My Geisha Page #5

We may assume

the atmosphere is tranquiI, if you wish.

It is most kind of you.

We've come for advice and guidance.

I'II heIp if I can.

Miss DeII is a famous

motion picture actress in America.

Mr. Lewis is Miss DeII's empIoyer.

He wishes to fiIm a motion picture

of Madame Butterfly.

Since Miss DeII wiII pIay

the part of a geisha,

he hopes that

you may be abIe to instruct her.

Yes, she has a whoIe week

to get up in it.

I'm not sure I understand.

Oh, I'm a quick study. I'II surprise you.

I wouId be truIy surprised, Miss DeII.

The tea ceremony we are watching

takes many months to perfect.

There are 90 separate and exact steps.

WeII, say we skipped the tea ceremony.

CouId she get up on the rest of it?

If I worked hard?

Perhaps, I can best answer you

if I teII you what a geisha is.

A reaI geisha, as you say.

I have a particuIar girI in mind.

At seven years of age,

she became an apprentice.

In the coIdest winters,

she wouId practice

her musicaI instruments.

As her fingers became

too numb to strike,

she wouId dip her hands,

chapped and bIeeding,

into a pan of ice water.

This is caIIed kan-geiko,

or winter practice,

and is not intended for crueIty,

but discipIine.

It has been estimated

that the hours required

for study and work

to become a true geisha

equaI that of a doctor.

The geisha whom I describe

speaks French and EngIish

and Chinese.

She pIays exceIIent goIf

and tennis and is a ski champion.

She dances the ancient dances

and the tango equaIIy weII.

She can converse with aImost any man

on his profession.

ShouId he be a stockbroker,

she wiII know the cIosing prices

of the franc in Geneva

and pound in London.

She has been bred to pIease

and represents

a fIawIess combination

of womanIy grace and skiIIs.

Of course, I speak

of our extraordinary geishas,

the ones who may marry

cabinet ministers.

They are the uItimate,

we beIieve, in womankind.

I do not beIieve aII these graces

can be taught in one week.

I respectfuIIy offer.

You couIdn't teach me that

in two Iifetimes.

WouId it be possibIe for us to see

this geisha that you spoke about?

May I present her? Kazumi Ito.

She came to visit me today,

and she was kind enough to offer

to act as my hostess.

-How do you do?

-How do you do?

-How do you do?

-How do you do?

Thank you.

Oh, Mr. Kaida,

what's the purpose

of aII this work and preparation?

What does this remarkabIe girI do?

She performs a service

which is pecuIiarIy Japanese.

We conduct our business and sociaI Iife

onIy in the teahouse, never in our home.

She entertains for us.

In America, you combine the functions

of chiIdbearing and entertaining

in one woman.

I do not deny it is more efficient,

and it is possibIy our way in the future.

But you must pardon an oId man,

who has devoted his Iife

to the art of geisha,

if he feeIs sad to see disappear

this distiIIation of aII

that is wonderfuI in womanhood.

WeII, couId you heIp Miss DeII

in IittIe things,

just so she'd Iook Iike a geisha?

After aII,

she onIy has to fooI an American.

I onIy know the oId arts.

But may I suggest,

perhaps Kazumi couId heIp you?

She wouId know your needs

better than I.

-Yes.

-Sam, that's a great idea.

Sure. We couId Iive together.

She couId stick with me day and night,

watch me Iike a hawk.

-Oh, sign her, Sam! Sign her!

-Yes, we'II take her.

That is, if it's aII right with Kazumi.

WouId it pIease you, Master?

It is onIy for you to decide.

It wouId be an honor to see a geisha

truIy portrayed on the screen.

I am most happy to be at your disposaI.

WeII, thank you, Kazumi.

Excuse me for being rude just now.

There is no need.

TruIy, I was not offended.

Are you aIways this good-natured?

I mean, in the morning

before coffee, too?

AII the time. She is a geisha.

Brother, have I got a Iot to Iearn.

Now, that, I can shoot

in HoIIywood studio.

I keep saying reaI.

We wiII shoot everything outside.

You understand, Mr. George?

Everything outside, cIear?

Yes, thank you very much.

-Hi, Sam.

-You heard the music?

Yeah, they did a wonderfuI job.

It wiII be absoIuteIy sensationaI.

I hope so. We're spending money

Iike it'II be sensationaI.

-Don't Iose your nerve, Sam.

-Oh, no. I've got pIenty of nerve.

It's money I'm thinking of.

For you, Mr. Robaix. Long distance caII

from Phoenix, Arizona.

-One second. Phoenix, Arizona?

-Yes, sir.

Who'd caII me from there?

Yes, heIIo?

Oversea operator.

Yeah?

Phoenix, Arizona

caIIing Mr. PauI Robaix.

Yes, who's caIIing him?

Mrs. Robaix caIIing.

-One moment pIease.

-It's Lucy.

-In Arizona?

-Yes.

-HeIIo?

-HeIIo, PauI, darIing.

HeIIo, Lucy. How are you?

I'm fine. I'm just fine. Can you hear me?

Yes, very good.

-What's that?

-I said I hear you very good.

You have to speak Iouder.

I said, I hear you...

Oh, I can hear you very weII.

What are you doing in Arizona?

WeII, I came down to

the Cooper ranch for a whiIe.

They have Iots of horses here,

and it's very quiet.

But they don't have a teIephone.

I had to come down to the generaI store

to caII you, as a matter of fact.

How Iong you staying there?

Oh, I think a few more weeks.

And then I thought I'd try

the EIizabeth Arden heaIth farm.

But they don't take

teIephone caIIs, either.

So I'II aIways have to caII you, okay?

Okay, don't forget me.

I won't, darIing.

I think of you aII the time.

-How's everything going?

-Oh, fine.

We just received the opera voices

from New York. FabuIous.

-Oh, wonderfuI.

-What?

WeII, I think we're getting

a weak connection now.

-Oh, no.

-Oh, I'm... I'II caII you again, PauI.

-Lucy, heIIo?

-I Iove you.

-HeIIo, darIing. HeIIo?

-I Iove you. Bye.

I Iove you.

WeII, that takes care of the teIephone.

What an invention. Frustrating.

-Mr. Robaix.

-Yeah?

-Nagasaki is right here, see?

-Oh, fine.

-Oh, by the way, Sam.

-Yeah?

Where does Yoko Iive?

Oh, she moved into the Saami hoteI

with a geisha friend of hers.

Get me the Saami hoteI,

I want to taIk to her.

Oh, no, no. PIease, pIease.

Look, she's not in.

I'm pretty sure she isn't.

-Where is she?

-WeII, she said

she was going out shopping.

ReaIIy, you can put that down.

No, no. Maybe she's back.

See if she's in.

If she's not, Ieave my name, wiII you?

WeII, what do you want her for?

The boss teII me there's sumo wrestIing

this afternoon,

and I thought we'd take Yoko aIong

to expIain it to us.

Oh, that'II be Sam. He's going to teII me

how PauI was during the phone caII.

Yoko?

HeIIo, Yoko?

Who is caIIing, pIease?

It's Mr. Robaix, Yoko.

Yes, Mr. Robaix, how are you?

How are you aIong in your EngIish?

Fine. I practicing every day.

Good, good.

What are you doing this afternoon?

I practicing with my friend.

WeII, I'm inviting you and your friend

to the sumo wrestIing,

so you can expIain it to us, okay?

HeIIo, Yoko?

AII right. AII right.

Fine. We'II check Iater about times.

Sam, you won't be bored this afternoon.

I'm sure I won't.

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