobnosti, a „ri“ znamenající

„pochopení.“

Všechny kombinace obsahující prvek z

Mamehina jména byly bohužel věštcem

prohlášeny za nepříznivé.

Myslím, že Sayuri je krásné jméno, ale bylo

zvláštní nebýt nadále oslovována jako Chiyo.

Po ceremoniálu jsme se odebraly do jiného

pokoje poobědvat „rudou rýži,“ složenou

z rýže a červených fazolí.

Jídlem jsem se jen prohrabovala, cítila jsem se

zvláštně, a bez chuti slavit.

Majitelka čajovny mi položila otázku a když

vyslovila jméno „Sayuri,“ zjistila jsem, jak moc

mě to obtěžovalo.

Bylo to, jako by to malé děvčátko jménem

Chiyo, běhající bosé okolo jezera i jejich domu,

přestalo existovat. Cítila jsem, že tato nová

dívka, Sayuri, se zářivě bílým obličejem a

rudými rty, ji zničila.

Mameha plánovala strávit větší část odpoledne

pochůzkami po Gionu, aby mě představila

majitelkám čajoven a taky ve všech okijích, se

kterými měla utvořený nějaký vztah.

Nevyrazily jsme ale hned po obědě.

30

Instead, she took me into a room at the Ichiriki

and asked me to sit.

Of course, a geisha never really “sits” while

wearing kimono; what we call sitting is

probably what other people would call

kneeling. In any case, after I’d done it, she

made a face at me and told me to do it again.

The robes were so awkward it took me several

tries to manage it properly.

Mameha gave me a little ornament in the shape

of a gourd and showed me how to wear it

dangling on my obi.

The gourd, being hollow and light, is thought

to offset the heaviness of the body, you see, and

many a clumsy young apprentice has relied

upon one to help keep her from falling down.

Mameha talked with me a while, and then just

when we were ready to leave, asked me to pour

her a cup of tea. The pot was empty, but she

told me to pretend to pour it anyway. She

wanted to see how I held my sleeve out of the

way when I did it.

I thought I knew exactly what she was looking

for and tried my best, but Mameha was

unhappy with me. “First of all,” she said,

“whose cup are you filling?” “Yours!” I said.

“Well, for heaven’s sake, you don’t need to

impress me. Pretend I’m someone else. Am I a

man or a woman?”

“A man,” I said. “All right, then. Pour me a cup

again.” I did so, and Mameha practically broke

her neck trying to peer up my sleeve as I held

my arm out.

“How do you like that?” she asked me.

“Because that’s exactly what’s going to happen

if you hold your arm so high.”

I tried pouring again with my arm a bit lower.

Místo toho mě zavedla do dalšího pokoje v

Ichiriki a požádala mě, abych se posadila.

Gejša samozřejmě nikdy opravdu nesedí, když

má na sobě kimono. To, čemu mi říkáme sedění

je pro většinu lidí spíše klečení. Jakmile jsem

tak učinila, zamračila se na mě a řekla mi,

abych to zkusila znovu.

Díky róbě jsem byla tak těžkopádná, že mi to

trvalo několik pokusů, než jsem to zvládla

pořádně.

Mameha mi věnovala malou ozdobu ve tvaru

tykve a ukázala mi, jak ji pověsit na mé obi.

Tahle tykev, která je uvnitř dutá a lehká, má

pomoct s těžkostí těla, takže pomáhá mladým

nehrabaným gejšám vyvážit tělo a chránit je

před upadnutím.

Mameha si se mnou chvíli povídala, a když

nastal čas odchodu, požádala mě ještě, abych jí

nalila šálek čaje. Konvička byla prázdná, přesto

jsem ale měla předstírat, že nalévám. Chtěla se

podívat, jak během toho držím rukáv v bezpečí

před politím.

Myslela jsem, že přesně vím, oč jí jde a snažila

jsem se tak splnit úkol co nejlépe, ale Mameha

nebyla spokojená. „Takže zaprvé, čí šálek

naléváš?“ zeptala se nejprve. „Váš!“

odpověděla jsem. „Proboha, mě ale přece

nepotřebuješ oslnit. Předstírej, že jsem někdo

jiný. Jsem muž nebo žena?“

„Muž,“ odpověděla jsem. „Dobře, tak to zkus

znovu.“ A tak jsem taky učinila, a Mameha si u

toho málem zlomila krk, jak moc se snažila

pozorovat můj rukáv, zatímco jsem nalévala.

„Jak se ti to líbilo?“ zeptala se. „Protože takhle

přesně to bude vypadat, když budeš ruce držet

tak vysoko.

Zkusila jsem to tedy ještě jednou, tentokrát

s paží o něco níž.

31

This time, she pretended to yawn and then

turned and began a conversation with an

imaginary geisha sitting on the other side of

her.

“I think you’re trying to tell me that I bored

you,” I said. “But how can I bore you just

pouring a cup of tea?” “You may not want me

looking up your sleeve, but that doesn’t mean

you have to act prissy!

A man is interested in only one thing.

Believe me, you’ll understand all too soon what

I’m talking about. In the meantime, you can

keep him happy by letting him think he’s

permitted to see parts of your body no one else

can see. If an apprentice geisha acts the way

you did just then -pouring tea just like a maid

would - the poor man will lose all hope. Try it

again, but first show me your arm.”

So I drew my sleeve up above my elbow and

held my arm out for her to see. She took it and

turned it in her hands to look at the top and the

bottom.

“You have a lovely arm; and beautiful skin.

You should make sure every man who sits near

you sees it at least once.”

So I went on, pouring tea again and again, until

Mameha felt satisfied that I drew my sleeve out

of the way enough to show my arm without

being too obvious what I was doing.

I looked laughable if I hiked my sleeve up to

my elbow; the trick was to act like I was merely

pulling it out of the way, while at the same time

drawing it a few finger-widths above my wrist

to give a view of my forearm.

Mameha said the prettiest part of the arm was

the underside, so I must always be sure to hold

the teapot in such a way that the man saw the

bottom of my arm rather than the top.

She asked me to do it again, this time

pretending I was pouring tea for the mistress of

the Ichiriki.

Tentokrát předstírala, že zívá a otočila svoji

pozornost k imaginární gejši sedící z druhé

strany.

„Myslím, že se mi snažíte naznačit, že se

nudíte,“ navrhla jsem. „Ale jak vás můžu nudit

pouhým nalitím čaje?“ „Možná že nechceš,

abych se ti podívala do rukávu, ale to

neznamená, že se musíš chovat tak cudně!

Muže zajímá jen jedna jediná věc.

Věř mi, že tomu budeš rozumět, možná až moc

brzy. Mezitím ho můžeš potěšit tak, že mu

dovolíš vidět část tvého těla, o kterém si myslí,

že ho nemůže vidět nikdo jiný. Pokud by se

gejša-učednice chovala tak, jako před chvíli ty,

tedy nalévala by čaj jako služka, tak by ten

chudák myslel, že nemá šanci. Zkus to znovu,

ale nejdřív mi ukaž svou paži.“

Vyhrnula jsem si rukáv až po loket a obrátila

paži k Mameze. Vzala mě za ni a otočila jí na

všechny strany.

„Máš rozkošnou paži a nádhernou pokožku.

Měla bys každého muže, který sedí ve tvé

blízkosti, spatřit ji alespoň jednou.“

A tak jsem pokračovala, nalévala čaj znovu a

znovu, dokud nebyla Mameha spokojená se

způsobem, jakým jsem odhalovala jen kousek

své kůže bez toho, aby to vypadalo moc

podezřele.

Vypadala bych směšně, kdybych si rukáv

vyhrnula až k lokti. Trik byl v tom odhrnout ho

jen trochu z cesty a odhalit tak jen kousek

předloktí k nahlédnutí.

Mameha tvrdila, že nejkrásnější kousek paže je

její spodní strana, takže musím vždy držet

konvičku tak, abych odhalila spíše spodek paže

než její hodní stranu.

Pak mi řekla, ať to zkusím ještě jednou a

tentokrát ať nalévám pro majitelku čajovny

Ichiriki.

32

I showed my arm in just the same way, and

Mameha made a face at once. “For heaven’s

sake, I’m a woman. Why are you showing me

your arm that way? Probably you’re just trying

to make me angry.” “Angry?” “What else am I

supposed to think?

You’re showing me how youthful and beautiful

you are, while I’m already old and decrepit.

Unless you were doing it just to be vulgar…”

“How is it vulgar?” “Why else have you made

such a point of letting me see the underside of

your arm?

You may as well show me the bottom of your

foot or the inside of your thigh.

If I happen to catch a glimpse of something

here or there, well, that’s all right. But to make

such a point of showing it to me!”

So I poured a few more times, until I’d learned

a more demure and suitable method.

Whereupon Mameha announced that we were

ready to go out into Gion together.

Already by this time, I’d been wearing the

complete ensemble of an apprentice geisha for

several hours.

Now I had to try walking all around Gion in the

shoes we call okobo.

They’re quite tall and made of wood, with

lovely, lacquered thongs to hold the foot in

place. Most people think it very elegant the way

they taper down like a wedge, so that the

footprint at the bottom is about half the size of

the top. But I found it hard to walk delicately in

them. I felt as if I had roof tiles strapped to the

bottoms of my feet.

Mameha and I made perhaps twenty stops at

various okiya and teahouses, though we spent

no more than a few minutes at most of them.

Ukázala jsem ruku tak jako pokaždé a Mameha

se na mě zamračila. „Proboha, vždyť jsem

žena. Proč mi ukazuješ ruku tímto způsobem?

Nejspíš se mě jen snažíš naštvat.“ „Naštvat?“

„Co jiného si mám myslet?

Ukazuješ mi, jaká jsi mladá a krásná, zatímco

já už jsem jen stará a vrásčitá.

Nebo ses snad snažila být vulgární…“ „Jak to

může být vulgární?“ „Proč ses mi jinak snažila

ukázat vnitřní stranu zápěstí?

To už mi rovnou můžeš ukázat spodní stranu

chodidla nebo vnitřní stranu stehen. Pokud sem

tam něco zahlédnu, tak je to ještě v pořádku.

Ale ukazovat mi to takhle záměrně!“

Takže jsem pokračovala v kolotoči nalévání,

než jsem se naučila uctivější a vhodnější

metodu. Nakonec Mameha zavelela, že jsme

připravené vyrazit spolu do ulic Gionu.

Tou dobou jsem měla kompletní róbu gejši-

učednice na sobě už několik hodin.

Teď přišla na řadu procházka po celém Gionu

v botách, kterým říkáme okobo.

Jsou dost vysoké a vyrobené ze dřeva,

s krásnými lakovanými pásky, které je drží na

místě. Většina lidí je považuje za velmi

elegantní, jak se zužují směrem dolů a tvoří tak

stopu o dost užší, než jak jsou široké nahoře.

Pro mě ale bylo velmi těžké dělat v nich malé

krůčky. Jako bych měla k nohám přivázané

střešní tašky.

Zastavily jsme se přibližně ve dvaceti různých

okijích a čajovnách, ale většinou jsme se

nezdržely déle než pár minut.

33

Usually a maid answered the door, and

Mameha asked politely to speak with the

mistress; then when the mistress came,

Mameha said to her, “I’d like to introduce my

new younger sister, Sayuri,” and then I bowed

very low and said, “I beg your favor, please,

Mistress.” The mistress and Mameha would

chat for a moment, and then we left.

At a few of the places we were asked in for tea

and spent perhaps five minutes. But I was very

reluctant to drink tea and only wet my lips

instead.

Using the toilet while wearing kimono is one of

the most difficult things to learn, and I wasn’t

at all sure I’d learned it adequately just yet.

In those days, I suppose there were probably

thirty or forty first-class teahouses in Gion and

another hundred or so of a somewhat lower

grade.

Of course we couldn’t visit them all.

We went to the fifteen or sixteen where

Mameha was accustomed to entertaining.

As for okiya, there must have been hundreds of

those, but we went only to the few with which

Mameha had some sort of relationship.

Soon after three o’clock we were finished. I

would have liked nothing better than to go back

to the okiya to fall asleep for a long while.

But Mameha had plans for me that very

evening. I was to attend my first engagement as

a novice geisha. “Go take a bath,” she said to

me. “You’ve been perspiring a good deal, and

your makeup hasn’t held up.”

It was a warm fall day, you see, and I’d been

working very hard. Back at the okiya, Auntie

helped me undress and then took pity on me by

letting me nap for a half hour.

I was back in her good graces again, now that

my foolish mistakes were behind me, and my

future seemed even brighter than Pumpkin’s.

Obvykle nám otevřela služebná a Mameha ji

požádala, zda bychom mohly mluvit s

majitelkou. Ta když přišla, Mameha jí

pověděla: „Ráda bych vám představila svoji

novou mladší sestru Sayuri,” načež já jsem se

hluboce poklonila a pronesla: „Prosím vás o

vaši přízeň.“ Majitelka a Mameha spolu pak

pronesly pár slov a vzápětí jsme odešly.

Na některých místech nás pozvali na čaj, takže

jsme se zdržely třeba pět minut. Já jsem ale byla

velmi obezřetná ohledně pití čaje, vždy jsem

jen smočila rty.

Použít toaletu, oděna v kimonu, je jedna

z nejtěžších věcí, které se musíme naučit, a já

jsem si nebyla úplně jistá, zda jsem se to již

naučila dostatečně.

V té době bylo v Gionu přibližně třicet až

čtyřicet prvotřídních čajoven a okolo stovky

těch trochu podřadnějších.

Samozřejmě jsme je nemohly navštívit

všechny.

Zašly jsme do patnácti či šestnácti z těch, kde

Mameha obyčejně pracovala.

Co se okijí týče, těch muselo být v Gionu

stovky, ale my jsme zašly pouze do těch, se

kterými měla Mameha navázaný nějaký vztah.

Lehce po třetí hodině jsme měly hotovo. Měla

jsem chuť pouze na to vrátit se do okiji a usnout

dlouhým spánkem.

Ale Mameha pro mě měla plány na ten stejný

večer. Měla jsem se zúčastnit své první zakázky

v roli gejši novicky. „Zajdi si dát koupel,“

poradila mi. „Dost ses potila a nevydrželo ti

líčení.“

Není se čemu divit, byl teplý podzimní den a já

jsem velmi tvrdě pracovala. Když jsem se

vrátila domů, tetička mi pomohla se svlékáním

a pak se nade mnou slitovala a nechala mě půl

hodinky si odpočinout.

Už to mezi námi bylo zase v pořádku, na mou

hloupou chybu si nikdo nevzpomněl a má

budoucnost vypadala zářnější než Dýnina.

34

She woke me after my nap, and I rushed to the

bathhouse as quickly as I could. By five, I had

finished dressing and applying my makeup.

I felt terribly excited, as you can imagine,

because for years I’d watched Hatsumomo, and

lately Pumpkin, go off in the afternoons and

evenings looking beautiful, and now at last my

turn had come. The event that evening, the first

I would ever attend, was to be a banquet at the

Kansai International Hotel.

Banquets are stiffly formal affairs, with all the

guests arranged shoulder to shoulder in a sort

of U-shape around the outside of a big tatami

room, and trays of food sitting on little stands

in front of them. The geisha, who are there to

entertain, move around the center of the room -

inside the U-shape made by all the trays, I mean

- and spend only a few minutes kneeling before

each guest to pour sake and chat.

It isn’t what you’d call an exciting affair; and

as a novice, my role was less exciting even than

Mameha’s. I stayed to one side of her like a

shadow. Whenever she introduced herself, I did

the same, bowing very low and saying, “My

name is Sayuri. I’m a novice and beg your

indulgence.”

After that I said nothing more, and no one said

anything to me. Toward the end of the banquet,

the doors at one side of the room were slid

open, and Mameha and another geisha

performed a dance together, known as Chi-yo

no Tomo - “Friends Everlasting.”

It’s a lovely piece about two devoted women

meeting again after a long absence.

Most of the men sat picking their teeth through

it; they were executives of a large company that

made rubber valves, or some such thing, and

had gathered in Kyoto for their annual banquet.

I don’t think a single one of them would have

known the difference between dancing and

sleepwalking.

But for my part, I was entranced.

Po půl hodině mě vzbudila a já jsem se

urychleně vydala do veřejných lázní. O pěti

jsem už byla oblečená a měla jsem hotové

líčení.

Byla jsem velmi natěšená, jak si jistě dokážete

představit, protože jsem léta pozorovala

Hatsumomo, a teď i Dýni, jak odpoledne či

večer odchází nastrojená ven, a teď konečně

přišla řada i na mě. Událostí večera, první v mé

kariéře, měl být banket v Mezinárodním Hotelu

Kansai.

Bankety jsou upjatá formální setkání, na

kterých jsou hosté usazeni jeden vedle druhého

na tatami uspořádaných do tvaru písmene U

s malými stolky s občerstvením před každým

z nich. Gejši, které na banketu pracují, se volně

pohybují středem toho posezení, s každým

hostem chvíli konverzují a nalévají mu saké.

Není to zrovna vzrušující událost. Navíc já,

jako začínající gejša, mám ještě nudnější roli

než Mameha. Celou dobu jsem byla po jejím

boku jako její stín. Kdykoliv se někomu

představila, já udělala to samé s hlubokou

poklonou a řekla jsem: „Mé jméno je Sayuri.

Jsem začínající gejša, prosím o shovívavost.“

Potom už jsem nic neříkala a nikdo neříkal nic

mně. Ke konci banketu otevřeli boční dveře

místnosti dokořán a Mameha s dalšími gejšami

zatančily tanec zvaný Chi-yo Tomo, tedy

„Přátelé navždy“.

Je to krásný tanec o dvou oddaných ženách,

které se potkají po dlouhém odloučení. Většina

mužského osazenstva se během tance vrtala

v zubech. Šlo o vysoce postavené pracovníky

velké firmy, vyrábějící gumové ventily nebo

něco podobného, kteří se každoročně scházeli

v Kjótu na tento banket.

Myslím, že žádný z nich by nepoznal rozdíl

mezi tancem a náměsíčnou chůzí.

Ale já jsem byla uchvácená.

35

Geisha in Gion always use a folding fan as a

prop when dancing, and Mameha in particular

was masterful in her movements. At first she

closed the fan and, while turning her body in a

circle, waved it delicately with her wrist to

suggest a stream of water flowing past.

Then she opened it, and it became a cup into

which her companion poured sake for her to

drink. As I say, the dance was lovely, and so

was the music, which was played on the

shamisen by a terribly thin geisha with small,

watery eyes. A formal banquet generally lasts

no more than two hours; so by eight o’clock we

were out on the street again.

I was just turning to thank Mameha and bid her

good night, when she said to me, “Well, I’d

thought of sending you back to bed now, but

you seem to be so full of energy. I’m heading

to the Komoriya Teahouse. Come along with

me and have your first taste of an informal

party. We may as well start showing you

around as quickly as we can.” I couldn’t very

well tell her I felt too tired to go; so I swallowed

my real feelings and followed her up the street.

The party, as she explained to me along the

way, was to be given by the man who ran the

National Theater in Tokyo.

He knew all the important geisha in nearly

every geisha district in Japan; and although he

would probably be very cordial when Mameha

introduced me, I shouldn’t expect him to say

much. My only responsibility was to be sure I

always looked pretty and alert. “Just be sure

you don’t let anything happen to make you look

bad,” she warned. We entered the teahouse and

were shown by a maid to a room on the second

floor. I hardly dared to look inside when

Mameha knelt and slid open the door, but I

could see seven or eight men seated on

cushions around a table, with perhaps four

geisha. We bowed and went inside, and

afterward knelt on the mats to close the door

behind us - for this is the way a geisha enters a

room.

Gionské gejši vždy používají ve svých

choreografiích skládací vějíře a Mameha byla

v této disciplíně naprosto dokonalá. Nejprve

vějíř zavřela a jak se otáčela, vytvářela jím

okolo sebe iluzi tekoucího pramene.

Následně jej otevřela a předstírala, že je to

šálek saké, který jí naplnila její společnice, aby

se mohla napít. Jak jsem zmínila, ten tanec byl

krásný a stejně tak i hudba, kterou na shamisen

hrála neskutečně pohublá gejša s malýma

světle modrýma očima. Formální banket

většinou netrvá déle než dvě hodiny, takže

kolem osmé jsme se opět ocitly na ulici.

Chystala jsem se Mameze poděkovat a popřát

jí dobrou noc, když vtom mi řekla: „No,

myslela jsem, že tě pošlu domů do postele, ale

vypadáš plná energie. Chystám se teď do

čajovny Komoriya. Pojď se mnou, abys

konečně poznala, jak vypadá taková neformální

akce. Stejně je potřeba tě začít co nejdřív

ukazovat kde to jen jde.“ Nemohla jsem jí

přiznat, že jsem na to moc unavená, takže jsem

zahnala únavu a následovala ji ulicí. Ta oslava,

jak mi vysvětlila po cestě, měla být pořádána

mužem, který vedl Národní Divadlo v Tokiu.

Znal všechny důležité gejši skoro v každé čtvrti

gejš v Japonsku. I když jsem očekávala vlídné

přijetí, až mě Mameha bude představovat,

nejspíš se mnou moc mluvit nebude. Mou

jedinou povinností bylo vypadat krásně a

pozorně. „Hlavně se měj na pozoru, aby se ti

nestalo něco, kvůli čemu bys mohla vypadat

špatně,“ varovala mě. Vstoupily jsme do

čajovny a služka nás uvedla do místnosti ve

druhém patře. Jen na okamžik jsem se odvážila

nahlédnout dovnitř, zatímco Mameha

v pokleku otevřela dveře, ale zahlédla jsem

sedm nebo osm mužů usazených na polštářích

okolo stolku, a možná čtyři gejši. Uklonily

jsme se, vešly jsme dovnitř a opět jsme

poklekly vedle dveří, abychom je zavřely – tak

totiž gejši vchází do místnosti.

36

We greeted the other geisha first, as Mameha

had told me to do, then the host, at one corner

of the table, and afterward the other guests.

“Mameha-san!” said one of the geisha.

“You’ve come just in time to tell us the story

about Konda-san the wig maker.” “Oh,

heavens, I can’t remember it at all,” Mameha

said, and everyone laughed; I had no idea what

the joke was. Mameha led me around the table

and knelt beside the host. I followed and

positioned myself to one side. “Mr. Director,

please permit me to introduce my new younger

sister,” she said to him. This was my cue to bow

and say my name, and beg the director’s

indulgence, and so on. He was a very nervous

man, with bulging eyes and a kind of chicken-

bone frailty. He didn’t even look at me, but

only flicked his cigarette in the nearly full

ashtray before him and said: “What is all the

talk about Konda-san the wig maker? All

evening the girls keep referring to it, and not a

one of them will tell the story.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know!” Mameha said.

“Which means,” said another geisha, “that

she’s too embarrassed to tell it. If she won’t, I

suppose I’ll have to.” The men seemed to like

this idea, but Mameha only sighed. “In the

meantime, I’ll give Mameha a cup of sake to

calm her nerves,” the director said, and washed

out his own sake cup in a bowl of water on the

center of the table - which was there for that

very reason - before offering it to her.

“Well,” the other geisha began, “this fellow

Konda-san is the best wig maker in Gion, or at

least everyone says so. And for years Mameha-

san went to him. She always has the best of

everything, you know. Just look at her and you

can tell.”

Mameha made a mock-angry face.

“She certainly has the best sneer,” said one of

the men.

Nejdřív jsme podle pokynů Mamehy

pozdravily ostatní gejši, potom hostitele

večírku na jednom konci stolu, a nakonec

ostatní hosty.

„Mameho!“ zvolala jedna gejša. „Přišla jsi tak

akorát, abys nám pověděla historku o parukáři

Kondovi.“ „Proboha, ale já už si to vůbec

nepamatuji,“ odvětila Mameha a všechny tím

rozesmála. Neměla jsem tušení, v čem byl ten

vtip. Mameha mě vedla okolo stolu a klekla si

vedle hostitele. Následovala jsem si a klekla si

vedle ní. „Pane řediteli, dovolte mi představit

vám moji novou mladší sestru,“ řekla mu. To

byl moment, kdy jsem se měla uklonit,

představit se, požádat o ředitelovu

schovívavost a tak dále. Byl to velmi nervózní

muž s vypoulenýma očima a velmi křehkou

postavou. Ani se na mě nepodíval, jen odklepal

cigaretu do téměř plného popelníku a zeptal se:

„O čem je ten povyk okolo parukáře Konda?

Děvčata o něm mluví celý večer, ale žádná mi

nechce povědět, o co se jedná.“

„Upřímně opravdu netuším!“ řekla Mameha.

Další gejša odvětila: „To znamená, že je jí příliš

trapně na to, aby vám o něm pověděla. Pokud

to nepoví ona, asi budu muset já.“ Mužům se ta

myšlenka zalíbila, ale Mameha pouze

povzdychla. „Mezitím Mameze naleju šálek

saké, aby si uklidnila nervy,“ řekl ředitel a

vymyl svůj vlastní šálek ve speciální míse

uprostřed stolu, určené právě k mytí, než jí ho

nabídl k pití.

„Takže,“ začala ta druhá gejša, „tento Konda je

nejlepší parukář v Gionu, nebo to o něm

alespoň všichni tvrdí. A Mameha k němu léta

chodila. Víte, ona má vždy jen to nejlepší. Stačí

se na ni podívat, a je to všem jasné.“

Mameha na ni vrhla předstíraně naštvaný

pohled.

„Rozhodně se nejlíp ušklíbá,“ poznamenal

jeden z mužů.

37

“During a performance,” the geisha went on, “a

wig maker is always backstage to help with

changes of costume. Often while a geisha is

taking off a certain robe and putting on another

one, something will slip here or there, and then

suddenly . . . a naked breast!

Or . . . a little bit of hair! You know, these

things happen. And anyway -” “All these years

I’ve been working in a bank,” said one of the

men. “I want to be a wig maker!” “There’s

more to it than just gawking at naked women.

Anyway, Mameha-san always acts very prim

and goes behind a screen to

change-” “Let me tell the story,” Mameha

interrupted. “You’re going to give me a bad

name. I wasn’t being prim. Konda-san was

always staring at me like he couldn’t wait for

the next costume change, so I had a screen

brought in. It’s a wonder Konda-san didn’t burn

a hole in it with his eyes, trying to see through

it the way he did.” “Why couldn’t you just give

him a little glimpse now and then,” the director

interrupted. “How can it hurt you to be nice?”

“I’ve never thought of it that way,” Mameha

said.

“You’re quite right, Mr. Director. What harm

can a little glimpse do? Perhaps you want to

give us one right now?” Everyone in the room

burst out laughing at this. Just when things

were starting to calm down, the director started

it all over by rising to his feet and beginning to

untie the sash of his robe.

“I’m only going to do this,” he said to Mameha,

“if you’ll give me a glimpse in return . . .”

“I never made such an offer,” Mameha said.

“That isn’t very generous of you.” “Generous

people don’t become geisha,” Mameha said.

“They become the patrons of geisha.”

“Never mind, then,” the director said, and sat

back down.

„Parukář je během představení vždy v zákulisí,

aby pomohl se změnou kostýmu,“ pokračovala

gejša. „Když si gejša svléká jednu róbu a

obléká druhou, sem tam něco vykoukne a pak

najednou… nahé ňadro!

Nebo… pár chloupků! Víte, takové věci se

prostě občas stávají. No každopádně…“ „A já

celé ty roky pracuji v bance,“ odvětil jeden

z mužů. „Chci se stát parukářem!“

„Není v tom nic víc než zírání na nahé ženy.

Nicméně, Mameha se vždycky chová velmi

důležitě a převléká se za oponou…“

„Nech mě dokončit ten příběh,“ přerušila ji

Mameha. „Zkazíš mi mé dobré jméno. Nejsem

žádná primadona. Pan Konda se na mě vždycky

díval, jako by se nemohl dočkat dalšího

převlékání, tak jsem je poprosila o zástěnu. Je

pozoruhodné, že se Kondovi nepodařilo

propálit do ní pohledem díru, jak moc se snažil

dívat skrz.“ „Proč jste mu nemohla sem tam

dovolit letmý pohled,“ přerušil ji ředitel. „Jak

vám to může ublížit, zachovat se občas hezky?“

„Takhle jsem nad tím nikdy nepřemýšlela,“

odpověděla Mameha.

„Máte úplnou pravdu, pane řediteli. Jak by

mohl letmý pohled uškodit? Třeba byste nám

mohl jeden věnovat hned teď?“ Všichni

v pokoji vybuchli smíchy. Když se smích začal

konečně uklidňovat, ředitel jej přivodil znovu,

když si stoupl a začal si rozvazovat opasek na

svém šatu.

„Udělám to pouze tehdy, pokud mě na oplátku

taky necháte nahlédnout,“ otočil se na

Mamehu.

„To jsem ale nenabízela,“ namítla.

„To od vás není moc štědré.“ „Štědří lidé se

nestávají gejšami,“ odvětila Mameha.

„Ti se stanou jejich patrony.“

„Tak nic,“ řekl ředitel a posadil se zpátky na

zem.

38

I have to say, I was very relieved he’d given up;

because although all the others seemed to be

enjoying themselves enormously, I felt

embarrassed.

“Where was I?” Mameha said.

“Well, I had the screen brought in one day, and

I thought this was enough to keep me safe from

Konda-san. But when I hurried back from the

toilet at one point, I couldn’t find him

anywhere. I began to panic, because I needed a

wig for my next entrance; but soon we found

him sitting on a chest against the wall, looking

very weak and sweating.

I wondered if there was something wrong with

his heart! He had my wig beside him, and when

he saw me, he apologized and helped put it on

me. Then later that afternoon, he handed me a

note he’d written . . .” Here Mameha’s voice

trailed off. At last one of the men said, “Well?

What did it say?” Mameha covered her eyes

with her hand. She was too embarrassed to

continue, and everyone in the room broke into

laughter. “All right, I’ll tell you what he wrote,”

said the geisha who’d begun the story.

“It was something like this: ‘Dearest Mameha.

You are the very loveliest geisha in all of Gion,’

and so forth. ‘After you have worn a wig, I

always cherish it, and keep it in my workshop

to put my face into it and smell the scent of your

hair many times a day. But today when you

rushed to the toilet, you gave me the greatest

moment of my life. While you were inside, I

hid myself at the door, and the beautiful

tinkling sound, more lovely than a waterfall-’”

The men laughed so hard that the geisha had to

wait before going on. “‘-and the beautiful

tinkling sound, more lovely than a waterfall,

made me hard and stiff where I myself tinkle-

’”

Musím přiznat, že se mi dost ulevilo, že to

vzdal. I když ostatní vypadali, jako že se

náramně baví, mě bylo trapně.

„Kde jsem to byla?“ pokračovala Mameha.

„No, jednoho dne mi tedy přinesli tu zástěnu a

já jsem uvěřila, že to bude jako ochrana před

panem Kondou stačit. Když jsem ale v jeden

moment přiběhla z toalety, nikde jsem ho

nemohla najít. Začala jsem panikařit, protože

jsem potřebovala další paruku do představení.

O chvíli později jsme ho našli, jak sedí na

truhle, opřený o zeď. Vypadal velmi slabě a

potil se.

Bála jsem se, jestli třeba nemá něco se srdcem!

Vedle něj ležela moje paruka. Jakmile mě

spatřil, omluvil se a hned mi ji pomohl nasadit.

Později toho odpoledne mi předal krátké

psaní…“ V ten moment se její hlas vytratil.

Nakonec to jeden z mužů nevydržel a zeptal se:

„No? A co v něm stálo?“ Mameha si rukama

zakryla oči. Bylo jí moc trapně na to, aby

pokračovala a všichni opět vybuchli smíchy.

„Dobrá, povím vám, co napsal,“ řekla gejša,

která příběh začala.

„Bylo to něco jako: „Nejmilejší Mameho.

Jsi ta nejkrásnější gejša v celém Gionu,“ a tak

dále. „Po tom, co donosíš nějako mou paruku,

ji láskyplně opečovávám ve své dílně,

mnohokrát za den si ji tisknu k obličeji a

nasávám vůni tvých vlasů. Ale dnes, když jsi

odběhla na toaletu, jsi mi dala nejkrásnější

zážitek mého života. Když jsi byla uvnitř,

schoval jsem se za dveřmi, a ten nádherný zvuk

močení, krásnější než vodopád…“‘ Muži se

začali smát tak, že gejša musela počkat, než

bylo možné pokračovat. „, a ten nádherný zvuk

močení, krásnější než vodopád, mě učinil

zduřelým tam, kde já sám močím…“

39

“He didn’t say it that way,” Mameha said.

“He wrote, ‘the beautiful tinkling sound, more

lovely than a waterfall, caused me to swell and

bulge at the knowledge that your body was bare

. . .’”

“Then he told her,” the other geisha said, “that

he was unable to stand afterward because of the

excitement. And he hoped that one day he

would experience such a moment again.” Of

course, everyone laughed, and I pretended to

laugh too. But the truth is, I was finding it

difficult to believe that these men - who had

paid so considerably to be there, among women

wrapped in beautiful, expensive robes - really

wanted to hear the same sorts of stories children

back in the pond in Yoroido might have told.

I’d imagined feeling out of my depth in a

conversation about literature, or Kabuki17, or

something of that sort.

And of course, there were such parties in Gion;

it just happened that my first was of the more

childish kind. All through Mameha’s story, the

man beside me had sat rubbing his splotchy

face with his hands and paying little attention.

Now he looked at me a long while and then

asked, “What’s the matter with your eyes? Or

have I just drunk too much?” He certainly had

drunk too much - though I didn’t think it would

be proper to tell him. But before I could answer,

his eyebrows began to twitch, and a moment

later he reached up and scratched his head so

much that a little cloud of snow spilled onto his

shoulders.

As it turned out, he was known in Gion as “Mr.

Snowshowers” because of his terrible dandruff.

He seemed to have forgotten the question he’d

asked me - or maybe he never expected me to

answer it - because now he asked my age. I told

him I was fourteen.

„Takhle to neřekl,“ ohradila se Mameha.

„Napsal: „ten nádherný zvuk močení, krásnější

než vodopád, způsobil mé ztopoření při

myšlence, že tvé tělo bylo nahé…“‘

„A pak jí řekl, že z toho vzrušení nebyl schopný

udržet se na nohou,“ řekla ta druhá gejša. „A

taky že doufá, že jednoho dne bude mít

příležitost to zažít znovu.“ Samozřejmě že se

všichni smáli, tak jsem předstírala, že se směji

taky. Pravdou ale bylo, že jsem nechápala, jak

tito muži, kteří zaplatili velkou sumu za to, aby

tu mohli být s nádhernými ženami ve drahých

hedvábných róbách, vážně chtěli slyšet

historky, jaké si vyprávějí i děti od našeho

jezera Yoroido.

Představovala jsem si hluboké konverzace o

literatuře, o Kabuki nebo o něčem podobném.

I takové akce samozřejmě v Gionu probíhaly,

byla to náhoda, že mou první událostí byla

spíše ta nedospělá. Po celou dobu Mamehina

vyprávění vedle mě seděl muž, který si rukama

mnul svůj skvrnitý obličej a nevěnoval příběhu

pozornost. Najednou se na mě zadíval a zeptal

se: „Co to máš s očima? Nebo jsem toho vypil

až moc?“ Rozhodně toho vypil víc, než bylo

zdrávo, ale myslím, že by nebylo slušné mu to

povědět. Ale dřív, než jsem mohla odpovědět,

ho začalo svědit obočí a on si hlavu poškrábal

tak, až se mu na ramena snesl malý obláček

sněhu.

Jak jsem pak zjistila, v Gionu byl známý pod

přezdívkou „pan Sněhosprcha“, kvůli jeho

extrémním lupům. Vypadalo to, že zapomněl,

na co se mě ptal, nebo ani neočekával odpověď,

protože pokračoval a zeptal se na můj věk.

Řekla jsem mu, že mi je čtrnáct.

17 Kabuki is one of the three basic types of Japanese theater (the others are Nó and Bunraku). It is typically

characterized by a dramatic story, very strong make-up of the actors and over the top costumes. Kabuki is

exclusively male branch of theater, even the female characters are portrayed by men.

40

“You’re the oldest fourteen-year-old I’ve ever

seen. Here, take this,” he said, and handed me

his empty sake cup. “Oh, no, thank you, sir,” I

replied, “for I’m only a novice . . .” This was

what Mameha had taught me to say, but Mr.

Snowshowers didn’t listen. He just held the cup

in the air until I took it, and then lifted up a vial

of sake to pour for me. I wasn’t supposed to

drink sake, because an apprentice geisha -

particularly one still in her novitiate - should

appear childlike. But I couldn’t very well

disobey him. I held the sake cup out; but he

scratched his head again before he poured, and

I was horrified to see a few flecks settle into the

cup. Mr. Snowshowers filled it with sake and

said to me, “Now drink up. Go on. First of

many.” I gave him a smile and had just begun

to raise the cup slowly to my lips - not knowing

what else I could do - when, thank heavens,

Mameha rescued me.

“It’s your first day in Gion, Sayuri. It won’t do

for you to get drunk,” she said, though she was

speaking for the benefit of Mr. Snowshowers.

“Just wet your lips and be done with it.” So I

obeyed her and wet my lips with the sake. And

when I say that I wet my lips, I mean I pinched

them shut so tightly I nearly sprained my

mouth, and then tipped the sake cup until I felt

the liquid against my skin. Then I put the cup

down on the table hurriedly and said, “Mmm!

Delicious!” while reaching for the

handkerchief in my obi.

I felt very relieved when I patted my lips with

it, and I’m happy to say that Mr. Snowshowers

didn’t even notice, for he was busy eyeing the

cup as it sat there full on the table before him.

After a moment he picked it up in two fingers

and poured it right down his throat, before

standing and excusing himself to use the toilet.

„Jsi ta nejstarší čtrnáctka, jakou jsem kdy viděl.

Tady, dej si,“ řekl a podal mi jeho prázdný

hrníček na saké. „Ne, děkuji, pane,“ odmítla

jsem. „Jsem jenom novicka…“ Tohle mě

naučila říkat Mameha, ale pan Sněhosprcha mě

neposlouchal. Držel šálek ve vzduchu tak

dlouho, dokud jsem si ho nevzala a pak zvedl

láhev saké, aby mi nalil. Neměla bych pít saké,

protože začínající gejša, obzvlášť tak nová,

jako já, by měla působit až dětsky. Ale na

druhou stranu jsem mu nemohla odporovat.

Zatímco jsem držela hrníček, poškrábal se na

hlavě a já jsem zděšeně pozorovala, jak se do

něj sneslo pár vloček.

Pan Sněhosprcha mi nalil saké a poručil: „Tak,

napij se. Poprvé ale rozhodně ne naposledy.“

Usmála jsem se na něj a pozvedla šálek ke

rtům, protože jsem neměla na výběr, když

v tom mě Mameha zachránila.

„Sayuri, nebylo by dobré se opít hned během

tvého prvního dne v Gionu,“ řekla mi, ale

mířila tím na pana Sněhosprchu.

„Jen si smoč rty a stačí.“ Poslechla jsem a

namočila rty do saké. A když říkám, že jsem si

namočila rty, myslím tím, že jsem sevřela rty,

jak pevně jsem jen dokázala a pak jsem nahnula

šálek ke rtům, až jsem na nich ucítila tekutinu.

Pak jsem urychleně položila šálek na stůl a

řekla: „Hm, výborné!“ a sáhla jsem po

kapesníčku, zastrčeném za mým obi.

Když jsem si jím rty utřela, moc se mi ulevilo a

s potěšením můžu říct, že pak Sněhosprcha si

toho ani nevšiml, protože věnoval veškerou

pozornost plnému šálku stojícímu na stole

přímo před ním.

Po chvilce jej dvěma prsty zvedl a nalil si ho

přímo do krku, načež se postavil a s omluvou

se vydal na toaletu.

41

An apprentice geisha is expected to walk a man

to the toilet and back, but no one expects a

novice to do it. When there isn’t an apprentice

in the room, a man will usually walk himself to

the toilet, or sometimes one of the geisha will

accompany him.

But Mr. Snowshowers stood there gazing down

at me until I realized he was waiting for me to

stand. I didn’t know my way around the

Komoriya Teahouse, but Mr. Snowshowers

certainly did.

I followed him down the hall and around a

corner.

He stepped aside while I rolled open the door

to the toilet for him. After I had closed it behind

him and was waiting there in the hallway, I

heard the sound of someone coming up the

stairs, but I thought nothing of it. Soon Mr.

Snowshowers was done, and we made our way

back. When I entered the room, I saw that

another geisha had joined the party, along with

an apprentice. They had their backs to the door,

so that I didn’t see their faces until I’d followed

Mr. Snowshowers around the table and taken

up my place once again. You can imagine how

shocked I felt when I saw them; for there, on

the other side of the table, was the one woman

I would have given anything to avoid.

It was Hatsumomo, smiling at me, and beside

her sat Pumpkin.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Hatsumomo smiled when she was happy, like

everybody else; and she was never happier than

when she was about to make someone suffer.

This is why she wore such a beautiful smile on

her face when she said: “Oh, my goodness!

What a peculiar coincidence. Why, it’s a

novice!

Od gejši učednice se očekává, že doprovodí

muže na toaletu i zpět, ale novicky se tohle

netýká. Když není gejša učednice přítomná,

muž obvykle odchází na toaletu sám, nebo jej

doprovodí jedna z ostatních gejš.

Pan Sněhosprcha ale stál na místě a zíral na mě

tak dlouho, než mi došlo, že čekal, až se

postavím. Čajovnu Komoriya jsem neznala, ale

pan Sněhosprcha se tam rozhodně vyznal.

Následovala jsem ho chodbou a dál za roh.

Ustoupil stranou, abych pro něj mohla otevřít

dveře od toalet. Potom, co jsem je za ním

zavřela, jsem čekala na chodbě, když vtom

jsem uslyšela kroky na schodech, které mě ale

moc nezajímaly. Po chvíli byl pan Sněhosprcha

hotový, a tak jsme se vydali zpátky. Když jsem

vstoupila do místnosti, uviděla jsem, že se

k nám připojila další gejša a s ní i gejša

učednice. Byly otočené zády ke dveřím, takže

jsem je nepoznala, dokud jsem se neusadila

zpět ke stolu vedle pana Sněhosprchy. Asi si

dokážete představit ten šok, když jsem je

poznala.

Na druhém konci stolu byla usazená žena, které

jsem se snažila vyhnout za každou cenu.

Byla to Hatsumomo, s úsměvem od ucha

k uchu, a po jejím boku seděla Dýně.

KAPITOLA PATNÁCTÁ

Hatsumomo se usmívala, když byla šťastná, tak

jako každý jiný. Ale nikdy nebyla šťastnější,

než když měla příležitost někomu způsobit

utrpení. To byl ten důvod, proč se tak krásně

usmívala právě teď, když řekla: „Ach můj

bože! To je podivná náhoda. Vždyť to je

novicka!

42

I really shouldn’t tell the rest of this story,

because I might embarrass the poor thing.” I

hoped Mameha would excuse herself and take

me with her. But she only gave me an anxious

glance. She must have felt that leaving

Hatsumomo alone with these men would be

like running away from a house on fire; we’d

be better off to stay and control the damage.

“Really, I don’t think there’s anything more

difficult than being a novice,” Hatsumomo was

saying.

“Don’t you think so, Pumpkin?” Pumpkin was

a full-fledged apprentice now; she’d been a

novice six months earlier. I glanced at her for

sympathy, but she just stared at the table with

her hands in her lap.

Knowing her as I did, I understood that the little

wrinkle at the top of her nose meant she felt

upset. “Yes, ma’am,” she said.

“Such a difficult time of life,” Hatsumomo

went on. “I can still remember how hard I found

it . . . What is your name, little novice?”

Happily, I didn’t have to respond, because

Mameha spoke up. “You’re certainly right

about it being a difficult time of life for you,

Hatsumomo-san. Though of course, you were

more awkward than most.”

“I want to hear the rest of the story,” said one

of the men. “And embarrass the poor novice

who’s just joined us?” Hatsumomo said.

“I’ll tell it only if you promise that you won’t

think about this poor girl as you listen.

Be sure to picture some other girl in your

mind.”

Hatsumomo could be ingenious in her

devilishness. The men might not have pictured

the story happening to me earlier, but they

certainly would now.

“Let’s see, where was I?” Hatsumomo began.

Asi bych neměla ten příběh dokončit, ještě

bych ji chudinku mohla ztrapnit.“ Doufala

jsem, že se Mameha rozloučí a vezme mě

sebou. Ale ona mi pouze věnovala znepokojený

pohled. Nejspíš věřila, že nechat tyto muže

samotné s Hatsumomo by bylo jako utéct od

domu v plamenech. Bude lepší zůstat a mít

škody pod kontrolou.

„Vážně si myslím, že není nic těžšího než být

novickou,“ poznamenala Hatsumomo.

„Dýně, co myslíš?“ Ta už teď byla

plnohodnotnou učednicí, protože se stala

novickou o šest měsíců dřív. Podívala jsem se

na ni v naději o trochu soucitu, ale ona jen

zírala na stůl s rukama založenýma v klíně.

Protože jsem ji dobře znala, věděla jsem, že ta

malá vráska u kořene jejího nosu vyjadřovala,

jak moc je rozrušená. „Ano, madam,“

odpověděla.

„Tak těžké životní období,“ pokračovala

Hatsumomo. „Stále si ještě pamatuji, jak to pro

mě bylo těžké… Jak se jmenuješ, maličká

novicko?“

K mému potěšení jsem nemusela odpovědět,

protože se ozvala Mameha. „To máte naprostou

pravdu, Hatsumomo, že to bylo nejtěžší období

vašeho života. Obzvlášť protože jste byla více

neohrabaná než většina.“

„Chci slyšet zbytek toto příběhu,“ řekl jeden

z přítomných mužů. „A ztrapnit tak tu

chudinku novicku, která se k nám připojila?“

odvětila Hatsumomo.

„Povím to pouze, pokud slíbíte, že si během

poslechu nebudete představovat tu chudinku.

Snažte se představit si jinou dívku.“

Hatsumomo uměla být naprosto geniálně

ďábelská. Předtím si mě v tom příběhu nejspíš

nepředstavovali, ale rozhodně tak učiní nyní.

„Dobrá, takže, kde jsem to skončila?“ začala

Hatsumomo.

43

“Oh, yes. Well, this novice I mentioned . . . I

can’t remember her name, but I ought to give

her one to keep you from confusing her with

this poor girl. Tell me, little novice . . . what is

your name?” “Sayuri, ma’am,” I said.

And my face felt so hot from nervousness that

I wouldn’t have been surprised if my makeup

had simply melted and begun to drip onto my

lap.

“Sayuri. How lovely! Somehow it doesn’t suit

you. Well, let’s call this novice in the story

‘Mayuri.’ Now then, one day I was walking

along Shijo Avenue with Mayuri, on our way

to her older sister’s okiya. There was a terrible

wind, the sort that rattles the windows, and poor

Mayuri had so little experience with kimono.

She was no heavier than a leaf, and those big

sleeves can be just like sails, you know. As we

were about to cross the street, she disappeared,

and I heard a little sound from behind me, like

‘Ah . . . ah,’ but very faint.” Here Hatsumomo

turned to look at me. “My voice isn’t high

enough,” she said. “Let me hear you say it. ‘Ah

. . . ah . . .’”

Well, what could I do? I tried my best to make

the noise. “No, no, much higher . . . oh, never

mind!” Hatsumomo turned to the man beside

her and said under her breath, “She isn’t very

bright, is she?” She shook her head for a

moment and then went on.

“Anyway, when I turned around, poor Mayuri

was being blown backward up the street a full

block behind me, with her arms and legs

flailing so much she looked like a bug on its

back.

I nearly tore my obi laughing, but then all of a

sudden, she stumbled right off the curb into a

busy intersection just as a car came zooming

along. Thank heavens she was blown onto the

hood!

„Ach ano. Takže, ta novicka, o které jsem

mluvila… Nevzpomínám si na jméno, ale

musíme jí nějaké dát, abychom si ji nepletli

s touhle chudinkou. Pověz ni, malá novicko,

jak se jmenuješ?“ „Sayuri, madam,“

odpověděla jsem.

Tváře mi žhnuly nervozitou tak, že bych se

nedivila, kdyby se moje líčení rozpustilo a

začalo mi kapat do klína.

„Sayuri. Roztomilé! Nějak mi připadá, že

k tobě nesedí. No, pojďme tedy říkat novicce

v mém příběhu „Mayuri“. Takže, jednoho dne

jsme se s Mayuri procházely po bulváru Shijo,

mířily jsme do okiji k její starší sestře. Foukal

silný vítr, takový, co otřásá okny, a chudák

Mayuri neměla moc zkušeností s kimonem.

Byla lehčí než peříčko a ty velké rukávy jsou

jako plachty, však to znáte. Když jsme se

chystaly přejít ulici, najednou zmizela, a já

jsem za mnou uslyšela tichý hlásek, něco jako

„Ach… ach“ ale opravdu slabě.“ Hatsumomo

se otočila na mě. „Můj hlas není dost vysoký,“

řekla. „Zkus to říct ty. „Ach…ach.“‘

Co jsem měla dělat? Pokusila jsem se co nejlíp

předvést ten zvuk. „Ne, ne, mnohem výš… no,

co už!“ Hatsumomo se obrátila na muže po

jejím boku a zamumlala: „Není moc bystrá,

co?“ Zakroutila hlavou a pak pokračovala.

„Každopádně, když jsem se otočila, chudáka

Mayuri vítr odvál kus cesty zpátky, a navíc

máchala rukama a nohama tak, že vypadala

jako brouček ležící na zádech.

Málem jsem si smíchy roztrhla obi, ale v tom

se zapotácela z chodníku přímo do

frekventované silnice a přímo na ni se vyřítilo

auto. Díky bohu že ji to odválo na kapotu!

44

Her legs flew up . . . and then if you can picture

this, the wind blew right up her kimono, and . .

. well, I don’t need to tell you what happened.”

“You certainly do!” one of the men said.

“Don’t you have any imagination?” she replied.

“The wind blew her kimono right up over her

hips.

She didn’t want everyone to see her naked; so

to preserve her modesty, she flipped herself

around and ended up with her legs pointing in

two different directions, and her private parts

pressed against the windshield, right in the

driver’s face . . .”

Of course, the men were in hysterics by now,

including the director, who tapped his sake cup

on the tabletop like a machine gun, and said,

“Why doesn’t anything like this ever happen to

me?”

“Really, Mr. Director,” Hatsumomo said. “The

girl was only a novice! It’s not as if the driver

got to see anything. I mean, can you imagine

looking at the private parts of this girl across

the table?” She was talking about me, of course.

“Probably she’s no different from a baby!”

“Girls sometimes start getting hair when

they’re only eleven,” said one of the men.

“How old are you, little Sayuri-san?”

Hatsumomo asked me. “I’m fourteen, ma’am,”

I told her, just as politely as I could.

“But I’m an old fourteen.” Already the men

liked this, and Hatsumomo’s smile hardened a

bit. “Fourteen?” she said. “How perfect! And

of course, you don’t have any hair . . .” “Oh,

but I do. A good deal of it!” And I reached up

and patted one hand against the hair on my

head.

I guess this must have been a clever thing to do,

although it didn’t seem particularly clever to

me.

Nohy jí vyletěly do vzduchu…a jak si jistě

dokážete představit, vítr jí zavál pod kimono

a… asi vám nemusím říkat, co se dělo dál.“

„To teda musíte!“ odpověděl jeden z mužů.

„To umíte použít fantazii?“ odvětila.

„Vítr jí kimono nadzvedl až do pasu.

Nechtěla, aby ji někdo viděl nahou, tak aby

zachovala svou nevinnost, otočila se a skončila

s nohama roztaženýma do stran a s intimními

místy přitisknutými na čelním skle, přímo před

zraky řidiče…“

Všichni muži už byli naprosto hysteričtí, včetně

ředitele, který klepal šálkem na saké o stůl jako

kulomet a povídá: „Proč se takové věci nikdy

nestanou mně?“

„Vážně, pane řediteli,“ odvětila Hatsumomo.

„Ta dívka byla sotva novicka! Ten řidič

v podstatě neměl na co koukat. Dokážete si

třeba představit pohled na intimní místa této

dívky naproti vám?“ Samozřejmě že mluvila o

mně. „Pravděpodobně je stejná jako

miminko!“ Dívkám někdy začíná růst

ochlupení už kolem jedenáctého roku,“

zareagoval jeden z mužů. „Sayuri, kolik vám je

let?“ zeptala se Hatsumomo. „Je mi čtrnáct,

madam,“ odpověděla jsem tak slušně, jak jsem

dovedla.

„Ale jsem starší čtrnáctka.“ Mužům se tahle

reakce líbila a úsměv Hatsumomo se začal

malinko vytrácet. „Čtrnáct?“ řekla. „Skvělé. A

samozřejmě nemáš žádný porost…“ „To teda

mám. A hodně!“ Pozvedla jsem ruku a

poplácala jsem se po vlasech.

Asi to byla velmi chytrá reakce, i když mě to

tak vůbec nepřišlo.

45

The men laughed harder than they’d laughed

even at Hatsumomo’s story. Hatsumomo

laughed too, I suppose because she didn’t want

to seem as if the joke had been on her.

As the laughter died down, Mameha and I left.

We hadn’t even closed the door behind us

before we heard Hatsumomo excusing herself

as well.

She and Pumpkin followed us down the

stairway.

“Why, Mameha-san,” Hatsumomo said, “this

has simply been too much fun! I don’t know

why we haven’t entertained together more

often!”

“Yes, it has been fun,” said Mameha. “I just

relish the thought of what the future holds!”

After this, Mameha gave me a very satisfied

look.

She was relishing the thought of seeing

Hatsumomo destroyed.

That night after bathing and removing my

makeup, I was standing in the formal entrance

hall answering Auntie’s questions about my

day, when Hatsumomo came in from the street

and stood before me.

Normally she wasn’t back so early, but I knew

the moment I saw her face that she’d come back

only for the purpose of confronting me. She

wasn’t even wearing her cruel smile, but had

her lips pressed together in a way that looked

almost unattractive.

She stood before me only a moment, and then

drew back her hand and slapped me across the

face.

The last thing I saw before her hand struck me

was a glimpse of her clenched teeth like two

strings of pearls. I was so stunned, I can’t recall

what happened immediately afterward.

Mužský smích byl teď ještě silnější, než když

jim Hatsumomo vyprávěla svůj příběh. Ta se

smála taky, nejspíš aby to nevyznělo, jakože je

pro smích ona.

Potom co smích pomalu utichl, Mameha a já

jsme odešly.

Ještě jsme nebyly ani u dveří, když jsme

uslyšely, jak se loučí i Hatsumomo.

Ona a Dýně nás následovaly chodbou.

„Mameho! Tohle byla skvělá zábava,“ řekla

Hatsumomo. „Nechápu, proč spolu

nepracujeme častěji!“

„Ano, užily jsme si to,“ odpověděla Mameha.

„Hřeje je myšlenka, co si pro nás osud

přichystá!“

Pak se na mě spokojeně podívala.

Hřála ji myšlenka zničené pověsti Hatsumomo.

Večer, po tom, co jsem se vykoupala a odlíčila,

jsem v hale zrovna odpovídala na tetiččiny

dotazy týkající se mého dne, když dovnitř vešla

Hatsumomo a postavila se přede mě.

Normálně nebývala doma tak brzy, ale z jejího

výrazu bylo jasné, že přišla dřív jen proto, aby

mě napadla.

Místo jejího krutého úsměvu měla rty sevřeny

tak, až to vypadalo nepěkně.

Stála přede mnou sotva vteřinu, když v tom se

natáhla a vlepila mi facku.

Poslední, co jsem viděla, než mě udeřila, byl

pohled na její zaťaté zuby, které vypadaly jako

šňůra perel. Byla jsem tak v šoku, že nedokážu

s jistotou říct, co následovalo.

46

But Auntie and Hatsumomo must have begun

to argue, because the next thing I heard was

Hatsumomo saying, “If this girl embarrasses

me in public again, I’ll be happy to slap the

other side of her face!” “How did I embarrass

you?” I asked her.

“You knew perfectly well what I meant when

I wondered if you had hair, but you made me

look like a fool. I owe you a favor, little Chiyo.

I’ll return it soon, I promise.” Hatsumomo’s

anger seemed to close itself up, and she walked

back out of the okiya, where Pumpkin was

waiting on the street to bow to her.

I reported this to Mameha the following

afternoon, but she hardly paid any attention.

“What’s the problem?” she said. “Hatsumomo

didn’t leave a mark on your face, thank

heavens.

You didn’t expect she’d be pleased at your

comment, did you?” “I’m only concerned about

what might happen the next time we run into

her,” I said. “I’ll tell you what will happen.

We’ll turn around and leave. The host may be

surprised to see us walk out of a party we’ve

just walked into, but it’s better than giving

Hatsumomo another chance to humiliate you.

Anyway, if we run into her, it will be a

blessing.” “Really, Mameha-san, I can’t see

how it could be a blessing.” “If Hatsumomo

forces us to leave a few teahouses, we’ll drop

in on more parties, that’s all.

You’ll be known around Gion much faster that

way.” I felt reassured by Mameha’s confidence.

In fact, when we set out into Gion later, I

expected that at the end of the night I would

take off my makeup and find my skin glowing

with the satisfaction of a long evening.

Tetička a Hatsumomo se pak musely začít

hádat, protože další věc, kterou jsem uslyšela,

byla slova Hatsumomo: „Jestli mě ta holka

ještě jednou ztrapní na veřejnosti, tak jí dám

facku i na druhou tvář!“ „Jak jsem tě mohla

ztrapnit?“ zeptala jsem se.

„Moc dobře jsi věděla, co myslím tím, když

jsem se tě zeptala na porost, ale ty jsi ze mě

udělala blázna. Dlužím ti laskavost, malá

Chiyo.

A brzy ti ji vrátím, to ti slibuji.“ Její vztek se

nejspíš začal vytrácet, když vyšla ven z okiji,

kde na ni čekala Dýně a uklonila se jí.

Druhý den jsem to pověděla Mameze, ale ona

tomu skoro nevěnovala pozornost.

„V čem je problém?“ zeptala se. „Díky bohu,

že ti Hatsumomo na obličeji nenechala otisk.

Snad jsi nečekala, že bude mít z tvého

komentáře radost?“ „Jen se obávám, co by se

mohlo stát, když na ni příště zase narazíme,“

odpověděla jsem. „Povím ti, co se stane.

Otočíme se a odejdeme. Hostitel bude možná

překvapený, proč odcházíme z oslavy, na

kterou jsme zrovna přišly, ale to je lepší než dát

Hatsumomo další šanci ke tvému ponižování.

Pokud na ni ovšem znovu narazíme, bude to

požehnání.“ „Mameho, opravdu nechápu, jak

to může být požehnání.“ „Pokud nás

Hatsumomo donutí odejít z pár čajoven,

znamená to, že budeme mít šanci navštívit více

akcí, to je vše.

Tímto způsobem tě bude znát celý Gion

mnohem dřív.“ Mamehino sebevědomí mě

uklidnilo. Když jsme ten večer vyrazily do ulic

Gionu, očekávala jsem, že až se na konci večera

odlíčím, moje pleť bude zářit uspokojením toho

večera.

47

Our first stop was a party for a young film

actor, who looked no older than eighteen but

had not a single hair on his head, not even

eyelashes or eyebrows.

He went on to become very famous a few years

later, but only because of the manner of his

death.

He killed himself with a sword after murdering

a young waitress in Tokyo. In any case, I

thought him very strange until I noticed that he

kept glancing at me; I’d lived so much of my

life in the isolation of the okiya that I must

admit I relished the attention. We stayed more

than an hour, and Hatsumomo never showed

up.

It seemed to me that my fantasies of success

might indeed come to pass. Next we stopped at

a party given by the chancellor of Kyoto

University. Mameha at once began talking with

a man she hadn’t seen in some time and left me

on my own. The only space I could find at the

table was beside an old man in a stained white

shirt, who must have been very thirsty because

he was drinking continually from a glass of

beer, except when he moved it away from his

mouth to burp. I knelt beside him and was about

to introduce myself when I heard the door slide

open. I expected to see a maid delivering

another round of sake, but there in the hallway

knelt Hatsumomo and Pumpkin.

“Oh, good heavens!” I heard Mameha say to

the man she was entertaining. “Is your

wristwatch accurate?” “Very accurate,” he

said. “I set it every afternoon by the clock at the

train station.” “I’m afraid Sayuri and I have no

choice but to be rude and excuse ourselves. We

were expected elsewhere a half hour ago!”

And with that, we stood and slipped out of the

party the very moment after Hatsumomo and

Pumpkin entered it. As we were leaving the

teahouse, Mameha pulled me into an empty

tatami room.

Naší první zastávkou byla oslava mladého

filmového herce, který nevypadal na víc jak

osmnáct, ale při tom na hlavě neměl ani vlásek,

dokonce ani obočí nebo řasy.

O pár let později se stal velice slavným, to ale

pouze kvůli tomu, jak umřel.

Zabil se mečem po tom, co zabil mladou

servírku v Tokiu. Každopádně mi připadal

velmi zvláštní, dokud jsem si nevšimla, že se

po mě dívá. Tak dlouho jsem žila izolovaná

v naší okiji, že jsem si opravdu užívala každou

pozornost. Strávily jsme tam víc jak hodinu a

Hatsumomo se neobjevila.

Vypadalo to, že moje představy o úspěchu se

nakonec opravdu mohly naplnit. Pak jsme se

zastavily na oslavě pořádané děkanem

univerzity v Kjótu. Mameha se zapovídala

s nějakým mužem, kterého dlouho neviděla, a

nechala mě samotnou. Jediné volné místo u

stolu k mání, bylo vedle starého muže

v poskvrněné bílé košili. Musel mít velkou

žízeň, protože nepřetržitě pil ze sklenice na

pivo, kterou odtrhl od úst jen na okamžik, aby

si mohl říhnout. Poklekla jsem vedle něj a

chystala se mu představit, když v tom se

otevřely dveře. Očekávala jsem, že se v nich

objeví služka s tácem saké, ale místo ní tam

klečely Hatsumomo a Dýně.

„Můj bože!“ zaslechla jsem říct Mamehu muži,

se kterým si povídala. „Jdou vám ty hodinky

správně?“ „Velmi přesně,“ odpověděl.

„Nastavuji si je každé odpoledne podle hodin

na vlakovém nádraží.“ „Obávám se, že já a

Sayuri se s vámi musíme rozloučit, protože nás

již půl hodiny čekají jinde!“

S těmito slovy jsme se postavily a vyklouzly

jsme z oslavy ve stejnou chvíli co Hatsumomo

a Dýně přišly. Když jsme opouštěly čajovnu,

Mameha mě vtáhla do prázdného pokoje

s tatami.

48

In the hazy darkness I couldn’t make out her

features, but only the beautiful oval shape of

her face with its elaborate crown of hair.

If I couldn’t see her, then she couldn’t see me;

I let my jaw sag with frustration and despair,

for it seemed I would never escape

Hatsumomo.

“What did you say to that horrid woman earlier

today?” Mameha said to me. “Nothing at all,

ma’am!”

“Then how did she find us here?” “I didn’t

know we would be here myself,” I said.

“I couldn’t possibly have told her.” “My maid

knows about my engagements, but I can’t

imagine . . . Well, we’ll go to a party hardly

anyone knows about. Naga Teruomi was just

appointed the new conductor of the Tokyo

Philharmonic last week. He’s come into town

this afternoon to give everyone a chance to

idolize him. I don’t much want to go, but . . . at

least Hatsumomo won’t be there.” We crossed

Shijo Avenue and turned down a narrow alley

that smelled of sake and roasted yams. A

sprinkle of laughter fell down onto us from the

second-story windows brightly lit overhead.

Inside the teahouse, a young maid showed us to

a room on the second floor, where we found the

conductor sitting with his thin hair oiled back

and his fingers stroking a sake cup in anger.

The other men in the room were in the midst of

a drinking game with two geisha, but the

conductor refused to join. He talked with

Mameha for a while, and soon asked her to put

on a dance.

I don’t think he cared about the dance, really; it

was just a way to end the drinking games and

encourage his guests to begin paying attention

to him again.

Just as the maid brought a shamisen to hand to

one of the geisha - even before Mameha had

taken up her pose - the door slid open and . . .

I’m sure you know what I’m going to say. They

were like dogs that wouldn’t stop following us.

V té tmě jsem nedokázala rozeznat, jak se

Mameha tvářila, pouze jsem viděla její

nádherný oválný tvar obličeje a dokonalou

korunu vlasů.

Když jsem nemohla já vidět ji, nemohla ani ona

vidět mě, dovolila jsem si nasadit výraz plný

frustrace a zoufalství, protože to vypadalo, že

Hatsumomo nikdy neuniknu. „Co jsi té příšerné

ženské dnes řekla?“ zeptala se mě Mameha.

„Vůbec nic, madam!“

„Tak jak to, že nás tu našla?“ „Já sama jsem

nevěděla, že tu budeme,“ odpověděla jsem.

„Nemohla jsem jí to tedy říct.“ „Moje služka ví

o mých schůzkách, ale nedovedu si

představit… No, půjdeme na párty, o které

skoro nikdo neví. Naga Teruomi se minulý

týden stal novým dirigentem Tokijské

Filharmonie. Přijel dnes odpoledne k nám do

města, aby měli všichni šanci mu gratulovat a

tiše závidět. Moc se mi tam nechce, ale…

alespoň tam nebude Hatsumomo.“ Přešly jsme

bulvár Shijo a zahnuly jsme do uličky, která

voněla po saké a pečených sladkých

bramborách. Dolehl k nám smích z jasně

osvětleného okna ve druhém patře.

V čajovně nás mladá služka uvedla do pokoje

ve druhém patře, kde jsme našli dirigenta, jak

tam sedí se svými řídkými naolejovanými vlasy

a naštvaně prsty hladí šálek saké.

Ostatní muži v místnosti hráli picí hru se dvěma

gejšami, ale pan dirigent se odmítl přidat.

Chvíli si povídal s Mamehou a pak ji požádal o

tanec.

Nemyslím si, že by o ten tanec stál, jen to byl

pokus o ukončení picích her a utržení

pozornosti zpět na něj.

Jakmile přinesla služka jedné z gejš shamisen,

ještě dřív, než Mameha vůbec zaujala svou

pózu, se otevřely dveře a …

Asi víte, co se vám chystám říct. Byly jako psi,

kteří nás nepřestávali pronásledovat.

49

It was Hatsumomo and Pumpkin once again.

You should have seen the way Mameha and

Hatsumomo smiled at each other.

You’d almost have thought they were sharing a

private joke - whereas in fact, I’m sure

Hatsumomo was relishing her victory in

finding us, and as for Mameha . . . well, I think

her smile was just a way of hiding her anger.

During her dance, I could see her jaw jutting

out and her nostrils flared. She didn’t even

come back to the table afterward, but just said

to the conductor: “Thank you so much for

permitting us to drop in!

I’m afraid it’s so late…Sayuri and I must

excuse ourselves now...”

I can’t tell you how pleased Hatsumomo looked

as we closed the door behind us.

I followed Mameha down the stairs.

On the bottom step she came to a halt and

waited.

At last a young maid rushed into the formal

entrance hall to see us out - the very same maid

who’d shown us up the stairs earlier. “What a

difficult life you must have as a maid!”

Mameha said to her. “Probably you want so

many things and have so little money to spend.

But tell me, what will you do with the funds

you’ve just earned?” “I haven’t earned any

funds, ma’am,” she said. But to see her

swallowing so nervously, I could tell she was

lying. “How much money did Hatsumomo

promise you?”

The maid’s gaze fell at once to the floor. It

wasn’t until this moment that I understood what

Mameha was thinking.

As we learned some time afterward,

Hatsumomo had indeed bribed at least one of

the maids in every first-class teahouse in Gion.

Opět se objevila Hatsumomo s Dýní. Měli jste

vidět, jak se Mameha a Hatsumomo na sebe

usmály.

Člověk by skoro uvěřil, že sdílely nějaký

soukromý vtípek, i když ve skutečnosti si

Hatsumomo nejspíš užívala malé vítězství a

Mameha… myslím, že její úsměv jen skrýval

vztek.

Když tančila, všimla jsem si, jak zatíná čelist a

její nosní dírky se rozšířily. Pak se ani nevrátila

ke stolu, jen řekla dirigentovi: „Děkujeme, že

jste nám dovolil se tu zastavit!

Obávám se, že už je pozdě, Sayuri a já se

musíme rozloučit.“

Nedokážu popsat, jak spokojeně Hatsumomo

vypadala, když jsme za sebou zavíraly dveře.

Následovala jsem Mamehu dolů po schodech.

Na posledním schodu se zastavila a čekala.

V tom se z přijímací haly vyřítila ta stejná

mladá služka, která nás dříve uvedla nahoru.

„Jak těžký je asi život služky!“ řekla jí

Mameha. „Asi chcete tolik věcí, na které

nemáte peníze.

Povězte mi ale, co uděláte s penězi, které jste si

právě vydělala?“ „Žádné peníze jsem si

nevydělala, madam,“ odpověděla. Ale podle

toho, jak nervózně polkla, jsem poznala, že lže.

„Kolik peněz vám Hatsumomo slíbila?“

Služka sklopila pohled k zemi. Až do této

chvíle jsem nevěděla, kam tím Mameha míří.

Jak jsme se později dozvěděly, Hatsumomo

podplatila alespoň jednu služku v každé

prvotřídní čajovně v Gionu.

50

They were asked to call Yoko - the girl who

answered the telephone in our okiya -whenever

Mameha and I arrived at a party. Of course, we

didn’t know about Yoko’s involvement at the

time; but Mameha was quite right in assuming

that the maid in this teahouse had passed a

message to Hatsumomo somehow or other.

The maid couldn’t bring herself to look at

Mameha.

Even when Mameha lifted her chin, the girl still

pointed her eyes downward just as if they

weighed as much as two lead balls. When we

left the teahouse, we could hear Hatsumomo’s

voice coming from the window above - for it

was such a narrow alleyway that everything

echoed.

“Yes, what was her name?” Hatsumomo was

saying. “Sayuko,” said one of the men.

“Not Sayuko. Sayuri,” said another. “I think

that’s the one,” Hatsumomo said. “But really,

it’s too embarrassing for her . . . I mustn’t tell

you! She seems like a nice girl . . .” “I didn’t

get much of an impression,” one man said. “But

she’s very pretty.” “Such unusual eyes!” said

one of the geisha. “You know what I heard a

man say about her eyes the other day?”

Hatsumomo said. “He told me they were the

color of smashed worms.” “Smashed worms . .

. I’ve certainly never heard a color described

that way before.” “Well, I’ll tell you what I was

going to say about her,” Hatsumomo went on,

“but you must promise not to repeat it. She has

some sort of disease, and her bosoms look just

like an old lady’s - all droopy and wrinkled -

really, it’s dreadful!

I saw her in a bathhouse once . . .” Mameha and

I had stopped to listen, but when we heard this,

she gave me a little push and we walked out of

the alley together.

Bylo jim řečeno, že mají volat Yoko, která u

nás v okiji brala telefony, pokaždé když jsme

s Mamehou přišly na nějakou oslavu. V té

chvíli jsme nevěděly, že v tom měla prsty i

Yoko, ale Mameha měla pravdu, že služka

z této čajovny nějakým způsobem Hatsumomo

kontaktovala.

Služka se nedokázala Mameze podívat do očí.

I když jí Mameha pozvedla bradu, dívka se dál

dívala dolů, jako by její oči vážily víc než

olověné koule. Když jsme čajovnu opustily,

slyšely jsme hlas Hatsumomo linoucí se z oken,

protože v úzké uličce se všechno ozývalo.

„Jak že se jmenovala?“ ptala se Hatsumomo.

„Sayuko,“ odpověděl jeden z mužů.

„Ne Sayuko. Sayuri,“ řekl další. „Myslím, že je

to ona,“ odvětila Hatsumomo. „Ale teď vážně,

je to pro ni moc trapné… nemůžu vám to říct!

Vypadá jako milá dívka…“ „Nestihl jsem si

udělat obrázek,“ namítl jeden z mužů. „Ale je

velmi krásná.“ „Má tak neobvyklé oči!“ řekla

jedna z gejš. „Víte, jak jednou jeden muž

popsal její oči?“ zeptala se Hatsumomo. „Řekl

mi, že mají barvu rozmačkaných červů.“

„Rozmačkaných červů… takové přirovnání

jsem nikdy dřív neslyšel.“ „Povím vám, co

jsem o ní chtěla povyprávět, ale nesmíte to

nikomu říct,“ pokračovala Hatsumomo. „Trpí

nějakou chorobou, a její pozadí vypadá jako

pozadí staré babky, celé povislé a vrásčité,

vážně, je to odporné!

Jednou jsem ji viděla v lázních…“ Mameha a

já jsme se zastavily, abychom poslouchaly, ale

jakmile jsme to slyšely, tak mě popostrčila a

společně jsme se vydaly uličkou.

51

Mameha stood for a while looking up and down

the street and then said: “I’m trying to think

where we can go, but . . . I can’t think of a single

place. If that woman has found us here, I

suppose she can find us anywhere in Gion. You

may as well go back to your okiya, Sayuri, until

we come up with a new plan.”

One afternoon during World War II, some

years after these events I’m telling you about

now, an officer took his pistol out of its holster

during a party beneath the boughs of a maple

tree and laid it on the straw mat to impress me.

I remember being struck by its beauty.

The metal had a dull gray sheen; its curves were

perfect and smooth. The oiled wood handle was

richly grained. But when I thought of its real

purpose as I listened to his stories, it ceased to

be beautiful at all and became something

monstrous instead. This is exactly what

happened to Hatsumomo in my eyes after she

brought my debut to a standstill. That isn’t to

say I’d never considered her monstrous before.

But I’d always envied her loveliness, and now

I no longer did. While I ought to have been

attending banquets every night, and ten or

fifteen parties besides, I was forced instead to

sit in the okiya practicing dance and shamisen

just as though nothing in my life had changed

from the year before.

When Hatsumomo walked past me down the

corridor in her full regalia, with her white

makeup glowing above her dark robe just like

the moon in a hazy night sky, I’m sure that even

a blind man would have found her beautiful.

And yet I felt nothing but hatred and heard my

pulse hissing in my ears. I was summoned to

Mameha’s apartment several times in the next

few days.

Mameha chvíli stála a rozhlížela se na všechny

strany, když řekla: „Snažím se přijít na to, kam

můžeme zajít, ale… nenapadá mě žádné místo.

Když nás našla tady, předpokládám, že nás

může najít kdekoliv v celém Gionu. Takže se

klidně můžeš vrátit do okiji, než přijdeme na

nový plán.“

Jednoho odpoledne během druhé světové

války, pár let po událostech, o kterých vám teď

vyprávím, vytáhl důstojník během večírku pod

korunami javoru z pouzdra svou pistoli a

položil ji na slaměnou rohož, aby na mě udělal

dojem.

Vzpomínám si, že mě šokovalo, jak byla

krásná.

Kovová část měla matně šedý lesk a perfektně

hladké křivky. Naolejovaná dřevěná rukojeť

byla bohatě zdobená. Ale když jsem pomyslela

na její účel a poslouchala důstojníkovy

historky, přestala být krásná a stala se něčím

monstrózním. Přesně to samé se stalo

Hatsumomo v mých očích po tom, co

pozastavila můj debut. To neznamená, že bych

si o ní dřív nic takového nemyslela.

Vždy jsem jí ale záviděla její krásu, ale od toho

momentu už nikoliv. Místo každovečerního

navštěvování banketů, a k tomu deseti až

patnácti večírků, jsem byla donucena sedět

v okiji a cvičit tanec a hru na shamisen, jako by

se za ten rok můj život nijak nezměnil.

Když mě Hatsumomo na chodbě míjela

v kompletním oděvu gejši, s bílým obličejem

zářícím nad tmavým kimonem jako měsíc na

mlhavé noční obloze, bylo mi jasné, že i slepec

by ji považoval za krásnou.

Já jsem ale cítila jen nenávist a slyšela svůj tep

pulzovat až v uších. Dalších pár dní jsem byla

několikrát navštívit Mamehu v jejím bytě.

52

Each time I hoped she was going to say she’d

found a way around Hatsumomo; but she only

wanted me to run errands she couldn’t entrust

to her maid. One afternoon I asked if she had

any idea what would become of me.

“I’m afraid you’re an exile, Sayuri-san, for the

moment,” she replied. “I hope you feel more

determined than ever to destroy that wicked

woman!

But until I’ve thought of a plan, it will do you

no good to follow me around Gion.”

Of course I was disappointed to hear it, but

Mameha was quite right. Hatsumomo’s

ridicule would do me such harm in the eyes of

men, and even in the eyes of women in Gion,

that I would be better off staying home.

Happily, Mameha was very resourceful and did

manage to find engagements from time to time

that were safe for me to attend.

Hatsumomo may have closed off Gion from

me, but she couldn’t close off the entire world

beyond it.

When Mameha left Gion for an engagement,

she often invited me along. I went on a day trip

by train to Kobe, where Mameha cut the ribbon

for a new factory.

On another occasion I joined her to accompany

the former president of Nippon Telephone &

Telegraph on a tour of Kyoto by limousine.

This tour made quite an impression on me, for

it was my first time seeing the vast city of

Kyoto that lay beyond the bounds of our little

Gion, not to mention my first-time riding in a

car. I’d never really understood how

desperately some people lived during these

years, until we drove along the river south of

the city and saw dirty women nursing their

babies under the trees along the railroad tracks,

and men squatting in tattered straw sandals

among the weeds.

Pokaždé jsem doufala, že mi poví, že našla

nový způsob jak obejít Hatsumomo. Ona ale

jen chtěla, abych jí obešla pochůzky, které by

nesvěřila své služce. Jednou odpoledne jsem se

jí zeptala, jestli má představu, co se mnou bude.

„Obávám se Sayuri, že jsi prozatím mimo hru,“

odpověděla. „Doufám, že jsi odhodlaná tu

příšernou ženskou nadobro zničit!

Ale než vymyslím jak, nebylo by dobré, abys

mě doprovázela všude po Gionu.“

Samozřejmě, že jsem byla zklamaná, když to

Mameha řekla, ale měla pravdu. Vtípky, které

Hatsumomo vyprávěla na mou adresu, by mi

v očích mužů akorát ublížily, a stejně tak i u

žen v Gionu, takže bylo lepší zůstat doma.

Mameha ale byla velmi vynalézavá a k mému

potěšení se jí občas podařilo najít akci, která

pro mou reputaci byla bezpečná.

Hatsumomo mi sice zavřela dveře Gionu, ale

nemohla přede mnou uzavřít celý svět.

Když Mameha opustila kvůli nějaké akci Gion,

často mě brala s sebou. Jela jsem na celodenní

výlet vlakem do Kobe, kde se Mameha

zúčastnila otevření nové továrny.

Při další příležitosti jsem se k ní připojila na

prohlídku Kjóta limuzínou, s bývalým

prezidentem Japonské Telefonní & Telegrafní

společnosti. Projížďka ve mně zanechala

hluboký dojem, protože jsem poprvé viděla

celé velké Kjóto, za hranicemi našeho malého

Gionu, a to nemluvím o mé první projížďce

autem. Nikdy jsem opravdu nerozuměla, jak

chudě lidé v té době žili, dokud jsme

neprojížděli okolo řeky v jižní části města, kde

jsem pod stromy u kolejí viděla špinavé ženy

kojit své miminka a muže dřepící v roztrhaných

slaměných sandálech mezi plevelem.

53

I won’t pretend poor people never came to

Gion, but we rarely saw anyone like these

starving peasants too poor even to bathe.

I could never have imagined that I - a slave

terrorized by Hatsumomo’s wickedness - had

lived a relatively fortunate life through the

Great Depression. But that day I realized it was

true.

Late one morning I returned from the school to

find a note telling me to bring my makeup and

rush to Mameha’s apartment. When I arrived,

Mr. Itchoda, who was a dresser just like Mr.

Bekku, was in the back room tying Mameha’s

obi before a full-length mirror. “Hurry up and

put on your makeup,” Mameha said to me.

“I’ve laid a kimono out for you in the other

room.” Mameha’s apartment was enormous by

the standards of Gion. In addition to her main

room, which measured six tatami mats in area,

she had two other smaller rooms - a dressing

area that doubled as a maids’ room, and a room

in which she slept.

There in her bedroom was a freshly made-up

futon, with a complete kimono ensemble on top

of it that her maid had laid out for me.

I was puzzled by the futon. The sheets certainly

weren’t the ones Mameha had slept in the night

before, for they were as smooth as fresh snow.

I wondered about it while changing into the

cotton dressing robe I’d brought.

When I went to begin applying my makeup,

Mameha told me why she had summoned me.

“The Baron is back in town,” she said. “He’ll

be coming here for lunch. I want him to meet

you.”

I haven’t had occasion to mention the Baron,

but Mameha was referring to Baron Matsunaga

Tsuneyoshi - her danna.

Nebudu vám lhát, chudí lidé přicházeli i do

Gionu, ale jen velmi zřídka jsme mohli vidět

hladovějící venkovany chudé tak, že neměli ani

na koupel.

Nikdy bych nevěřila, že já, otrok terorizovaný

zákeřnou Hatsumomo, jsem během Velké

hospodářské krize žila relativně šťastným

životem. Toho dne jsem si ale uvědomila, jak

moc to bylo pravdou.

Jedno pozdní ráno jsem se vrátila ze školy a

našla jsem vzkaz, že mám pobrat svoje líčidla a

utíkat do Mamehina bytu. Když jsem se

dostavila, už tam byl pan Itchoda, který byl

garderobiér stejně jako pan Bekku, a před

velkým zrcadlem zavazoval Mameze obi.

„Rychle se namaluj,“ řekla mi.

„Ve vedlejším pokoji máš nachystané

kimono.“ Mamehin byt byl na Gionské

standardy obrovský. Kromě hlavního pokoje

s šesti tatami měla dva další, oblékací místnost

sloužící zároveň jako pokoj pro služku a ještě

pokoj, ve kterém sama spala.

V jejím pokoji, na čerstvě ustlaném futonu,

leželo kompletní kimono, které mi nachystala

její služka.

Z jejího futonu jsem byla zmatená. Povlečení

nemohlo být to, ve kterém tu noc Mameha

spala, protože bylo hladké jako padlý sníh.

Honilo se mi to hlavou, zatímco jsem se

převlékala do bavlněného spodního prádla,

které jsem si s sebou přinesla.

Když jsem se začala líčit, Mameha mi

pověděla, proč pro mě poslala.

„Baron je zpátky ve městě,“ řekla. „Přijde sem

na oběd. Chci, aby tě poznal.“

Ještě jsem neměla možnost se o něm zmínit, ale

Mameha myslela Barona Matsunaga

Tsuneyoshi, jejího danna.

54

We don’t have barons and counts in Japan any

longer, but we did before World War II, and

Baron Matsunaga was certainly among the

wealthiest.

His family controlled one of Japan’s large

banks and was very influential in finance.

Originally his older brother had inherited the

title of baron, but he had been assassinated

while serving as finance minister in the cabinet

of Prime Minister Inukai.

Mameha’s danna, already in his thirties at that

time, had not only inherited the title of baron

but all of his brother’s holdings, including a

grand estate in Kyoto not too far from Gion.

His business interests kept him in Tokyo much

of the time; and something else kept him there

as well - for I learned many years later that he

had another mistress, in the geisha district of

Akasaka in Tokyo. Few men are wealthy

enough to afford one geisha mistress, but Baron

Matsunaga Tsuneyoshi had two. Now that I

knew Mameha would be spending the

afternoon with her danna, I had a much better

idea why the futon in her bedroom had been

made up with fresh sheets. I changed quickly

into the clothing Mameha had set out for me -

an underrobe of light green, and a kimono in

russet and yellow with a design of pine trees at

the hem. By this time one of Mameha’s maids

was just returning from a nearby restaurant

with a big lacquer box holding the Baron’s

lunch. The foods inside it, on plates and bowls,

were ready to be served just as in a restaurant.

The largest was a flat lacquer dish with two

grilled, salted ayu18 poised on their bellies as

though they were swimming down the river

together. To one side stood two tiny, steamed

crabs of the sort that are eaten whole.

V Japonsku už nemáme barony ani hrabata, ale

před Druhou světovou válkou jsme je měli a

Baron Matsunaga patřil mezi ty nejbohatší.

Jeho rodina měla na starosti jednu z největších

japonských bank, a měla velký vliv v oblasti

financí.

Titul barona původně zdědil jeho starší bratr,

ale ten byl zavražděn, když působil jako ministr

financí v kabinetu premiéra Inukai.

Mamehin danna, který měl v té době už přes

třicet let, nezdědil jenom titul barona, ale taky

všechen bratrův majetek, včetně velkého

panství v Kjótu, nedaleko Gionu.

Jeho obchodní záležitosti ho většinu času

držely v Tokiu, ale drželo ho tam i něco jiného.

O mnoho let později jsem se dozvěděla, že měl

další milenku ve čtvrti gejš Akasaka v Tokiu.

Jen pár mužů má na to, aby si mohli dovolit

jednu gejšu jako milenku, ale Baron Matsunaga

Tsuneyoshi měl dvě. Když jsem zjistila, že

Mameha bude trávit odpoledne se svým danna,

pochopila jsem, proč byl její futon čistě ustlán

s čerstvým povlečením. Rychle jsem se

převlékla do oblečení, které mi Mameha

nachystala, do světle zelené spodničky a

kimona v barvách červenohnědé a žluté,

lemované vzorem borovic. Tou dobou se jedna

ze služebných vracela z nedaleké restaurace

s krabicí z lakovaného dřeva, ve které byl

Baronův oběd. Jídlo v ní bylo nachystáno na

talířích a miskách tak, aby mohlo být hned

podáváno stejně jako v restauraci. Největší

z nich byl plytký lakovaný talíř, na kterém byli

dva grilovaní nasolení aju, naaranžovaní na

talíři tak, jako by spolu plavali v řece. Po jedné

straně stáli dva malí dušení krabi, takoví, co se

jedí vcelku.

18 Ayu is a type of fish, mostly used in Asian cuisine. Grilled and salted ayu has been popular dish in all of Japan

and is nowadays regularly prepared as one of many Japanese street foods, quite often on a stick.

55

A trail of streaked salt curved along the black

lacquer to suggest the sand they had crossed.

A few minutes later the Baron arrived. I peeked

out through a crack at the edge of the sliding

door and saw him standing just outside on the

landing while Mameha untied his shoes.

My first impression was of an almond or some

other kind of nut, because he was small and

very round, with a certain kind of heaviness,

particularly around his eyes.

“Oh, Mameha . . . I’m exhausted,” I heard him

say. “How I hate these long train rides!”

Finally he stepped out of his shoes and crossed

the room with brisk little steps. Earlier in the

morning, Mameha’s dresser had brought an

overstuffed chair and a Persian rug from a

storage closet across the hall and arranged them

near the window.

The Baron seated himself there; but as for what

happened afterward, I can’t say, because

Mameha’s maid came over to me and bowed in

apology before giving the door a gentle push to

slide it the rest of the way closed.

I stayed in Mameha’s little dressing room for

an hour or more while the maid went in and out

serving the Baron’s lunch. I heard the murmur

of Mameha’s voice occasionally, but mainly

the Baron did the talking. At one point I thought

he was angry with Mameha, but finally I

overheard enough to understand that he was

only complaining about a man he’d met the day

before, who’d asked him personal questions

that made him angry.

At last when the meal was over, the maid

carried out cups of tea, and Mameha asked for

me. I went out to kneel before the Baron,

feeling very nervous - for I’d never met an

aristocrat before.

I bowed and begged his favor and thought

perhaps he would say something to me.

Cestička soli se táhla po černém laku,

představovala písek, přes který přešli.

Po pár minutách dorazil Baron. Nahlížela jsem

skrz prasklinku v posuvných dveřích, viděla

jsem ho stát na prahu, zatímco mu Mameha

rozvazovala boty.

Na první pohled mi připomínal mandli, nebo

podobný ořech, protože byl malý a velmi

zaoblený, a s tíhou okolo očí.

„Ach Mameho, jsem tak vyčerpaný,“ zaslechla

jsem. „Jak já nesnáším ty dlouhé cesty

vlakem!“

Pak se konečně zul a přešel místnost rychlými

malými kroky. Ráno přinesl Mamehin

garderobiér z úložné skříně vycpané křeslo a

perský kobereček, který naaranžoval poblíž

okna.

Tam se teď posadil Baron. Co se ale stalo pak

nevím, protože Mamehina služka přišla ke mně

a omluvně se poklonila, než dveře tahem

zavřela úplně.

Byla jsem v Mamehině malém převlékacím

pokoji další hodinu, zatímco služka servírovala

Baronovi oběd. Občas jsem zaslechla šelest

Mamehina hlasu, ale většinou povídal spíš

Baron. V jednu chvíli jsem si myslela, že se na

Mamehu zlobí, ale pak jsem zaslechla dost,

abych pochopila, že si jen stěžuje na muže,

kterého ten den potkal, protože se ho zeptal na

osobní otázku, a to ho rozčílilo.

Když byl po jídle, služka přinesla dva šálky

čaje a Mameha konečně poslala pro mě. Když

jsem šla pokleknout před Barona, byla jsem

velmi nervózní, protože jsem nikdy dřív

žádného aristokrata nepotkala.

Poklonila jsem se a pořádala o jeho náklonost,

a myslela jsem, že mi třeba nějak odpoví.

56

But he seemed to be looking around the

apartment, hardly taking notice of me at all.

“Mameha,” he said, “what happened to that

scroll you used to have in the alcove? It was an

ink painting of something or other - much better

than the thing you have there now.”

“The scroll there now, Baron, is a poem in

Matsudaira Koichi’s own hand. It has hung in

that alcove nearly four years.” “Four years?

Wasn’t the ink painting there when I came last

month?” “It wasn’t . . . but in any case, the

Baron hasn’t honored me with a visit in nearly

three months.”

“No wonder I’m feeling so exhausted. I’m

always saying I ought to spend more time in

Kyoto, but . . . well, one thing leads to another.

Let’s have a look at that scroll I’m talking

about. I can’t believe it’s been four years since

I’ve seen it.”

Mameha summoned her maid and asked her to

bring the scroll from the closet. I was given the

job of unrolling it. My hands were trembling so

much that it slipped from my grasp when I held

it up for the Baron to have a look.

“Careful, girl!” he said. I was so embarrassed

that even after I’d bowed and apologized, I

couldn’t help glancing at the Baron again and

again to see if he seemed angry with me.

While I held the scroll up, he seemed to look at

me more than at it. But it wasn’t a reproachful

stare. After a while I realized it was curiosity,

which only made me feel more self-conscious.

“This scroll is much more attractive than the

one you have in the alcove now, Mameha,” he

said.

But he still seemed to be looking at me and

made no effort to look away when I glanced at

him. “Calligraphy is so old-fashioned anyway,”

he went on. “You ought to take that thing in the

alcove down and put up this landscape painting

again.”

Ale on se spíš rozhlížel po bytě, a mě si skoro

ani nevšiml.

„Mameho, co se stalo s tím svitkem, který jsi

měla ve výklenku?“ zeptal se. „Byla to nějaká

inkoustová malba, mnohem lepší než to, co tam

máš teď.“

„Barone, svitek, který tam je teď, je báseň

psaná rukou Matsudaira Koichi. Visí v tom

výklenku skoro čtyři roky.“ „Čtyři roky?

Nebyla tam ta inkoustová malba před měsícem,

když jsem tu byl naposled?“ „Nebyla…

každopádně Baron mě nepotěšil svou

přítomností skoro tři měsíce.“

„Tak už není divu, že jsem tak vyčerpaný.

Pořád říkám, že bych měl trávit víc času

v Kjótu, ale… věci se prostě kupí jedna na

druhou. Podívejme se na ten svitek, který mám

na mysli. Nemůžu uvěřit, že už je to čtyři roky,

co jsem ho viděl.

Mameha přivolala služku a požádala ji, aby ten

svitek přinesla ze skříně. Já jsem dostala za

úkol jej rozvinout. Ruce se mi klepaly tak, že

když jsem svitek držela před Baronem,

z ničeho nic mi vyklouzl.

„Opatrně děvče!“ zareagoval. Bylo mi tak

trapně, že po tom, co jsem se mu uklonila a

omluvila, jsem se očima k němu stále vracela,

abych viděla, jestli se na mě zlobí.

Když jsem ten svitek držela, přišlo mi, že se víc

dívá na mě než na něj. Nebyl to ale vyčítavý

pohled. Po chvíli mi došlo, že to byla spíš

zvědavost, z čehož jsem byla akorát víc

nervózní.

„Tento svitek je mnohem zajímavější než ten,

co máš ve výklenku teď, Mameho,“ řekl.

Stále se u toho ale díval na mě a nijak se to

nepokoušel skrýt, když jsem se podívala já na

něj. „Kaligrafie je stejně tak staromódní,“

pokračoval. „Musíš tu věc sundat a vrátit tam

tuhle krajinomalbu.“

57

Mameha had no choice but to do as the Baron

suggested; she even managed to look as if she

thought it was a fine idea. When the maid and I

had finished hanging the painting and rolling

up the other scroll, Mameha called me over to

pour tea for the Baron.

To look at us from above, we formed a little

triangle - Mameha, the Baron, and me.

But of course, Mameha and the Baron did all

the talking; as for me, I did nothing more useful

than to kneel there, feeling as much out of my

element as a pigeon in a nest of falcons.

To think I’d ever imagined myself worthy of

entertaining the sorts of men Mameha

entertained - not only grand aristocrats like the

Baron, but the Chairman as well.

Now I couldn’t help realizing once again that I

was nothing more than an ignorant girl from a

fishing village.

Hatsumomo, if she had her way, would keep

me down so low, every man who visited Gion

would remain forever out of my reach.

For all I knew I might never see Baron

Matsunaga again, and never come upon the

Chairman.

Wasn’t it possible Mameha would realize the

hopelessness of my cause and leave me to

languish in the okiya like a little-worn kimono

that had seemed so lovely in the shop?

The Baron - who I was beginning to realize was

something of a nervous man - leaned over to

scratch at a mark on the surface of Mameha’s

table and made me think of my father on the

last day I’d seen him, digging grime out of ruts

in the wood with his fingernails.

I wondered what he would think if he could see

me kneeling here in Mameha’s apartment,

wearing a robe more expensive than anything

he’d ever laid eyes on, with a baron across from

me and one of the most famous geisha in all of

Japan at my side. I was hardly worthy of these

surroundings.

Mameha neměla na výběr, musela učinit tak,

jak Baron nakázal. Dokonce se dokázala tvářit

tak, jako by věřila, že je to dobrý nápad. Po

tom, co jsme se služkou malbu pověsily a

srolovaly druhý svitek, mě Mameha přivolala,

abych Baronovi nalila čaj.

Kdyby se na nás někdo díval se shora, všiml by

si, že Mameha, Baron a já jsme vytvořili malý

trojúhelník.

Mluvili samozřejmě pouze Mameha a Baron.

Co se mě týče, já jsem tam pouze klečela

s pocity jako bych byla v jámě lvové.

Nevěřila jsem, že bych někdy byla hodna bavit

takové muže, jaké bavila Mameha. Ne jenom

velké aristokraty, jako byl Baron, ale taky

Ředitele.

Teď si ale znovu uvědomuji, že jsem byla jen

hloupá holka z rybářské vesnice.

Co se týče Hatsumomo, kdyby bylo po jejím,

tak by mě držela tak nízko, že by každý muž

navštěvující Gion zůstal daleko z mého dosahu.

Nemohla jsem vědět, jestli Barona Matsunagu

nebo dokonce Ředitele ještě někdy uvidím.

Bylo by možné, že by si Mameha uvědomila

beznadějnost mé situace a nechala mě

chřadnout v okiji jako málo nošené kimono,

které se v obchodě zdálo tak krásné?

Baron, který mi začínal připadat jako velmi

nervózní muž, se naklonil a poškrábal

nerovnost na povrchu Mamehina stolku.

Připomněl mi tím poslední den, kdy jsem viděla

svého otce, jak tenkrát nehty vyhrabával špínu

z vyjetých kolejí ve dřevě.

Přemýšlela jsem, co by si asi myslel, kdyby mě

viděl takto klečet v Mamehině bytě, s šatem

dražším než cokoliv, co kdy spatřil, s baronem

naproti mně a s jednou z nejznámějších gejš

v celém Japonsku po mém boku. Nebyla jsem

hodna těch, kteří mě obklopovali.

58

And then I became aware of all the magnificent

silk wrapped about my body and had the feeling

I might drown in beauty. At that moment,

beauty itself struck me as a kind of painful

melancholy.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

One afternoon as Mameha and I were strolling

across the Shijo Avenue Bridge to pick up some

new hair ornaments in the Pontocho district -

for Mameha never liked the shops selling hair

ornaments in Gion - she came to a stop

suddenly.

An old tugboat was puffing its way beneath the

bridge; I thought Mameha was just concerned

about the black fumes, but after a moment she

turned to me with an expression I couldn’t quite

understand.

“What is it, Mameha-san?” I asked. “I may as

well tell you, because you’ll only hear it from

someone else,” she said.

“Your little friend Pumpkin has just won the

apprentice’s award. It’s expected she’ll win it a

second time as well.” Mameha was referring to

an award for the apprentice who’d earned the

most during the previous month.

It may seem strange that such an award existed,

but there’s a very good reason. Encouraging

apprentices to earn as much as possible helps

shape them into the sort of geisha who will be

most appreciated in Gion - that is to say, the

ones who will earn a lot not only for themselves

but for everyone else too. Several times

Mameha had predicted that Pumpkin would

struggle along for a few years and end up the

sort of geisha with a few loyal customers - none

of them wealthy - and little else.

It was a sad picture, and I was pleased to learn

that Pumpkin was doing better than that.

Pak jsem si uvědomila, že je mé tělo zahaleno

do nádherného hedvábí a naplnil mě pocit, jako

bych se topila v kráse. V té chvíli mě sama

krása zasáhla jako vlna bolestné melancholie.

KAPITOLA ŠESTNÁCTÁ

Jednou odpoledne jsme se s Mamehou

procházely po mostě bulváru Shijo. Šly jsme

vyzvednout nějaké nové ozdoby do vlasů ve

čtvrti Pontocho, protože Mameha neměla ráda

ozdoby, jaké se prodávaly v obchodech

v Gionu, když vtom se najednou zastavila.

Pod mostem zrovna proplouval starý remorkér,

tak jsem si myslela, že se Mameha obává

oblaků sazí, ale po chvíli se ke mně otočila s

výrazem, jakému jsem nerozuměla.

„Co je děje, Mameho?“ zeptala jsem se. „Asi

mi nezbývá než ti to říct, protože se to jinak

stejně dozvíš od někoho jiného,“ odpověděla.

„Tvoje přítelkyně, Dýně, zrovna vyhrála cenu

nejlepší učednice. A očekává se, že ji vyhraje

znovu.“ Mameha tím myslela cenu, která se

dává nejvíce výdělečné učednici měsíce.

Možná vám přijde zvláštní, že taková cena

vůbec existovala, ale byl pro to dobrý důvod.

Povzbuzování učednic k co největšímu

výdělku je pomáhalo vychovávat v takové

gejši, které by byly v Gionu nejvíc ceněny, tedy

v takové gejši, které vydělávají spoustu peněz

nejen pro sebe, ale i pro ostatní.

Mameha dřív předpovídala, že se Dýni moc

dařit nebude a po pár letech skončí jako gejša

s pár stálými, a ne zrovna bohatými, zákazníky

a nic jiného.

Byla to smutná představa a já jsem byla ráda,

že se Dýni daří víc, než jak Mameha

předpověděla.

59

But at the same time I felt anxiety prickling at

my stomach. Pumpkin now seemed to be one

of the most popular apprentices in Gion, while

I remained one of the most obscure. When I

began to wonder what it might mean for my

future, the world around me honestly seemed to

grow dark. The most astonishing thing about

Pumpkin’s success, as I stood there on the

bridge thinking about it, was that she’d

managed to surpass an exquisite young girl

named Raiha, who’d won the award the past

several months. Raiha’s mother had been a

renowned geisha, and her father was a member

of one of Japan’s most illustrious families, with

almost limitless wealth.

Whenever Raiha strolled past me, I felt as a

simple smelt must feel when a silver salmon

glides by. How had Pumpkin managed to outdo

her? Hatsumomo had certainly pushed her from

the very day of her debut, so much that she’d

begun to lose weight lately and hardly looked

herself.

But regardless of how hard Pumpkin may have

worked, could she really have grown more

popular than Raiha?

“Oh, now, really,” said Mameha, “don’t look so

sad. You ought to be rejoicing!” “Yes, it’s very

selfish of me,” I said. “That isn’t what I mean.

Hatsumomo and Pumpkin will both pay dearly

for this apprentice’s award. In five years, no

one will remember who Pumpkin is.”

“It seems to me,” I said, “that everyone will

remember her as the girl who surpassed Raiha.”

“No one has surpassed Raiha. Pumpkin may

have earned the most money last month, but

Raiha is still the most popular apprentice in

Gion.

Come, I’ll explain.” Mameha led me to a

tearoom in the Pontocho district and sat me

down.

Zároveň jsem ale pociťovala, jak mi žaludek

svírá úzkost. Dýně se teď zdála být jednou

z nejoblíbenějších učednic v Gionu, zatímco

můj osud byl stále nejasný. Když jsem se

zamyslela, co to znamená pro mou budoucnost,

zdálo se mi, jako by svět kolem mě potemněl.

Když jsem tam stála a přemýšlela o Dýnině

úspěchu, tak ta nejúžasnější věc byla, že se jí

podařilo překonat znamenitou mladou dívku

jménem Raiha, která vyhrála cenu několik

měsíců po sobě. Její matka byla věhlasná gejša

a její otec byl členem jedné z nejproslulejších

japonských rodin, s téměř nekonečným

bohatstvím.

Kdykoliv okolo mě Raiha prošla, cítila jsem se

jako obyčejná ryba, okolo které právě proplul

stříbrný pstruh. Jak se Dýni mohlo podařit ji

překonat? Hatsumomo ji dřela každý den od

jejího debutu, a to tolik, že začala hubnout a už

nevypadá jako ta Dýně, kterou jsem znala.

Ale ať dřela Dýně sebevíc, mohla vážně nabít

větší obliby než Raiha?

„Ale no tak, netvař se tak nešťastně!“ řekla

Mameha. „Měla by ses radovat!“ „Já vím, je to

ode mě sobecké,“ odpověděla jsem. „To ale

nemyslím. Hatsumomo i Dýně za tuto cenu

tvrdě zaplatí. Za pět let po Dýni ani pes

neštěkne.“

„Mně se zdá, že si ji všichni budou pamatovat

jako tu dívku, která překonala Raihu,“ namítla

jsem. „Raihu nikdo nepřekonal. Dýně sice

vydělala minulý měsíc víc peněz, ale Raiha je

stále neoblíbenější učednicí v Gionu.

Pojď, vysvětlím ti to.“ Mameha mě odvedla do

čtvrti Pontocho a usadila mě do čajovny.

60

In Gion, Mameha said, a very popular geisha

can always make sure her younger sister earns

more than anyone else - if she is willing to risk

hurting her own reputation.

The reason has to do with the way ohana,

“flower fees,” are billed.

In the old days, a hundred years or more ago,

every time a geisha arrived at a party to

entertain, the mistress of the teahouse lit a stick

of one-hour incense - called one ohana, or

“flower.” The geisha’s fees were based on how

many sticks of incense had burned by the time

she left.

The cost of one ohana has always been fixed by

the Gion Registry Office. While I was an

apprentice, it was ¥3, which was about the cost

of two bottles of liquor, perhaps. It may sound

like a lot, but an unpopular geisha earning one

ohana per hour has a grim life.

Probably she spends most evenings sitting

around the charcoal brazier waiting for an

engagement; even when she’s busy, she may

earn no more than ¥10 in a night, which won’t

be enough even to pay back her debts.

Considering all the wealth that flows into Gion,

she’s nothing more than an insect picking at the

carcass - compared with Hatsumomo or

Mameha, who are magnificent lionesses

feasting at the kill, not only because they have

engagements all night long every night, but

because they charge a good deal more as well.

In Hatsumomo’s case, she charged one ohana

every fifteen minutes, rather than one every

hour.

And in the case of Mameha . . . well, there was

no one else in Gion quite like her: she charged

one ohana every five minutes.

Of course, no geisha keeps all her earnings, not

even Mameha.

Mameha mi pověděla, že v Gionu mohla

opravdu populární gejša dosáhnout toho, že její

mladší sestra vydělávala víc, než která jiná,

pokud byla ochotná riskovat svou reputaci.

Záleželo to na tom, jakým způsobem se

proplácela ohana, v překladu „květinový

poplatek“.

Za starých časů, tak sto let zpátky, zapalovala

pokaždé majitelka čajovny, když na večírek

přišla gejša, jednohodinovou vonnou tyčinku,

zvanou ohana, tedy „květina“. Gejšin plat byl

založen na tom, kolik vonných tyčinek

vyhořelo před tím, než gejša večírek opustila.

Cenu jedné ohany stanovuje fixně Gionská

registrační kancelář. Když jsem byla učednicí,

bylo to 3 jeny, což bylo přibližně jako cena

dvou lahví likéru. Možná to zní jako hodně, ale

nepopulární gejša, která vydělává jednu ohanu

za hodinu má smutný život.

Pravděpodobně většinu večerů tráví sezením

kolem krbu a čeká na pracovní příležitosti, a i

když je náhodou zaneprázdněná, nevydělá víc

než 10 jenů na noc, což není dost, aby splatila

své dluhy.

Uvážíme-li všechno bohatství, které se valí do

Gionu, není taková gejša víc než hmyz

uždibující z mršiny, obzvlášť v porovnání

s Hatsumomo nebo Mamehou, které jsou jako

velkolepé lvice hodující po úspěšném lovu.

Nejen protože mají závazky na každou noc po

celou noc, ale taky protože si účtují mnohem

víc. V případě Hatsumomo šlo o jednu ohanu

za patnáct minut, ne za hodinu.

A co se Mamehy týče, tak té se nevyrovnal

nikdo v Gionu. Účtovala si totiž jednu ohanu za

pět minut.

Žádná gejša si samozřejmě nenechává všechen

svůj výdělek, dokonce ani Mameha.

61

The teahouse where she earned the fees takes a

portion; then a much smaller portion goes to the

geisha association; and a portion to her dresser;

and right on down the line, including a fee she

might pay to an okiya in exchange for keeping

her account books and tracking her

engagements.

She probably keeps only a little more than half

of what she earns. Still, it’s an enormous sum

when compared with the livelihood of an

unpopular geisha, who every day sinks deeper

and deeper into a pit. Here’s how a geisha like

Hatsumomo could make her younger sister

seem more successful than she really was.

To begin with, a popular geisha in Gion is

welcome at nearly any party and will drop in on

many of them for only five minutes. Her

customers will be happy to pay the fees, even

though she’s only saying hello.

They know that the next time they visit Gion,

she’ll probably join them at the table for a while

to give them the pleasure of her company.

An apprentice, on the other hand, can’t possibly

get away with such behaviour. Her role is to

build relationships. Until she becomes a full-

fledged geisha at the age of eighteen, she

doesn’t consider flitting from party to party.

Instead she stays for an hour or more, and only

then telephones her okiya to ask her older

sister’s whereabouts, so she can go to another

teahouse and be introduced to a new round of

guests. While her popular older sister might

drop in on as many as twenty parties during an

evening, an apprentice probably attends no

more than five. But this isn’t what Hatsumomo

was doing.

She was taking Pumpkin with her everywhere

she went.

Until the age of sixteen, an apprentice geisha

bills one-half ohana per hour.

Část si bere čajovna, ve které peníze vydělala,

menší část pak jde pro sdružení gejš, část

jejímu garderobiérovi, a pak třeba taky

poplatky okiji za to, že mají na starosti

účetnictví a organizování jejího pracovního

harmonogramu.

Zůstane jí možná něco málo přes polovinu

jejího výdělku. Pořád je to ale enormní suma ve

srovnání s živobytím neoblíbené gejši, která se

den co den noří hlouběji a hlouběji do prázdna.

Takhle mohla gejša jako Hatsumomo dokázat,

aby její mladší sestra vypadala víc úspěšně, než

jak tomu doopravdy bylo.

Pro začátek, populární gejša je v Gionu vítaná

na téměř každém večírku a každý navštíví jen

na pět minut. Její zákazníci jí rádi zaplatí její

poplatek jen za to, že je přijde pozdravit.

Vědí, že až se příště objeví v Gionu,

pravděpodobně se k nim přidá a alespoň na

chvíli je u stolu obšťastní svou přítomností.

Na druhou stranu, učednice si takové chování

dovolit nemůže. Jejím údělem je vytvářet nové

vztahy. Než se z ní v osmnácti stane

plnohodnotná gejša, nesmí ani pomyslet na

přelétávání z večírku na večírek.

Místo toho zůstává alespoň na hodinku a teprve

potom zavolá domů, aby jí pověděli, kde se její

starší sestra právě nachází, aby se k ní mohla

připojit v další čajovně, a nechá se představit

dalším hostům. Zatímco její starší sestra stihne

během večera navštívit až dvacet večírků,

učednice většinou navštíví maximálně pět.

Hatsumomo to ale takhle nedělá.

Ta sebou brala Dýni všude tam, kam šla.

Gejša-učednice až do věku šestnácti let účtuje

půl ohany za hodinu.

62

If Pumpkin stayed at a party only five minutes,

the host was billed the same as if she’d stayed

a full hour. On the other hand, no one expected

Pumpkin to stay only five minutes.

Probably the men didn’t mind that Hatsumomo

brought her younger sister for only a brief visit

one night, or even two. But after a while they

must have begun to wonder why she was too

busy to stay longer; and why her younger sister

didn’t remain behind as she was expected to do.

Pumpkin’s earnings may have been high, you

see - perhaps as high as three or four ohana

every hour. But she was certain to pay for it

with her reputation, and so was Hatsumomo.

Pokud Dýně na každé oslavě nezůstala déle než

pět minut, dostala zaplaceno stejně, jako by tam

byla hodinu. Nikdo ale neočekával, že se Dýně

nezdrží déle jak pět minut.

Mužům zřejmě nevadilo, že jednou či dvakrát

přivedla Hatsumomo svou mladší sestru jen na

letmou návštěvu. Ale po nějaké době nejspíš

museli začít přemýšlet, proč byla tak

zaneprázdněná, že se nemohla zdržet déle, a

proč její mladší sestra nezůstala pozadu tak, jak

se od ní očekávalo. Takže jak vidíte, Dýnin

příjem mohl dosáhnout tří až čtyř ohan každou

hodinu. Ale bylo jisté, že za to zaplatí svou

pověstí, a stejně tak Hatsumomo.

63

4. THEORETICAL PART

Translating from one language to another always faces many obstacles. The translator must

take under consideration grammatical rules from two different languages as well as other

factors, such as cultural background, dialects, etc.

In case of this translation, the theoretical part includes chapters dealing with specific

syntactic problems I had to face, closing with a chapter focusing of Functional Sentence

Perspective based primarily on teachings of Jan Firbas.

The first syntactic element described in this thesis is passive, as it is the most frequent one

and commonly misused and misinterpreted. Passive voice is still very popular sentence

structure in English language, unlike in Czech; according to Štícha (2013, p. 618-648) this

structure is nowadays considered mostly literary and even impersonal. This thesis describes a

number of different approaches towards translating passive, like omission, changing passive

voice into active voice or even keeping the sentence structure in passive voice.

Another element analyzed in this paper are cleft sentences. Even though they are not as

frequent in the translated chapters, the problem of translating them was worth the research,

because cleft sentences are not very common in Czech nowadays, as they are considered old

fashioned and not exactly natural. The chapter investigates both basic types of cleft sentences,

cleft sentences proper and pseudo-cleft sentences, also known as it-clefts and wh-clefts.

Translating these sentences falls into two categories, as will be shown in more detail later in

this paper.

The third analysis is dealing with clauses with hypothetical meaning. This chapter, though

not very lengthy, describes the difference in approach to hypothetical meaning in English and

Czech, which is also shown in the chosen examples.

The last part dealing with syntactic analysis is about extraposition of clausal subject. This

chapter is an interesting example of how language is like a living organism, full of surprises

and hidden clues, that cannot always be detected at the first sight.

Closing chapter on FSP then deals with some typical problems which may come up during

the process of translating from one language to another, how to solve them or even how to avoid

certain cases.

64

4.1 Passive voice

The term passive is used to describe the type of verb phrase which contains the construction

be + past participle, or the type of clause in which a passive verb phrase occurs. The opposite

of passive is active (Leech & Svartvik, 2008, p. 237).

In sentences where there is a choice between active and passive, the active is the norm.

According to Greenbaum & Quirk (1990, p. 45-46), speakers or writers use the passive for the

following reasons:

(A) They want to avoid identifying the agent because they do not want to assign or accept

responsibility.

My letter has not yet been answered.

A mistake has been made in calculating your change.

(B) They feel that there is no reason for mention of the agent because the identification is

unimportant or obvious from the context.

The small thin pieces of metal at the sides are to protect the appliance during

handling and may be discarded.

Nowadays sleeping sickness can usually be cured if it is detected early enough.

(C) In scientific and technical writing, writers often use the passive to avoid the constant

repetition of the subject I or we and to put the emphasis on processes and experimental

procedures. This use of the passive helps to give the writing the objective tone that the

writers wish to convey.

The subject was blindfolded and a pencil was placed in the left hand.

(D) To put emphasis on the agent of the action.

(E) To avoid what would otherwise be a long active subject.

(F) To retain the same subject in later parts of the sentence.

The passive involves a restructuring of the clause, and thus it is not a simple order variation.

It takes two forms: the long passive where the agent is expressed in a by-phrase, and the short

passive where the agent is left unexpressed (Biber et al., 2000, p. 935). According to Biber et

al. (2000, p. 935) the passive agent is often agent if the verbal action in the semantic sense,

though it may fulfil other semantic roles such as experiencer. The availability of the passive

option is subject to a number of constrains, chiefly connected with the nature of the verb.

To better understand the formation of passive voice, we can turn to Gethin (1996, p. 154),

where the formation of the passive sentence as a whole and in particular relationship between

its grammatical subject and the grammatical object or objects in the active voice is discussed.

An understanding of this relationship is the best way of knowing when and how to use the

65

passive, since there is a connection between grammatical subject and the subjects we like to

talk or write about. Gethin (1996, p. 154) also explains that there are four ways of creating a

sentence in passive voice.

The first one deals with formation of passive from a single object. The subject of passive

sentence can be formed from a single object of almost any verb. The single object may be not

only a noun or a pronoun; it may be an infinitive phrase or a that clause, which can become the

subject of a passive sentence by the use of introductory it (Gethin, 1996, p. 155).

(1) Peter was arrested two days ago.

(2) It had clearly been decided by the authorities to make an example of him.

(3) It has been announced (that) he’ll be tried.

(4) The law is not being complied with.

The object of a verb used with a preposition can usually become the subject in the passive.

Exceptions occur with prepositional verbs of movement. When movement is not expressed, that

is to say when these are phrasal verbs and do not have their literal meaning, they can be also

used in the passive (Gethin, 1996, p. 155).

(1) The matter has been gone into very thoroughly.

(2) No conclusion has yet been arrived at.

The second formation described by Gethin (1996, p. 156-157) is the formation from two

objects, where it is briefly explained that some verbs can have two objects, one usually a

concrete or abstract thing, the other usually a person. Out of the two, what usually happens is

that any can become the subject.

(1) The information was given (to) me by a friend.

(2) I was given the information by a friend.

(3) Access to a lawyer has been refused Peter.

(4) Peter has been refused access to a lawyer.

This is followed by the third formation dealing with the auxiliary passive. This type of

formation is achieved by the use of have. Sentences using have can be passive or active in sense

according to context (Gethin, 1996, p. 157-158).

(1) A friend gave me the information. -> I had the information given (to) me by a friend.

(2) They’ve refused Peter access to a lawyer. -> Peter has had access to a lawyer refused

him.

(3) They never explain a citizen’s rights to prisoners. -> Prisoners never have a citizen’s

rights explained to them.

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(4) And they’ll carefully examine the photos he took, including that one of you. -> And he’ll

have the photos he took, including that one of you, carefully examined.

The last viable option in this category described by Gethin (1996, p. 158-159) is non-

formation of the passive from two objects. Passives cannot be formed from either object of all

double-object verbs. One of the examples can be the verb wish, neither object of which can

normally become the subject of a passive. There are also verbs like win, where the first object

but not the second object can become the subject of a passive. This requires the use of the

preposition for, optional in the active. Thirdly, there are a few verbs like save, where the passive

can be formed from the second object but not from the first one.

(1) His fearless stand has won (for) him a lot of sympathy. -> A lot of sympathy has been

won for him by his fearless stand.

(2) Freeing Peter now would save the authorities a lot of trouble. -> The authorities would

be saved a lot of trouble by freeing Peter now.

Independent from this grouping of formations, Gethin (1996, p. 161) also mentioned passive

constructions with the infinitive. Instead of an active construction we may sometimes use a

more formal passive construction with the full infinitive. In these constructions the infinitive

itself may or may not be in the passive. There is also a particular type of construction, using

it/was etc. to correspond with can/could in the active, where the passive infinitive is always

used.

According to Dontcheva-Navratilova (2016, p. 129) passive voice is one of the possible ways

to achieve postponement. Passive may be used for postponing the agentive subject to end-

position when end-focus for emphasis is required. When the subject is a finite clause, the

passive may be chosen for end-weight.

With ditransitive verbs, the passive may be used to put the indirect object in thematic

(subject) position, thus reserving the highlighted focus position for the direct object. It is also

possible to highlight the verb provided that the agent can be ignored as given (Dušková, 2003,

p. 258-266).

Dušková (2003, p. 249) describes that Czech formal equivalent of English passive voice is

descriptive passive.

(1) the picture is finished/sold /obraz je dokončen/prodán

It is not the only passive in Czech language, though, as there is also a reversible passive. A

reversible passive is a passive construction in which the subject can be exchanged with the

agent in the by-phrase and still leave a correct logical sentence, albeit with the opposite

meaning.

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Czech and English passive voice sentences considerably differ in the way they are

constructed; these differences result from different natures of transitivity of English and Czech

verbs as well as from the existence of subjectless passive in Czech language (Dušková, 2003,

p. 250).

As stated by Dušková (2003, p. 250-251) a similar way of creating passive in both English

and Czech can be only done with the use of monotransitive verbs. A subject of a passive

construction is an object of an active construction.

(1) this aspect is often neglected /toto hledisko se často zanedbává

(2) some details have been omitted /některé podrobnosti byly vynechány

(3) the risk should not be underestimated /riziko by se nemělo podceňovat

However, there are differences in the reaction of individual verbs; an English verb with a

direct subject often corresponds to a Czech verb in genitive, dative or with prepositional case.

Dušková (2003, p. 251) also explains that passive formed from verbs with prepositional case

is made the same way as passive formed from monotransitive verbs. The subject is again the

object of the active voice, and the preposition stays with the verb. This case of passive is not

possible in Czech language; prepositional object in passive stays without any change and the

verb forms subjectless passive.

(1) this possibility has been reckoned with /s touto možností se počítalo

(2) the doctor should be sent for at once /mělo by se ihned poslat pro lékaře

(3) their help cannot be relied on /na jejich pomoc se nelze spolehnout

(4) those children will be seen to all right /o ty děti bude patřičně postaráno

Ditransitive verbs have in English two passive constructions, because both objects can

become a subject of the passive. In Czech, on the other hand, the only possible object that can

become a subject is the direct object. Choosing a subject for a passive construction with a

ditransitive verb is closely connected with functional sentence perspective, which means that

an object with lower degree of narrative dynamics becomes the subject (Dušková, 2003, p. 252).

According to Dušková (2003, p. 261) passive with the expressed agent is significantly

thinner compared to passive without the expressed agent, which results from the main function

of the passive. In English the passive with expressed agent can be used as a carrier of functional

sentence perspective, unlike in Czech, in which we can achieve the same result with only

changing the word order of the sentence, without changing the syntactic construction. Active

construction with this word order is the opposite of English passive with expressed agent, under

the condition that the agent is animate. In both languages, the basic distribution of narrative

dynamics is achieved, with the theme in the beginning and the rheme in the end position.

68

(1) In some animals the protection of the young is carried out by the males. /U některých

živočichů ochranu mláďat obstarávají samečkové.

(2) The first marketable typewriter was produced (though not invented) by E. Remington &

Sons. /První prodejný psací stroj byl vyroben (i když ne vynalezen) E. Remingtonem a

syny.

In Czech, an inanimate agent can also be constructed as a subject following an active verb.

But most often the Czech passive stays the same as in English.

Dušková (2003, p. 263) states that passive allows different linear arrangement of participants

in the verbal process than active, which can be used as a tool of FSP. The choice of voice can

also result from a complete sentence structure, type of modifications of clauses, etc.

English passive always includes a subject. Czech passive without a subject is not possible in

English. Unlike Czech subjectless sentences English has sentences with expressed subjects that

correspond with different Czech cases (except nominative and accusative).

(1) the command was obeyed /rozkazu bylo uposlechnuto

(2) our warning was not heeded /naší výstrahy se nedbalo

(3) your request will be complied with /vaší žádosti bude vyhoveno

(4) a scandal must be prevented /musí být zabráněno skandálu

(5) he was threatened with dismissal /bylo mu pohrozeno propuštěním

If the Czech sentence does not include an object, the choice of an English subject depends

on the nature of the action. For transitive verbs, a specific material subject can be added. If this

subject is not present, an English sentence can be in an active form with an agentive subject,

either general or specific, or the subject includes there (Dušková, 2003, p. 265).

4.1.1 Translating sentences with passive voice

Translating passive sentences from English into Czech language can be rather challenging.

In the original text there are 37 sentences containing passive voice. Different angles have to be

considered while translating sentences in passive. Generally speaking, the easiest way would

be simply taking an English sentence in passive voice and translate it as a Czech sentence in

passive voice. A problem with this strategy is the fact that passive voice in Czech is not as

common and not as popular as it is in English. It is commonly known that passive voice in

Czech language is considered to be rather outdated; something that can be seen mostly in

literature or in the vocabulary of older generations. With this knowledge, despite the common

dislike of the passive among users of Czech language, a decision was made to keep some of the

69

sentences in passive, because it simply worked better for the narration. Some of these sentences

can be seen in the following chart.

Arthur Golden My translation

… or whether a certain kimono repair was

finished though it wasn’t scheduled to be

completed for another week. (p. 14)

… či jestli je hotová oprava jejího kimona,

která ale neměla být dokončena ještě další

týden.

…her face was painted white for the very

first time. (p.8)

Poprvé měla též obličej nabarvený na bílo.

Most are padded with a bag of wheat

chaff, but still they’re not much better than

putting your neck on a stone. (p. 24)

Většina je polstrovaná pytlíkem

pšeničných plev, ale stejně to není o moc

lepší než si lehnout na kámen.

“The mandrill of central Africa is often

considered the showiest of primates,” he

said. (p. 26)

„Mandril, žijící v centrální Africe, je

považován za nejokázalejšího primáta ze

všech,“ řekl mi.

Her hair was ornamented with silk

flowers and springs of unhusked rice. (p.

26)

Její vlasy byly zdobeny hedvábnými

květinami a snítkami neloupané rýže.

His mane was woven in threads

lacquered with a beautiful reddish tint.

(p. 27)

Jeho hříva byla utkaná z načervenalých

lakovaných nití.

All the combinations involving an

element from Mameha’s name,

unfortunately, had been pronounced

inauspicious by the fortune-teller. (p. 29)

Všechny kombinace obsahující prvek

z Mamehina jména byly bohužel věštcem

prohlášeny za nepříznivé.

The party, she explained to me along the

way, was to be given by the man who ran

the National Theater in Tokyo. (p. 35)

Ta oslava, jak mi vysvětlila po cestě, měla

být pořádána mužem, který vedl Národní

Divadlo v Tokiu.

Originally his older brother had inherited

the title of baron, but he had been

assassinated while serving as a finance

minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Inukai. (p.54)

Titul barona původně zdědil jeho starší bratr,

ale ten byl zavražděn, když působil jako

ministr financí v kabinetu premiéra Inukai.

70

What is certain from this chart is that English passive voice indeed works similarly in Czech.

Translating these sentences was only a matter of maintaining a similar word order, following

the rules of Czech passive voice.

The second most natural translation method that came to mind was to turn the passive voice

into the active voice, because the process is simple and, in the narration, it seems very natural,

and it is pleasant to read. As it was already mentioned before, to change the passive voice into

active, it is needed to find the agent in each passive sentence and turn it into a subject of the

new active sentence, and to change the verb according to the basic sentence transformation

rules. Examples of this method can be seen in the chart below.

Arthur Golden My translation

When at last the photograph was taken,

Pumpkin stumbled a few steps from the

door and turned to look back. (p. 10)

Když fotku konečně pořídily, Dýně

klopýtla pár kroků od dveří a ohlédla se přes

rameno.

…I found that except for my plain hairstyle,

I might have been taken for a young

apprentice geisha on her way to a party.

(p. 11)

… zjistila jsem, že kromě mého obyčejného

účesu by mě mohli považovat za mladou

gejšu-učednici na cestě na večírek.

… or whether a certain kimono repair

was finished though it wasn’t scheduled to

be completed for another week. (p. 14)

… či jestli dokončili opravu jejího kimona,

která ale neměla být dokončena ještě další

týden.

And I must tell you that even with camellia

oil as a lubricant and a hot iron to keep the

wax soft, hair and wax were never meant

to go together. (p. 21)

A musím vám říct, že i s olejíčkem ve

vlasech a horkým železem udržujícím vosk

měkkým, jsem dospěla k závěru, že vlasy a

vosk nepatří k sobě.

We were joined there by two of

Mameha’s younger sisters, as well as by

Mother. (p. 27)

Čekaly nás tam dvě další Mamehiny

mladší sestry a také matka.

The ceremony, which was attended by the

mistress of the Ichiriki, lasted only about

ten minutes. (p. 27)

Samotný ceremoniál, kterého se zúčastnily

i majitelky Ichiriki, trval sotva deset minut.

As I say, the dance was lovely, and so was

the music, which was played on the

Jak jsem zmínila, ten tanec byl krásný a

stejně tak i hudba, kterou na shamisen

71

shamisen by a terribly thin geisha with

small, watery eyes. (p. 34)

hrála neskutečně pohublá gejša s malýma

světle modrýma očima.

Thank heavens she was blown onto the

hood! (p. 42)

Díky bohu že ji to odválo na kapotu!

In some these cases, of course, could have been used passive again, just like in the previous

section. Turning them into active voice was solely a decision I made as the translator. To

compare some of the sentences, I have created another chart, containing both active and passive

form of the Czech translations.

The original text My choice of translation

(active voice)

Another possible translation

(passive voice)

… or whether a certain

kimono repair was finished

though it wasn’t scheduled to

be completed for another

week. (p. 14)

… či jestli dokončili opravu

jejího kimona, která ale

neměla být dokončena ještě

další týden.

… či jestli byla dokončena

oprava jejího kimono, která

ale neměla být dokončena

ještě další týden.

When at last the

photograph was taken,

Pumpkin stumbled a few

steps from the door and

turned to look back. (p. 10)

Když fotku konečně

pořídily, Dýně klopýtla pár

kroků od dveří a ohlédla se

přes rameno.

Když byla fotka konečně

pořízena, Dýně klopýtla pár

kroků od dveří a ohlédla se

přes rameno.

Thank heavens she was

blown onto the hood! (p. 42)

Díky bohu že ji to odválo na

kapotu!

Díky bohu že byla odváta

na kapotu!

…I found that except for my

plain hairstyle, I might have

been taken for a young

apprentice geisha on her

way to a party. (p. 10)

… zjistila jsem, že kromě

mého obyčejného účesu by

mě mohli považovat za

mladou gejšu-učednici na

cestě na večírek.

… zjistila jsem, že kromě

mého obyčejného účesu

jsem mohla být

považována za mladou

gejšu-učednici na cestě na

večírek.

Another option when dealing with the translation of passive voice was the omission.

Omitting passive altogether solved some difficult translating cases. When an English text is

being translated into Czech, the Czech version sometimes becomes unnecessarily lengthy and

72

rather hard to follow, which kept happening in some specific cases in the practical part of this

thesis. For that reason, omitting the passive came as a reasonable solution, making the sentences

shorter, easier to follow and also better fitting for the purpose of storytelling. Some of these

special cases can be seen in the following chart.

Arthur Golden My translation

For a time I woke up every morning with my

hair ruined and had to wait in line at the

hairdresser for my chance to be tortured.

(p. 23)

Nějakou dobu jsem se budila se zničeným

účesem, což vedlo k častému mučení u

kadeřníka.

From the moment on, I was no longer

known as Chiyo. (p. 27)

Od toho momentu jsem již nebyla Chiyo.

I was summoned to Mameha’s apartment

several times in the next few days. (p. 50)

Dalších pár dní jsem byla několikrát

navštívit Mamehu v jejím bytě.

If Pumpkin stayed at a party only five

minutes, the host was billed the same as if

she’d stayed a full hour. (p. 61)

Pokud Dýně na každé oslavě nezůstala déle

než pět minut, dostala zaplaceno stejně,

jako by tam byla hodinu.

To conclude, three different approaches were applied while translating sentences in passive

voice – keeping the passive, turning passive into active voice and the omission. As for the

representation of each option in the original text, it is illustrated in the graph below.

As can be seen there, in the end, turning passive into active was the most frequent option (17

sentences in total), followed by sentences kept in their original passive structure (11 sentences).

30%

46%

24%

REPRESENTATION OF TRANSLATED SENTENCES IN PASSIVE VOICE

Keeping the passive Turning passive into active voice Omission

73

The omission, though, follows closely with 9 sentences in total, which means that the

representation of all the options is almost similar in numbers. From my point of view, this shows

that all the options are equally valid and thus it is mostly the choice of the translator to use

whatever strategy works best for a particular text.

4.2 Cleft sentences

There are two major types of cleft constructions: it-clefts and wh-clefts. Both cleft types (and

the reversed variant of wh-cleft) are used to bring particular elements into additional focus,

which may be contrastive. The extra focused element normally appears early in it-clefts and

late in wh-clefts, a property which means that these structures are also connected with

distribution and cohesion (Biber et al., 2000, p. 958-959).

Dontcheva-Navratilova (2016, p. 136) explains that cleft sentences proper, also called it-

clefts, are used to highlight sentence elements by dividing the original sentence pattern into two

clause-like parts, the prominence being usually given to the final item in the SVC clause. The

first part of the cleft construction (SVC clause) consists of the formal subject it (empty theme)

followed by the respective form of the verb to be, introducing the highlighted element (the

focus). The second part of the construction takes the form of a relative clause introduced by the

relative pronoun that, which can be omitted. The use of wh-pronouns instead of that is

extremely rare and therefore not recommended.

The verb form in the it-part of the cleft sentence typically uses the present simple of the past

simple tense – present when the second verb is present and past when the second verb is past.

Nevertheless, the present tense may be used irrespective of the form of the second verb when

the people referred to are still living, or the objects concerned are regarded as familiar and close

to the participants. The verb phrase in the it-part of the cleft sentence can also include modal

verbs (Crystal, 1995, p. 226-245).

(1) It may be Roger that he is waiting for.

(2) It was India that Columbus wanted to discover.

(3) It is/was Peter that I met yesterday.

(4) It is/was this bag that he gave me as a birthday present.

Crystal (1995, p. 226-245) also states that when the element following the copular verb to

be is recoverable from the context, the focus is rather on the following relative clause. Thought

cleft sentences proper are very flexible, there are some restrictions on their use. A cleft sentence

proper cannot be used to achieve focus on the verb. Also, it is not possible to make subject

74

complement focus of it-clefts, especially when the subject complement is an adjective phrase.

When the subject complement takes the form of a noun phrase it may become the focus of an

it-cleft.

(1) It is clever that he is.

(2) It was a great actress that she became.

Similarly to the cleft sentences proper, Dontcheva-Navratilova (2016, p. 137) describes the

pseudo-cleft construction, which has the function of achieving focus on a highlighted sentence

element. The construction is typically introduced by a nominal relative clause followed by the

verb to be and the highlighted language item.

(1) What he’ll do is write a letter.

(2) What he’s done is break my heart.

(3) What he hates is linguistics.

The order of the elements preceding and following the copular verb to be may be inverted.

When the wh-element comes second, we call it a reversed pseudo cleft.

Another point made by Crystal (1995, p. 226-245) is that the cleft sentence proper is

preferable when the highlighted elements are an adverbial or a prepositional phrase. If the

adverbial can take a noun phrase form, the wh-cleft can be used with a final when- or where-

clause; it is called ‘reversed’ cleft sentence. Reversed wh-clefts which open with a

demonstrative referring to the preceding discourse are called demonstrative wh-clefts.

(1) That’s why she wants to come with us.

Some reversed wh-clefts look exactly like ordinary wh-clefts, apart from the position of the

wh-clause in relation to the focused element. A very common type of structure contains a

demonstrative pronoun (usually that) followed by a form of be plus a dependent clause

introduced by a wh-word. Although these structures are not normally reversible, they are

structurally related to reversed wh-clefts. Moreover, they open with a reference to the preceding

text (Biber et al., 2000, p. 960-961).

The wh-cleft sentence can also focus on the subject complement of a clause, whereas the

cleft sentence proper normally cannot (except in the case of a noun phrase functioning as subject

complement). Clauses introduced by who, whose, why and how do not easily enter the pseudo-

cleft construction and are usually replaced by paraphrases, involving noun phrases of general

reference in place of the wh-item (Dontcheva-Navratilova, 2016, p. 138).

In the case of cleft sentences proper (it-clefts), Dušková (2003, p. 537) states that in English,

a special level of FSP is formed by sentences in which an element is emphatically pointed out.

The means by which it can be achieved are for example intonation and contrasting stress. The

75

same effect as the one of a contrasting stress can be achieved by a cleft sentence proper. These

sentences have the same function both in English and in Czech, to point out the rhematic

element from the background of the other thematic elements, and if a sentence element can

function in both ways, they are interchangeable. They also have a similar distribution of

narrative dynamics, differing only in the position of the theme. In Czech it is more common to

use word order and word stress to achieve the same effect.

(1) It was Tom who repaired Jane’s typewriter at the office yesterday. /Byl to Tom, kdo včera

spravil v kanceláři Janin stroj.

As for the pseudo-cleft sentences, translating them into Czech works very similarly to cleft

sentences proper and Dušková (2003, p. 538) states that it is mostly an element of literature,

not an everyday spoken production.

(1) What Tom did at the office yesterday was repair the typewriter. /To, co včera Tom dělal

v kanceláři, bylo spravování psacího stroje.

Dušková (2010, p.30-31) explains in her paper the examinations from the viewpoint of

context dependence/independence of the content expressed by the two constitutive clauses, the

it-clause and the subordinate clause. This involved the basic distinction between stressed-focus

it-clefts, i.e., cleft sentences with context-dependent information in the subordinate clause

which is hence weakly stressed; and informative-presupposition it-clefts, whose subordinate

clauses are context-independent and stressed accordingly. Since context

dependence/independence is a crucial point in assigning cleft sentences to one or the other type,

and context itself is a phenomenon of a graded nature (Firbas, 1992, p. 32-35), a significant role

is played by the factors through which a given element becomes disengaged form context

dependence. According to Firbas (1995, p. 22), these factors involve selection, contrast,

identification, purposeful repetition, and the summarizing effect. Considering that context is

inherently a textual feature, all these factors play a textual role.

Dušková (2010, p. 30-31) argues that there are differences in the textual functions of it-clefts

according to the type of text. According to her research, there is a difference between the use

of it-clefts in prose and in fiction; fiction being in favor of clefts with an anaphoric scene-setting

adverbial in the it-clause and new content in the subordinate clause, whereas academic prose

displayed context-independent information in both clauses.

76

4.2.1 Translating cleft sentences

The chapters from Memoirs of Geisha used for this thesis do not include overwhelming

number of cleft sentences, but for the purpose of this analysis it is a satisfactory amount. There

are nine cleft sentences proper (it-clefts) and six pseudo-cleft sentences (wh-clefts).

According to Dušková (2003, p. 537-538), cleft sentences are particularly useful in writing,

because there cannot be used intonation for emphasis. That is exactly the purpose for which this

structure was used in the original text. As can be seen in the chart below, the word order of the

translated sentences was kept similar, to help them achieve the already mentioned emphasis.

Arthur Golden My translation

It wasn’t the most beautiful kimono you

would ever see, but when I looked at myself

in the full-length mirror… (p. 10)

Nebylo to nejkrásnější kimono, jaké jste

kdy viděli, ale když jsem se podívala do

zrcadla…

Isn’t it possible I was just looking at the

rainspouts along the base of the houses?

(p. 15)

A není možné, že jsem se třeba jen dívala

na kapky deště tekoucích po základech

domů?

But it isn’t the length of the obi that

makes it hard wo wear … (p. 24)

Délka obi ale není důvodem, proč je tak

těžké jej nosit.

It’s a wonder Konda-san didn’t burn a

hole in it with his eyes, trying to see

through it the way he did. (p. 36)

Je pozoruhodné, že se Kondovi nepodařilo

propálit do ní pohledem díru, jak moc se

snažil dívat skrz.

… well, it was their leader who hid

himself in the Ichiriki Teahouse while

plotting revenge. (p. 26)

… tak právě jejich vůdce byl ten, který se

schovával v čajovně Ichiriki, zatímco

spřádal plány k pomstě.

The other strategy used in the thesis was changing the word order or even part of the sentence

completely, avoiding the clefting altogether but keeping the original meaning of the statement.

As it was mentioned before, cleft sentences are not nowadays commonly used in Czech

language, so this alteration seemed the most reasonable and natural. Some of the examples are

shown in the chart below.

Arthur Golden My translation

It was an image of the geisha I wanted to

become. (p. 19)

Ztělesňovala gejšu, kterou jsem se chtěla

stát.

77

Then Mother went to stand behind Pumpkin

and struck a pose as though she were about

to spark a flint, even though it was always

Auntie or one of the maids who did the

job. (p. 8)

Za ni se postavila matka, pózující jako by se

chystala vykřesnout jiskru pro štěstí, i když

normálně to byla práce tetičky nebo jedné

ze služek.

… for it was such a narrow alleyway that

everything echoed. (p. 49)

… protože v úzké uličce se všechno

ozývalo.

Wasn’t it possible Mameha would realize

the hopelessness of my cause and leave

me to languish in the okiya like a little-

worn kimono that had seemed so lovely in

the shop? (p. 56)

Bylo by možné, že by si Mameha

uvědomila beznadějnost mé situace a

nechala mě chřadnout v okiji jako málo

nošené kimono, které se v obchodě zdálo

tak krásné?

Similar translation methods can be used in the case of pseudo-cleft sentences. Despite the

structure being considered outdated in Czech language (Dušková, 2003, p. 538), a decision was

made to lean towards the option of keeping the word order similar to the English original. For

example, this sentence below was translated using a relative clause:

Arthur Golden My translation

What I had wanted for so long had finally

come to pass, and oh, how my stomach

churned! (p. 18)

To, po čem jsem tak dlouho toužila, mám

konečně na dosah, a jak se mi z toho stáhl

žaludek!

One example of demonstrative wh-clefts (reversed pseudo-cleft sentence) also occurred in

the text, translation of which was dealt with by changing the word order to achieve the needed

emphasis of the statement’s inner message. In Czech language, the rhema is at the end of the

sentence, the word order is interchangeable, and so the only step that has to be taken is

postponing the verb towards the end of the sentence.

Arthur Golden My translation

But this isn’t what Hatsumomo was

doing. (p. 60)

Hatsumomo to ale takhle nedělá.

With this specific sentence, I was also considering another version, which would include a

change of sentence elements, so the final sentence would be Ale tohle nebylo jednání

Hatsumomo. In the end I have decided against this version because it sounds rather unnatural.

78

It took me a moment to figure out a Czech approach towards translating both cleft sentences

proper and pseudo-cleft sentences, but Dušková’s (2003, p. 537-538) explanations helped me

to find the right solution. To summarize this chapter, several strategies were used to translate

cleft sentences from the original text, all of them dealing with word order. In some cases, the

word order was kept close to the original, in some it was changed and in some the decision was

made to omit some sentence elements to avoid unnatural sentence structures. To conclude, the

representation of each method in the translating process can be seen in the following graph.

4.3 Clauses with hypothetical meaning

To better understand the inner workings of clauses with hypothetical meaning, it should be

first explained what a clause is in general. A clause is a unit structured around a verb phrase.

The lexical verb in the verb phrase characteristically denotes an action or state. The verb phrase

is accompanied by one or more elements which denote the participants involved in the action,

state, etc., the attendant circumstances, the attitude of the speaker/writer to the message, the

relationship of the clause to the surrounding structures, etc. (Biber et al., 2000, p. 120).

The core of the clause can be divided into two main parts: the subject and what is

traditionally called the predicate. Structurally, these correspond broadly to a nominal part and

a part with a verbal nucleus; semantically, to a topic and a comment. Together they express a

proposition. The predicate can be broken down into a verb phrase proper and a number of

complements, such as objects, predicatives and obligatory adverbials (Biber et al., 2000, p.

122).

Leech & Svartvik (2008, p. 140-145) explain that there can be factual, neutral and

hypothetical representation in dependent clauses. Clauses with hypothetical meaning (1) are

46%

18%

36%

TRANSLATION METHODS OF CLEFT SENTENCES

Keeping the word order similar to original Omittinng some sentence elements

Changing the word order

79

used to signal that the truth or falsehood of a fact is assumed rather than directly stated.

Neutrality (2) does not imply whether the dependent clause states a fact or not, i.e. it is neutral

with regard to truth or falsehood. Factual meaning (3) assumes that what the dependent clause

states is a fact, i.e. it assumes the truth of the statement.

(1) If Roger did not arrive in time, we would have to start without him.

(2) Roger tried to get there.

(3) Roger succeeded in getting there.

A fact is usually expressed by a finite verb clause or by an -ing clause. A hypothesis (or

hypothetical meaning is usually expressed by the past tense in dependent clause and

by would (or 'd) + infinitive in the main clause.

(1) If we had enough money, I would buy a radio today/tomorrow.

These two constructions can be seen respectively in the conditional subclause and in the

main clause of hypothetical conditions. (Leech & Svartvik, 2008, p. 107-108)

In addition to the past tense, there are three less common ways of expressing hypothetical

meaning in subclauses:

(A) The were-subjunctive

I’d play football with you if I were younger.

(B) Were to + infinitive (This construction expresses hypothetical future.)

If it were to rain tomorrow, the match would be postponed.

(C) Should + infinitive

If a serious crisis should arise, the government would take immediate action.

Constructions (B) and (C) are also slightly formal or literary and suggest tentative

conditions. These last two constructions are in general limited to conditional clauses. (Leech &

Svartvik, 2008, p. 108-109)

Also, Leech & Svartvik (2008, p. 109) explain that another type of hypothetical conditional

clause has no subordinating conjunction if, but instead begins with an operator placed before

the subject (inversion). The three operators which occur in the construction are had,

subjunctive were, and putative should. The constructions with were and should are rather

literary in tone and can always be replaced by an if-construction.

(1) Had I known, I would have written before.

(2) Were a serious crisis to arise, the government would have to act swiftly.

(3) Should you change your mind, no one would blame you.

According to Dušková (2003, p. 248) clauses with hypothetical meaning are exclusively

English, thus do not exist in Czech language.

80

4.3.1 Translating clauses with hypothetical meaning

The analyzed chapters from Memoirs of Geisha are not exactly rich in clauses with

hypothetical meaning, but as an element of English grammar they seem very interesting, so the

decision was made to include them in this thesis as well. Eight sentences containing

hypothetical meaning were identified in the text, examples and their translation can be seen

below.

Arthur Golden My translation

…if I’d been a man, I would have thought

she’d given herself over very briefly to

strong feelings she was struggling to hide.

(p. 15)

Kdybych byla muž, myslela bych si, že na

moment bezmezně podlehla svým

pocitům, které již nedokázala skrýt.

If I had the power to make a man faint,

I’m sure I’d be aware of it by now. (p. 15)

Kdybych uměla muže odrovnat pohledem,

jsem si jistá, že bych o tom věděla.

I would have given up without even

trying, if I hadn’t noticed two things. (p.

16)

Nejspíš bych to ani nezkusila, kdybych si

nevšimla dvou maličkostí.

If I could crown him so that he had to step

up onto the sidewalk and stumble over

the curb, he might drop the tray. (p. 17)

Kdybych se k němu přiblížila dostatečně

blízko, možná by ho to přinutilo uhnout na

chodník a zakopnout tak o obrubník, a

tudíž i upustit podnos.

… though Hatsumomo would have been

angry if she’d known. (p. 22)

… i když by tím naštvala Hatsumomo,

kdyby se to dozvěděla.

And my face felt so hot from nervousness

that I wouldn’t have been surprised if my

makeup had simply melted and begun to

drip onto my lap. (p. 42)

Tváře mi žhnuly nervozitou tak, že bych se

nedivila, kdyby se moje líčení rozpustilo a

začalo mi kapat do klína.

I wondered what he would think if he

could see me kneeling here in Mameha’s

apartment, wearing a robe more

expensive than anything he’d ever laid

eyes on, with a baron across from me and

Přemýšlela jsem, co by si asi myslel, kdyby

mě viděl takto klečet v Mamehině bytě,

s šatem dražším než cokoliv, co kdy

spatřil, s baronem naproti mně a s jednou

z nejznámějších gejš v celém Japonsku po

mém boku.

81

one of the most famous geisha in all of

Japan at my side. (p. 56)

Translating sentences into Czech required the use of adverbial conditional clauses (vedlejší věta

příslovečná podmínková), which is included in every sentence in the chart. Even though clauses

with hypothetical meaning do not exist in the same way in Czech, translating them was not

hard, because conditional clauses are very common in Czech language. Another option would

be of course changing the word order of the sentences or in some cases even passive

construction could be possible, but to me these versions seemed like to best options for the

story.

4.4 Extraposition of clausal subject

To introduce this chapter, let me first explains what an ordinary subject is. According to

Leech & Svartvik (2008, p. 273-274), the subject of a clause is a noun phrase or pronoun; a

non-finite verb, or a nominal clause, usually with introductory it. The subject normally occurs

before the verb in statements. In questions, it occurs immediately after the operator. The subject

has number and person concord with the finite verb. The most typical function of a subject is

to denote the actor: that is, the person, etc. causing the happening denoted by the verb. When

an active sentence is turned into a passive sentence, the subject of the active sentence becomes

the agent of the passive.

Concerning the semantic role of the subject, Tárnyiková (1993, p. 19-31) explains that the

usual function of the subject is that the agentive participant (the willful initiator of the action),

though it is not the only one possible; the subject may also have the role of affected participant,

external causer, instrument, recipient, experiencer, positioner, locative, temporal and eventive.

A clausal subject is a clausal syntactic subject of a clause, i.e., the subject is itself a clause.

Extraposition of clausal subject is used for postponing the clausal subject represented by a

nominal clause towards the end of the sentence according to the principles of end-focus and

end-weight. The postponed element is replaced by a substitute – the anticipatory pronoun it.

The resulting sentence thus contains two subjects – the anticipatory formal subject it and the

postponed notional subject (Tárnyiková, 1993, p. 19-31).

All nominal clauses, except the nominal relative clause, may be extraposed using the

anticipatory -it structure. In some cases, such as the passive construction, the clause cannot be

kept in subject position and the sentence cannot exist without extraposition, i.e., the

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extraposition is obligatory. As sentences with nominal clause subjects are usually used with the

anticipatory -it construction, the variant without extraposition is regarded as marked and gives

contrastive emphasis to the rest of the main clause. The only exception is the nominal ing-

clause, which is typically left in subject position. When postponed, typically informal speech,

it is considered as an afterthought (Tárnyiková, 1993, p. 19-31).

(1) It is worth the effort trying to be a good teacher.

In SVC sentences there is an alternative to the anticipatory -it construction which still avoids

the clause in subject position. This transformation involves promoting the object of the nominal

clause to the role of main clause subject; thus, the object noun phrase becomes theme in place

of the formal subject it.

(1) It is very demanding to work with him.

(2) It was a surprise to hear them sing.

(3) It doesn’t matter what she wants.

Constructions with the formal subject it + verbs such as seem, appear, happen + that-clause,

look similar to sentences with extraposed clausal subjects, but they differ in that they have no

corresponding versions without extraposition. such sentences, as well as anticipatory -it

constructions with the expressions be sure, be certain, be said, be known etc. + that-clauses,

may undergo a transformation by which the subject of the extraposed clause is fronted from the

theme in the sentence, and the subordinate clause takes the form of a to-infinitive clause

(Tárnyiková, 1993, p. 19-31).

(1) It is certain that they will win election.

According to Pešek (2021, p. 196) extraposition can be also found in Czech language, but

mostly in spoken interaction, which is more spontaneous and informal. The emphasis is on the

intonation, and it is used to contrast a number of topics.

(1) Petra toho vídám každý den.

(2) Petrovi tomu říkám, že jeho otec přijel.

4.4.1 Translating sentences with extraposed clausal subject

In this part of the thesis, I would like to explain the main challenge of identifying and

translating sentences with extraposed clausal subject. As it was already described, constructions

with the formal subject it + verbs such as seem, appear, happen + that-clause, look similar to

sentences with extraposed clausal subjects, but they differ in that they have no corresponding

versions without extraposition. These are the ones I found in the text. For better understanding,

some of them can be seen in the chart below.

83

Arthur Golden My translation

I may have been no more than fourteen, but

it seemed to me I’d lived two lives

already. (p. 18)

I když mi bylo sotva čtrnáct, přišlo mi, že už

jsem prožila dva životy.

It seemed to me that my fantasies of

success might indeed come to pass. (p. 46)

Vypadalo to, že moje představy o úspěchu

se nakonec opravdu mohly naplnit.

It may seem strange that such an award

existed, but there’s a very good reason. (p.

57)

Možná vám přijde zvláštní, že taková cena

vůbec existovala, ale byl pro to dobrý důvod.

“It seems to me,” I said, “that everyone

will remember her as the girl who

surpassed Raiha.” (p. 58)

„Mně se zdá, že si ji všichni budou

pamatovat jako tu dívku, která překonala

Raihu,“ namítla jsem.

Sentences in the previous chart show that my strategy for translating sentences with extraposed

clausal subject was simple, I have decided to keep the word order mostly intact. The biggest

difference between these sentences is my own take on the word seem, which occurs in all four

examples.

4.5 Functional Sentence Perspective

According to Adam (2007, p. 9) the theory of functional sentence perspective (FSP) has been

closely connected with the Prague School of Linguistics.

The Functional Sentence Perspective theory analyses discourse into stretches of languages

(sentences, clauses or noun-phrases) called distributional fields, which serve as ground over

which the degrees of communicative dynamism are distributed. The degrees of communicative

dynamism are carried by syntactic elements which function as communicative units. According

to the degree of communicative dynamism, we can divide a distributional field into two basic

parts – theme and non-theme. The non-thematic part may be further subdivided into transition,

which has higher communicative dynamism than the theme, but lower than the rheme, and

rheme, which carries the highest degree of communicative dynamism. The theme and the rheme

never coincide and the theme is not associated with sentence initial position. In elliptical

sentence the theme and even the transition may be missing, but the rheme is always present

(Firbas, 1992, p. 14-20).

84

The degree of communicative dynamism of a sentence constituent depends on the interplay

of several factors which influence the relation of a constituent on the other sentence elements.

According to Firbas (1992, p. 6-8) these factors are:

o Linear modification factor – the word order of the sentence

o Contextual modification – the role of the context as signaling some items as thematic

o Semantic factor – the meaning and function of some items predetermines that they are

the most important

o Intonation

While in written language the distribution of communicative dynamism is the result of the

interplay of the first three factors (the linear modification, contextual and semantic factors), in

spoken language the fourth factor, intonation, has a decisive role, as the nuclear stress may mark

as rheme any element of the sentence (Firbas, 1996, p. 6-8).

Firbas (1996, p. 66) states that in an analysis of a text shows that the information conveyed

by the verb, or rather by its notional component, participates in the development of the

communication in one of two ways. It perspectives the communication either towards the

phenomenon presented by the subject, or towards the quality ascribed to the phenomenon

expressed by the subject or beyond this quality towards its specification. In other words, it

performs either the dynamic semantic function of presentation, or that of expressing a quality.

In consequence, the subject either performs the dynamic semantic function of expressing the

phenomenon to be presented, or dynamic semantic function of expressing the quality bearer.

The qualification ‘dynamic’ is necessitated by the fact that the semantic content concerned is

not viewed as unrelated to the flow of communication, but as linked with definite contextual

conditions and as actively participating in developing the perspective of the communication.

Vachek (1995, p. 14) states that when translating, we are faced with a great difficulty. The

translation should adequately express not only the factual content, but also its functional

perspective. The main factor that must be taken under consideration is theme – rheme. This

particular sequence is called the objective order; the opposite order would be called subjective

and would signal some degree of emotion on the part of the speaker/writer.

According to Vachek (1995, p. 32-33) the problem of word order in the sentence has always

been justly regarded as one of the most complex in linguistics. The reason for this complexity

is that in any language, including both English and Czech, the rules governing word order

cannot be reduced to the operation of just one single principle. In general, at least four factors

appear to be at work in determining the rules of word order.

85

The first of the four factors may be called the grammatical principle. According to the

principle, the position of each sentence element within the sentence is determined by its

grammatical function, i.e., by its functioning as subject, object, predicative finite verb,

adverbial, etc. Anyone familiar with the situation in English and Czech will instantly observe

that in the former this principle is asserted much more regularly the latter: as a matter of fact,

in English it is only by their positions in the sentence that the subject and the object can be

distinguished from each other at all – if they exchange their position in the sentence, the

meaning of the whole message may be fundamentally altered.

(A) Peter saw Paul – Paul saw Peter

In Czech, on the other hand, the grammatical principle plays a less important part, so that an

exchange of places between the subject and the object does not result in any essential semantic

shift within the transmitted message (Vachek, 1995, p. 33).

(A) Petr viděl Pavla – Pavla viděl Petr.

The second factor which co-operates in determining word order both in Czech and English

is the FSP linearity principle. This principle is asserted by organizing the elements of the given

utterance in conformity with Firbas’ rule, known as the basic distribution of communicative

dynamism. In Czech, the FSP linearity principle plays a more essential part than grammatical

principle, unlike in English (Vachek, 1995, p. 33-34).

The third factor that co-determines the order of words in a sentence is the emotive principle.

In Czech its operation must be studied against the background of the facts of functional sentence

perspective. As emotive utterances, belonging thus to the marked style, we have to evaluate in

Czech those which reverse the usual, unmarked ‘theme - rheme’ sequence, and open the

utterance with the rheme:

(A) I z fyziky nedostatečnou dostal.

In English, however, the situation is fundamentally different. In English we evaluate the

ordering of words as emotive when it deviates from the usual, unmarked word order prescribed

by the grammatical principle (Vachek, 1995, p. 34-35).

The fourth and last factor, according to Vachek (1995, p. 35-36), which participates in the

shaping of the order of works, if only as a subsidiary agent, is the rhythmic principle. In Czech

its operation rests in putting a rhythmically heavy element, i.e. a substantive or semantically

full-fledged word, in the last position in a sentence.

(A) Včera jsem se potkal s bratrem.

(B) Včera jsem se s ním potkal.

86

English differs from Czech in that it does allow a rhythmically light element to appear at the

end of sentences.

(A) He disappeared in the Amazon region and that’s the last time we heard of him.

(B) She sent me a Valentine card with a heart on it.

If such rhythmic aspects of the English sentence are taken into consideration, we can understand

more easily the fact that in English a special stylistic effect is reached by placing a rhythmically

very heavy sentence element at the beginning of a sentence. Both in English and in Czech the

operation of the rhythmic principle conforms very well with the operation of those principles

which dominate in those languages in determining their word orders, and does not come into

conflict with them: the grammatical principle dominating in English and the principle of

functional sentence perspective which constitutes the main shaping factor of the word order in

Czech (Vachek, 1995, p. 36).

An interesting feature of Czech becomes apparent when comparing Czech impersonal

constructions denoting both pleasant and unpleasant mental and physical states with

corresponding personal constructions used in similar situations in English. Such constructions

are, for example:

(A) Těší mě – I am pleased

(B) Je mi líto – I am sorry

(C) Mrzí mě – I regret

(D) Bylo mi zima – I feel cold

In all these and similar instances the speaker is indirectly affected by the concerned action, i.e.

he (or she) is not an agent but a patient. In Czech, this is reflected by denoting the speaker not

by a subject but the by the pronominal object of the personal construction. In English, the

situation is very different: the subject no longer has the function of denoting an agent, its main

function being to express the theme of the statement. In other words, the subject denotes a

person or a thing which is being predicated on; the verbal predicate does not denote here the

activity performed by the subject, but simply an action which is in some way related to the

subject (Vachek, 1995, p. 15). Some of these constructions appear in the original text translated

in this thesis, as can be seen in the following chart.

Arthur Golden My translation

(A) The others were on their way out to join

her, but I was the one she looked at, with an

expression that seemed to say she was very

Ostatní už byli venku, ale Dýně se dívala na

mě. V očích se jí zračila lítost. Mrzelo ji, jak

se vše v poslední době vyvíjelo.

87

sorry for the way things had turned out. (p.

10)

(B) And I’m sorry to say that the smell of

dirty hair was overpowering. (p. 21)

A bohužel musím přiznat, že zápach

špinavých vlasů byl nesnesitelný.

(C) You didn’t expect she’d be pleased at

your comment, did you?” (p. 46)

Snad jsi nečekala, že bude mít z tvého

komentáře radost?“

(D) It was a sad picture, and I was pleased

to learn that Pumpkin was doing better than

that. (p. 58)

Byla to smutná představa a já jsem byla

ráda, že se Dýni daří víc, než jak Mameha

předpověděla.

In the chart, there are two examples similar to Vachek’s (1995, p. 15) translations (examples

(A) and (D) to be exact), in which I kept the proposed structure, unlike in the other two examples

(sentences (B) and (C)), where I chose to replace the predictable structure. This decision was

made to support the flow of the story. To be more specific, in example (C) the structure was

changed to make the character’s speech more natural and realistic, as Mameha is a strong female

character in position of power, with a slight tendency for irony and sarcasm (which is the

purpose of her statement in example (C)).

Dušková (2003, p. 528) argues that while dealing with the Functional Sentence Perspective

(Aktuální členění větné or AČV in Czech) there are some differences between English and Czech

in the word order, because in Czech there is a strong tendency to sort sentences according to

the degree of communicative dynamism, whereas in English the grammatical structure of the

sentence often works against the sentence linearity. If a context-independent sentence contains

only a subject or an adverbial, the basic distribution of communicative dynamism in both

languages is a theme – transition – rheme.

(A) a boy broke a WINDOW /nějaký chlapec rozbil OKNO

(B) Tom has gone to the POST OFFICE /Tom odešel NA POŠTU

FSP should always be considered as one of the key elements of the translating process. This

is especially true when translating from English to Czech (or the other way around), because

these two languages are very different. Dušková (2003, p. 527-541) gives a number of ideas on

how to deal with it problem. One of the options is the use of articles. Indefinite articles normally

function as an introduction for rhematic object, which in Czech is always placed in the end of

the sentence, while the definite article points to a context dependent instrument which then

moves forward in the sentence (Dušková, 2003, p. 529).

88

Other examples that Dušková (2003, p. 527-541) mentions are for example the placement of

adverbials, the rhematic subject (also known as existential sentences) and passive, which has

already been mentioned earlier in this thesis.

When translating the original text, FSP was the key element of the whole process. While

working on the translation, I had to make a pause at one sentence, find the theme and the rheme,

reconsider the word order and then act accordingly. The following chart maps the process from

the first to final draft, showing the changes to word order according to the rules I have learned.

Arthur Golden First draft Final version

(A) The maids held

Pumpkin's arms while she

slipped her feet into the tall

wooden shoes we call

okobo, which an

apprentice geisha always

wears. (p. 8)

Služky pomohly Dýni nazout

vysoké dřevěné boty, známé

jako okobo, které jsou

běžně nošeny začínajícími

gejšami.

Služky pomohly Dýni nazout

vysoké dřevěné boty, známé

jako okobo, které běžně

nosí začínající gejši.

(B) During the spring of

1934, after I'd been in

training for more than two

years, Hatsumomo and

Mother decided that the

time had come for

Pumpkin to make her

debut as an apprentice

geisha. (p. 7)

Na jaře roku 1934, kdy už

jsem byla v učení více jak

dva roky, se Hatsumomo s

matkou rozhodly, že nastal

čas na Dýnin debut jako

gejša – učednice.

Na jaře roku 1934, kdy už

jsem byla v učení více jak

dva roky, se Hatsumomo s

matkou rozhodly, že nastal

čas na Dýnin debut. Měla se

stát gejšou-učednicí.

(C) When I needed to bow

to someone, I stopped my

feet. (p. 11)

Když jsem se potřebovala

někomu uklonit, musela

jsem zastavit své nohy.

Když bylo potřeba někomu

se uklonit, musela jsem se

zastavit.

(D) … then the woman

returned a respectful bow,

but not as deep as

Mameha's, and afterward

looked me up and down

before giving me a little

nod. (p. 12)

Tyto ženy pak poklonu s

respektem opětovaly, i když

ne tak hluboko, pak si

prohlédly mě od hlavy k patě

a věnovaly mi malé

pokývnutí hlavy.

Tyto ženy pak pozdrav

s respektem opětovaly, i

když se neklaněly tak

hluboko, pak si prohlédly mě

od hlavy k patě a jemně

přikývly hlavou.

(E) It wouldn’t surprise me

if you were able to make a

man faint right here on

the street. (p. 15)

Nepřekvapilo by mě, kdybys

pohledem přiměla muže

omdlít uprostřed cesty.

Nepřekvapilo by mě, kdyby

kvůli tvému pohledu na

ulici nějaký muž omdlel.

89

(F) Mameha talked with me

a while, and then just when

we were ready to leave,

asked me to pour her a

cup of tea. (p. 29)

Mameha si se mnou chvíli

povídala, a když nastal čas

odchodu, mě ještě požádala

o nalití šálku čaje.

Mameha si se mnou chvíli

povídala, a když nastal čas

odchodu, požádala mě ještě,

abych jí nalila šálek čaje.

To look at the chart in more detail, the first example (A) shows the process of working with

postponement, more specifically with the passive voice. In the first draft I made a choice to

keep the passive, something that has already been discussed in previous chapters, but then I

reconsidered, because in this specific case the sentences seemed very old-fashioned. In the end

the sentence was transformed from passive into active voice.

Example (B) shows a nice difference between Czech and English. In English, the

information can be expressed in just one whole sentence, but when translated into Czech, this

option becomes somewhat obscure. That is why the sentence was eventually split into two,

carrying the information more realistically.

Example (C) was a bit peculiar to me at first, because grammatically, the sentence is

completely appropriate. But in Czech, it just does not work this way. When we stop, we do not

stop just our feet, we stop our whole body, because it is carried on those exact feet. The similar

situation is in examples (D) and (E), these again show that Czech language is different and not

everything sounds natural when translated literally. In my opinion, when translating a piece of

fiction, it should not even be the aim.

The last example (F) shows one of the many cases in which seemingly challenging

translating situation can be easily remedied. As can be seen in the example, a somewhat

inconvenient sentence structure was fixed by creating a subordinate clause.

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5. CONCLUSION

This thesis consists of two parts. The first part constitutes of a translation of the three and a

half chapters of Memoirs of Geisha by Arthur Golden. This novel is very special to me, as it

was the first novel I have ever read in English. The language is quite advanced and I still

remember how challenging it was to read it, but just like in this thesis, I did not run away from

the hardship, I persevered and I still consider this novel my all-time favorite.

Many factors had to be considered while translating chapters from a novel set in such

different society and culture. Every time the main protagonist spoke or acted in any way, what

had to be kept in mind was the principle of politeness levels of Japanese society, not just in

Shōwa era, but also generally in Japan, because the author himself had a great grasp of what

was allowed and what unacceptable. What I mean by this is the bowing, the proper personal

distance, the way they interact, and especially the honorifics (such as -san), which are very

typical of Japanese society. Another decision that had to be made was about the Japanese

terminology. Some of the terms had to be translated for the sake of the text, but most of them

were kept intact to better illustrate the environment in which the story was set. Specifically for

this reason, footnotes were written to help readers understand the cultural and social context of

the story, based solely on my amateur knowledge of Japanese culture and habits.

The second part deals with a theoretical background and analysis of selected syntactic

structures encountered while working on this thesis. Altogether, sixty-five sentences were

analyzed and their representation in the thesis can be seen in the graph bellow.

57%

23%

12%

8%

ANALYZED SENTENCES

Passive voice Cleft sentences Clauses with hypothetical meaning Extrposition of clausal subject

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The theoretical part in general was the most challenging part of this thesis, because

identifying correctly some of the structures meant for my analysis was rather confusing

sometimes. Some structures can seem very similar and properly categorizing them requires a

certain level of linguistic skills. Also, as I know this novel very well, majority of the text was

at first translated without any guidelines from secondary literature, guided solely by my sense

of narration, which made the analysis that much harder.

It the theoretical part, the strongest subchapter is the first one, dealing with passive voice.

The reason for that is the number of analyzed sentences, which is the highest in this thesis (37

analyzed sentences). Three different strategies were used to translate these passive sentences:

keeping the passive, omitting the passive, and turning passive into active. All three options have

large representation in the text and the analysis shown that as they all work naturally, in the

end, it is up to the translator to choose the best possible option for the flow of the narration.

Personally, as a translator of this particular text, I wanted to keep the emotions behind some of

the sentences similar to the original text, so I went back and forth between keeping the passive

or turning the sentences into active voice, but in the end, I believe there can be seen reasonable

amount of all three cases, each positioned in the text so that it can benefit the natural flow of

the narration.

The three other subchapters dealing with cleft sentences, clauses with hypothetical meaning

and extraposition of clausal subject do not have such large representation in the text, but they

describe some specific problems which can manifest during the English-Czech translation and

therefore were very useful in while writing this thesis. What was surprised that some of the

elements do not exist the same way in Czech grammar, but it helped me realize why I was

struggling with translating some of them. But after finding their Czech equivalent the solution

was always found.

Apart from syntax, Functional Sentence Perspective is also discussed, as it is a crucial factor

in the translating process. This last subchapter is a representation of basic problems, which can

appear while translating from one language to the other. Some possible challenges are

mentioned as well as rules and ideas on how to solve them or even avoid them altogether. This

chapter is especially important because it changed my perspective as a translator. In the

beginning, when I started translating these chapters of Memoirs of Geisha, I based most of my

decisions solely on the feeling, ignoring all rules, simply turning sentences from one language

into another. But the product of this strategy was unreadable. What FSP made clear to me is

that both languages are extremely different, and they follow completely different rules or

grammar, word order, etc. So, after I was done with mechanical translation of the text, I started

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to focus only on the Czech side, reading the text as a whole, realizing how unnaturally my text

sounded. After many re-writes I finally believe I have made better and smarter decisions and

even though I might not be the best translator, I am quite proud of the work I have accomplished.

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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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