Memoirs of a Geisha
2005 film by Rob Marshall · Released November 29, 2005
Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 American epic period drama film directed by Rob Marshall and adapted by Robin Swicord from the 1997 novel of the same name by Arthur Golden. It tells the story of a young Japanese girl, Chiyo Sakamoto, who is sold by her impoverished family to a geisha house (okiya) to support them by training as and eventually becoming a geisha under the pseudonym "Sayuri Nitta". The film centers around the sacrifices and hardship faced by pre-World War II geisha, and the challenges posed to geisha society by the war and a modernizing world. It stars Zhang Ziyi in the lead role, with Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Youki Kudoh, Suzuka Ohgo, Samantha Futerman and Ken Watanabe.
Cast ages at release (November 29, 2005)
- Zhang Ziyi, as Chiyo Sakamoto/Sayuri Nitta: 26
- Ken Watanabe, as Chairman Ken Iwamura: 46
- Kōji Yakusho, as Nobu: 49
- Suzuka Ohgo, as young Chiyo: 12
- Gong Li, as Hatsumomo: 39
- Michelle Yeoh, as Mameha: 43
- Kaori Momoi, as Kayoko "Mother" Nitta: 54
- Tsai Chin, as Auntie: 68
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, as the Baron: 55
- Ted Levine, as Col: 48
- Paul Adelstein, as Lt. Hutchins: 36
- Karl Yune, as Koichi: 30
- Nobu Matsuhisa, as Kimono Artist: 56
- Mako, as Mr. Sakamoto: 71
- Randall Duk Kim, as Dr. Crab: 62
- Samantha Futerman, as Satsu Sakamoto: 18
- Togo Igawa, as Tanaka: 59
- Youki Kudoh, as Pumpkin: 34
- Elizabeth Sung, as Mrs: 51
- Eugenia Yuan, as Korin: 29
- Kenneth Tsang, as the General: 70
- Zoe Weizenbaum, as young Pumpkin: 14
- Yōko Narahashi, as Mameha's Maid: 58
- Takayo Fischer, as Teahouse Mistress: 73
- Shizuko Hoshi, as older Chiyo: 71