I am delighted to inform that one of the members of Arai Academy, an English journalist specialised in Japan, is happy to share her deep observations and hands-on experiences of Japanese culture and society. I appreciate for this opportunity and I am sure that deeper understanding on Japan will facilitate your language learning for the learners. Japanese people will also get benefits if you will be able to explain about one of the most curious cultures for your foreign friends.

Topic: The geisha and their world
 
Speaker: Lesley Downer - Her profile is as below.
                            
Date: Wednesday 14th of November 2018
 
Time:  18:00 - The door opens
          18:15-19:10 Presentation by Lesley Downer (in English)
          19:00-19:30 Group discussion
                          (Two groups; one in Japanese & the other in English)
 
         *You can join the event any time you can.
                      
Venue: City Business Library, Guildhall, London EC2V 7HH
           (Nearest Tube stations-Moorgate, Bank & St Paul’s)
 
Price: £5 for the room charge + donation for the speaker (at the event)
         *Please pay £5 by cash or bank transfer to Arai in advance.
 
Booking: Maximum 25 people. Your friends are welcome!
             Please book by 'Contact'.
            *Your booking will be completed once you make a payment.


Ms Lesley Downer -  Journalist and writer

Lesley Downer is one of the very few westerners ever to have broken into the closed and mysterious world of the geisha. Even Japanese know very little about who the geisha really are and what they do. To research her books Lesley spend six month living among and befriending geisha in Kyoto, Tokyo, Kanazawa, Fukuoka, Atami and other cities. She talked to geisha and their customers, attended geisha parties, hung out with maiko (apprentice geisha) and geisha house owners, and learnt how to distinguish a geisha from a Japanese woman in a kimono, what happens when you take a geisha to Disneyland, what becomes of geisha when they grow old and much else. She also met and became friends with male geisha (taikomochi). She will talk about her experiences and illustrate her talk with many pictures.
 
Lesley Downer first went to Japan more than thirty years ago and her life has revolved around Japan ever since. She is the author of many books on Japan, including Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World, Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha who Seduced the West and a quartet of novels set around the Meiji Restoration: The Last Concubine, The Courtesan and the Samurai, The Samurai’s Daughter and The Shogun’s Queen.
 
Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Geisha-Secret-History-Vanishing-World-ebook/dp/B013SY90NM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
 
Official website: https://www.lesleydowner.com/