The story of the famous geisha Sajuri
The story of little Chiyo, who is destined to become the famous geisha Sajuri, begins in a poor Japanese fishing village where Chiyo grew up in great poverty until her mother's death. When she is sold to Gion, Kyoto's geisha district, at the age of nine, the girl suddenly loses her parents and older sister. Thanks to her charm and unusual grey-blue eyes, she does not become an ordinary prostitute, but begins the difficult path to becoming a professional geisha.
For a lonely girl from the countryside, pre-war Kyoto, with its beautiful teahouses and theatres, narrow side streets, ornate temples and artists' dwellings, is a world full of pitfalls and dangers. While learning the arts of the geisha - dancing and singing, wearing a kimono, intricate make-up and hairstyling, and seductively pouring sake - she also undergoes a fierce battle with the jealous older geisha Hacumomo, who hates her fiercely.
Chijo slowly makes her way into the fierce competition for the favour of men and the money that comes from it - and this fight stops at no meanness or intrigue. But when Chiyo overcomes all obstacles and becomes the geisha Sajuri, her own heart betrays her. Despite the fact that there is no room for true love in a geisha's life, Sajuri is determined to give up everything to get the only man she has ever wanted in her life. …