Geisha

We were sitting at the food court of the Ala Moana Shopping Center today grabbing an early lunch before taking my mom to the Senior Fair to get a flu shot. We noticed a child with a back pack which looked like a disguised child safety leash. It reminded me of the time we nearly lost our son in a crowded gathering in Chicago when he was about 3 years old. The terror of my tale triggered a memory for mom. Here is her story translated.

“Did you know I got lost once? I was about 5 years old and we’d come back to Japan from Molokai. We were walking through a huge department store in Yokohama and there was so much to see. That’s when an exquisite wedding doll caught my eye. I’d never seen anything so wonderful before. I couldn’t stop staring at it. When I finally looked up everybody was gone and I started to cry. I didn’t know what to do. It was then that the most beautiful geisha you will ever see came to me. She had on a luxurious kimono and her hair was elaborately fashioned. She was more beautiful than any movie star and very kind. Taking my hand and speaking in a soothing voice, she took me to the department store management who called the police. When I was older your grandma laughed and told me that they’d asked me what my name was and I told them, “My name is Hiroko and my father is the honorable priest Stupid Head.”

I’m not sure how to translate that phrase but it showed the temper that my mom is on some occasions capable of having.

Mom says she remembers her grandfather carrying her home from the department store. I’m thinking she may not have quite forgiven her father just yet.

It was interesting to me as I listened to this story that it shed some light on how some of my mom’s feelings were shaped by that early encounter.

When I was growing up, nobody was allowed to denigrate geishas in front of my mother. You could never ever intimate that a geisha was a prostitute. My mom always made it clear that geishas were extremely gifted and trained woman of elegance and beauty. It was more than an explanation, she was very defensive of her childhood champion.

Therefore, I guess my point is that every little thing you do for someone else may have far reaching consequences for good or bad. It’s something you have to think about when you make your choice.