Lesley Downer

Presents the story of the geisha whose life inspired Puccini's Madame Butterfly, from her training in geisha traditions to her marriage to penniless actor and political maverick Otojiro Kawakami and her rise to international celebrity.

The Geisha who Bewitched the West

Madame Sadayakko

Madame Sadayakko was the ultimate geisha, so exquisite that the prime minister of the day paid a fortune to deflower her. But she was a rebel who wanted to carve her own path in life. In 1899 she married a subversive avant garde actor and, with a troupe of other actors, they set out on the first ever tour of the West by a Japanese theatre company. Sadayakko took to the stage and became an instant star. She danced for the American President and for the Prince of Wales in London, Picasso painted her, Gide swooned over her and Rodin admired her. But back in Japan, she suffered the stigma of being an ex-geisha and an actor and was forced, in the end, to make a terrible choice - between respectability and love.

Madame Sadayakko The Geisha who Bewitched the West

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