Politics is not the main reason why Japanese criticize Memoirs of a Geisha

'Geisha' reopens old wounds

Hollywood casting puts China, Japan at odds once more

BEIJING — China and Japan, which are at each other’s throats over any number of issues, finally seem to agree: Hollywood’s latest release is a cultural dud.

The Hollywood movie “Memoirs of a Geisha,” which had its world premiere Tuesday in Tokyo, has triggered consternation in Japan because none of the three lead actresses is Japanese. Two are Chinese; the other is an ethnic Chinese from Malaysia.

Those polled about the matter in Tokyo questioned why Hollywood chose Chinese actresses to portray geishas, quintessentially Japanese women trained in traditional arts of singing, dancing and accompanying wealthy men.

Source - KansasCity.com

Many papers suggest that Memoirs of a Geisha is not well accepted in Japan because of politics between Japan and China. Simply untrue. Casting Chinese actors and actresses in a movie that is supposed to take place in Japan itself is not a problem if actors and actresses can act Japanese convincingly. However, the movie lets all actors and actresses (including Japanese actors and actresses) speak English. The movie has no intention of making it authentic. There are many Hollywood movies like this including Enemy at the Gates, Chocolat and Alexander. Why would replacing the original language with English ever make the movie authentic? It would never make the movie authentic. This is no rocket science. In case of Memoirs of a Geisha, the story is supposed to take place in Japan, but no one speaks Japanese; as a result, Japanese audience says that the movie has no authenticity. It's not a good movie. That's all they are saying.