Pumpkin
Pumpkin was Chiyo's only friend when she came to the okiya but later turned out to be her worst enemy.
Pumpkin was introduced as chiyo's only friend in the okyia, she arrived at the okiya a few months before Chiyo did so they were both close in age and became fast friends. Pumpkin was given hatsumomo as an older sister, She was treated badly by her as was chiyo but not quite as much because Hatsumomo had to teach her the ways of a geisha and win the bet they made with Mameha. During the time it took for both girls to become geishas Pumpkin became jealous of Chiyo because she was much prettier and more succesfull than she. When Gion was shut down she got a job in a factory which is a geishas worst nightmare. When the bombs destroyed the factory she was forced into prostitution with the American soldiers .This only made her hatred and jealousy towards Chiyo even stronger, when Chiyo asked Pumpkin to bring Nobu(Chiyo's soon to be danna) to see Chiyo and another man being extremley intimate. She instead brings the Chairman, the man that Chiyo loved, shaming Chiyo and making her regret her decision. Pumpkin and Chiyo never regained their friendship, although Chiyo tried Pumpkin couldnt look past what she had done to her. On pge 39 we first meet pumpkin and learn how she got the nickname. "her body was narrow, but her face was plump and almost perfectly round ....within a few days I had given her the nickname of pumpkin." another quote is on page 235 "Pumpkin I want so much to ask you a favor,but.....I'm afraid you won't be happy when you hear what it is....'It doesn't matter,'..... 'Nothing makes me happy anymore. ' " Pumkin at this point is regretting ever going up against Chiyo in the bet, they used to be friends and now her life has been anything but joyful. They were still friends when this happened but were forced not to talk to one another to keep the bet fair. Lastly we learn of Pumpkins hatred when she brings the chairman instead of Nobu Pumpkin says, "Do y ou remember that Sayuri? After I'd gone out of my way to help you with that Doctor.....you turned it all around and stole what was mine.......How does it feel now?" This was the breaking point of their friendship up until then Chiyo had hoped that pumpkin and her would somehow be able to be friends and now all of that hope had vanished because now Chiyo had grown to dislike Pumpkin too.
Pumpkin was introduced as chiyo's only friend in the okyia, she arrived at the okiya a few months before Chiyo did so they were both close in age and became fast friends. Pumpkin was given hatsumomo as an older sister, She was treated badly by her as was chiyo but not quite as much because Hatsumomo had to teach her the ways of a geisha and win the bet they made with Mameha. During the time it took for both girls to become geishas Pumpkin became jealous of Chiyo because she was much prettier and more succesfull than she. When Gion was shut down she got a job in a factory which is a geishas worst nightmare. When the bombs destroyed the factory she was forced into prostitution with the American soldiers .This only made her hatred and jealousy towards Chiyo even stronger, when Chiyo asked Pumpkin to bring Nobu(Chiyo's soon to be danna) to see Chiyo and another man being extremley intimate. She instead brings the Chairman, the man that Chiyo loved, shaming Chiyo and making her regret her decision. Pumpkin and Chiyo never regained their friendship, although Chiyo tried Pumpkin couldnt look past what she had done to her. On pge 39 we first meet pumpkin and learn how she got the nickname. "her body was narrow, but her face was plump and almost perfectly round ....within a few days I had given her the nickname of pumpkin." another quote is on page 235 "Pumpkin I want so much to ask you a favor,but.....I'm afraid you won't be happy when you hear what it is....'It doesn't matter,'..... 'Nothing makes me happy anymore. ' " Pumkin at this point is regretting ever going up against Chiyo in the bet, they used to be friends and now her life has been anything but joyful. They were still friends when this happened but were forced not to talk to one another to keep the bet fair. Lastly we learn of Pumpkins hatred when she brings the chairman instead of Nobu Pumpkin says, "Do y ou remember that Sayuri? After I'd gone out of my way to help you with that Doctor.....you turned it all around and stole what was mine.......How does it feel now?" This was the breaking point of their friendship up until then Chiyo had hoped that pumpkin and her would somehow be able to be friends and now all of that hope had vanished because now Chiyo had grown to dislike Pumpkin too.
Chiyo
Chiyo was not born and raised to be a Kyoto geisha.
Chiyo herself says this on the first page of the story. She immediately begins her story with her predicament and her life in her hometown, Yoroido. Chiyo was young and naive in when she still lived there, believing that her ailing mother would become healthier soon and she and her family would be safe forever. This, however, was not the case. One rainy day, when Chiyo was sent into the village to retrieve some incense for her father, she slips, causing her to meet Mr. Tanaka. Chiyo states, upon recalling that afternoon: “That afternoon when I met so-and-so…was the very best afternoon of my life, and also the very worst afternoon.”(pg 7). This meeting changed her life forever and soon she is on her way to Kyoto with her sister. Once in Kyoto Chiyo and her sister are separated, Satsu is sent to a whorehouse while Chiyo is sent to an okiya to become a Geisha. Months later Satsu and Chiyo plan to escape, and although Satsu makes it just fine, Chiyo fails to run away and still holds the hope of seeing her sister once again.
A few years after her attempt to run away, Chiyo finds herself crying on the banks of a river as the realization of her predicament and the possibility that she will never be a geisha now sinks in. This is when she meets the Chairman. In the Gion district of Kyoto, the average man walking around would not even look at a crying girl on the street, and probably only speak to her to tell her to get out of their way, but the Chairman did no such thing. He stopped and asked her what was wrong before handing her some yen to go and buy a cone of shaved ice. This quote from page 113, “In that brief encounter with the Chairman, I had changed from a lost girl facing a lifetime of emptiness to a girl with purpose in her life.” explains that Chiyo’s life has forever changed by the Chairman’s kindness. Chiyo took his kindness to heart, and put the remaining coins into an offering box at the local shrine to pray to become a geisha. Chiyo kept his handkerchief with her all the time after that and hoped that she would one day meet him again, not as a lowly maid, but as a geisha.
Chiyo herself says this on the first page of the story. She immediately begins her story with her predicament and her life in her hometown, Yoroido. Chiyo was young and naive in when she still lived there, believing that her ailing mother would become healthier soon and she and her family would be safe forever. This, however, was not the case. One rainy day, when Chiyo was sent into the village to retrieve some incense for her father, she slips, causing her to meet Mr. Tanaka. Chiyo states, upon recalling that afternoon: “That afternoon when I met so-and-so…was the very best afternoon of my life, and also the very worst afternoon.”(pg 7). This meeting changed her life forever and soon she is on her way to Kyoto with her sister. Once in Kyoto Chiyo and her sister are separated, Satsu is sent to a whorehouse while Chiyo is sent to an okiya to become a Geisha. Months later Satsu and Chiyo plan to escape, and although Satsu makes it just fine, Chiyo fails to run away and still holds the hope of seeing her sister once again.
A few years after her attempt to run away, Chiyo finds herself crying on the banks of a river as the realization of her predicament and the possibility that she will never be a geisha now sinks in. This is when she meets the Chairman. In the Gion district of Kyoto, the average man walking around would not even look at a crying girl on the street, and probably only speak to her to tell her to get out of their way, but the Chairman did no such thing. He stopped and asked her what was wrong before handing her some yen to go and buy a cone of shaved ice. This quote from page 113, “In that brief encounter with the Chairman, I had changed from a lost girl facing a lifetime of emptiness to a girl with purpose in her life.” explains that Chiyo’s life has forever changed by the Chairman’s kindness. Chiyo took his kindness to heart, and put the remaining coins into an offering box at the local shrine to pray to become a geisha. Chiyo kept his handkerchief with her all the time after that and hoped that she would one day meet him again, not as a lowly maid, but as a geisha.