Memoirs of a Geisha: Chapter 24 Summary & Analysis

The following day at Mameha’s apartment, Sayuri tells Mameha what happened at the okiya. Mameha says that she knew Mother would adopt Sayuri, because yesterday the bidding ended with Dr. Crab agreeing to pay 11,500 yen for her mizuage – the highest amount ever paid for a mizuage in Gion. The amount is enough to pay back all her debts. Mameha explains that if Mother hadn’t adopted Sayuri, then some of the money would have gone straight to Sayuri herself. But when Sayuri becomes the daughter of the okiya, any money she makes as a geisha will go to the okiya, meaning that Mother will make even more money off Sayuri.

To Sayuri’s surprise, Mameha doesn’t seem that pleased about this turn of events. Years later, Sayuri would come to understand that the bidding went so high because Dr. Crab ended up bidding against the Baron and not Nobu. Nobu did bid in the beginning, but soon dropped out when the prices got too high, since he had only a vague interest in mizuage. Dr. Crab and the Baron, however, had their minds set on Sayuri’s mizuage and were willing to bid heavily.

Mother formally adopts Sayuri the following week. As Mother’s daughter, Sayuri takes on the last name “Nitta.” A few days later, Dr. Crab and Sayuri drink sake together in a ceremony that binds them together in the tradition of mizuage. Afterwards, Sayuri and Dr. Crab go to a beautiful inn where, in a private room, Dr. Crab tells her to undress and lie on a futon. He then puts a towel underneath her. The Doctor says that the towel is for absorbing the blood. Since neither Mameha nor Mother told Sayuri what to expect from the mizuage, she nervously asks him, “Why blood?” He responds that “the hymen…frequently bled when torn.” Though she doesn’t understand what any of this means, Sayuri becomes anxious hearing him talk about the blood and rises up a little from the futon. The Doctor then puts his hand on her shoulder and gently pushes her back down.

Dr. Crab takes off his robe and gets on top of her. Sayuri tries to put a “mental barrier” between herself and the Doctor, but it’s not enough to keep her from feeling the Doctor’s “eel.” Sayuri feels uncomfortable and squeezes her eyes tight, wondering why a man would pay so much to do this to her. Sayuri smells a metallic blood smell in the air. Finally he finishes and thanks Sayuri before going to take a bath.

With the mizuage over, Sayuri feels such relief that she breaks out into a smile. She finds the whole experience so absurd that she has to stifle her laughter. When the Doctor comes out of the bath, he quickly gets into bed and falls asleep. As part of the customs of mizuage, Sayuri stays up all night in case the Doctor should need something. The next morning, the Doctor presents her with some herbs before he leaves. He says she should drink them every morning for a week so that she won’t need an abortion.

Before Sayuri’s mizuage, Mother didn’t care that Hatsumomo was causing Sayuri trouble in Gion, since Hatsumomo was the only one bringing in an income to the okiya. But since Sayuri’s record-setting mizuage put “a high price tag” on her, men are now willing to pay a lot just to be entertained by her. Now that Sayuri can bring in money to the okiya, Mother puts a stop to Hatsumomo’s troublemaking by threatening to make Hatsumomo pay for any money she prevents Sayuri from making. Sayuri now feels that she can go out to any party without fearing that Hatsumomo will get in her way.

Sayuri stops seeing Dr. Crab at the small teahouse, but she continues to see Nobu, who often asks for her company. Whenever she’s with him and the Chairman at events, Sayuri hopes the Chairman will show a sign that he has affection for her, but he only acts cordially. Nobu, however, looks at her as though she were the only person in the room. Sayuri worries that the Chairman shares none of the same feelings that she has for him.