A List
2/7/05

MYTH OF THE GEISHA EXPLORED IN TALK AT SLU

CANTON -- Critically acclaimed author and Japanese scholar Lesley Downer 
will give a lecture titled "Culture as the Art of the Geisha" at St. Lawrence 
University on Thursday, February 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 123 of the 
Griffiths Arts Center. It is open to the public, free of charge, and 
Downer will sign books following the event.
	The myth of the exotic Geisha has allured the West as a cultural 
icon of Japan for well over a century, since Commodore Perry opened its 
doors to the outside world in 1854. Popularized in Western arts from Pierre 
Loti's Madame Chrysanthème to Giacomo Puccini's celebrated opera, Madame 
Butterfly, the image of the Geisha is still enshrouded in mystery.  
Comparable to film stars, singers and dancers of today's pop culture, they 
were fashion leaders in old Japan, closely associated with the Kabuki 
theater and woodblock color prints.
	Downer is the author of On the Narrow Road, which was short-listed 
for the Thomas Cook Travel Book of the Year Award; The Brothers: The Hidden 
World of Japan's Richest Family, chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of 
1995; and the highly acclaimed The Secret History of the Geisha: Women of 
the Pleasure Quarters. She  is also a frequent contributor to The Wall 
Street Journal.
	The event is sponsored by the Asian Studies Initiative and 
supported by a grant from the Freeman Foundation.

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