Arthur Golden
Encyclopedia
Arthur Golden is an American writer. He is the author of the bestselling novel Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the fictional story of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II...

(1997).

Golden is a member of the Ochs
Ochs
Ochs may refer to:People* Ochs In geography:* Klein Fiescherhorn, a mountain near Grindelwald, also named OchsOCHS may refer to:* Oaks Christian High School...

-Sulzberger
Sulzberger
Sulzberger is a surname and may refer to:* Arthur Hays Sulzberger , publisher of The New York Times from 1935 to 1961** Arthur Ochs Sulzberger , publisher of The New York Times from 1963 to 1992*** Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr...

 family (owners of the New York Times). He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

, grew up on Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Lookout Mountain is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,617 at the 2000 census. The city is located on Lookout Mountain, home to such attractions as Rock City and Ruby Falls. The city is also home to Covenant College...

, and attended Lookout Mountain Elementary School in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
Lookout Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,832 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Lookout Mountain is located at...

. He spent his middle and high school years at the Baylor School
Baylor School
Baylor School is a private, coeducational prep school on the outskirts of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The school was founded in 1893 and since 1915 has been located on the same hillside site by the Tennessee River. The school went through several incarnations: moving from an all-male military academy...

 (then a boys-only school for day and boarding students) in Chattanooga, graduating in 1974. He attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and received a degree in art history, specializing in Japanese art. In 1980, he earned an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in Japanese history at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, and also learned Mandarin Chinese. After a summer at Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...

 in Beijing, China, he worked in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. When he returned to the United States, he earned an M.A. in English at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

. He currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...

. He has a son (Hays Golden) and a daughter (Tess Golden).

After its release in 1997, Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the fictional story of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II...

spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list. It has sold more than four million copies in English and has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world.

The novel Memoirs of a Geisha was written over a 10-year period during which Golden rewrote the entire novel three times, changing the point of view before finally settling on the first person viewpoint of Sayuri. Interviews with a number of geisha, including Mineko Iwasaki
Mineko Iwasaki
, born , was Japan's number one geiko until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Arthur Golden later used her story to write the book Memoirs of a Geisha.-Geisha:...

, provided background information about the world of the geisha.

After the Japanese edition of Memoirs of a Geisha was published, Golden was sued for breach of contract and defamation of character by Iwasaki. The plaintiff claimed that Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity, if she told him about her life as a geisha due to the traditional code of silence about their clients. The lawsuit was settled out of court in February 2003.

In 2005, Memoirs of a Geisha was made into a feature film
Memoirs of a Geisha (film)
Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment and by Douglas Wick's Red Wagon Productions. It was directed by Rob Marshall. It was released in the United States on December 9, 2005 by...

 starring Ziyi Zhang and Ken Watanabe, and directed by Rob Marshall
Rob Marshall
Rob Marshall is an American theater director, film director and choreographer. He is a six-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe nominee and four-time Emmy winner whose most noted work is the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chicago.-Life and career:Marshall was...

, garnering three Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

.
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