This work traces the history of the Kimono - its designs, uses, aesthetics and social significance - and in doing so explores the world of the geisha, last wearers of the kimono. The colourful and stylized kimono, the national garment of Japan, expresses Japanese fashion and design taste, and also reveals the soul of Japan. Many today consider the kimono impractical, discarded by men for suits and ties a century ago, it is now only worn occasionally by women.

One of the famous work of Japanese literature is the eleventh-century Tale of Genji by a woman of the imperial court. This title evokes Murasaki's close family, the men and women she loved, the vortex of high politics she was drawn into at court, and the way in which Murasaki came to write her masterpiece.

Published with a new preface, this bestseller offers an intimate glimpse into a unique female community. Liz Dalby, the only non-Japanese woman ever to have trained as a geisha, reveals the realities of geisha life.

L'esperienza piu emozionante, in una casa del te, e ammirare una geisha che canta il suo kouta (breve canzone) favorito accarezzando con le dita le tre corde di uno shamisen. I lenti accordi ritmici simulano i battiti del cuore, mentre il luccichio purpureo della bocca rimbalza da una nota all'altra e l'eco di ognuno di quei rimbalzi ti si ripercuote nel petto. I testi dei misteriosi ed antichi kouta raccontano le storie d'amore e di morte, le piccole invidie e gelosie, i drammi profondi, le rivalita artistiche e le amicizie, insomma la vita quotidiana di queste spirituali Sacerdotesse...