Memoirs of a Geisha

Chiyo/Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi) and her sister,Satsu, were sold to the geisha houses when their mother was ill.Chiyo had to live under the same roof with the wicked geisha, Hatsumomo (Gong Li).She despised Chiyo,claimed that she stinked and had forbidden Chiyo to enter her room.Hatsumomo made Chiyo swear herself to her in exchange of her sister's whereabouts. The only friend she had was Pumpkin,who was also a trainee.

Hatsumomo bribed Mameha's(Michelle Yeoh) maid for her exquisite kimono & forced Chiyo to destroy it with ink.she forced Chiyo to return the kimono & was caught.Chiyo had to take the blame & got beaten up badly back home by the Okiya 'Grandmother' & 'Mother'.

When Chiyo & her sister finally reunite,they decided to run away the following nite.They arranged to meet at the Sasame Bridge to escape from the life of a geisha trainee.Unfortunately,the doors of the house have been locked that fateful nite because of Hatsumomo's rendevous with Koichi.Hatsumomo tried to frame Chiyo for stealin money.However,Chiyo exposed her of her rendevous.Hatsumomo was slapped by 'Mother' & she ordered the doors to be locked.Chiyo had tried to escaped by climbing up to the rooftop.she slipped off & fell to the ground.the doctor was sent to the house to treat Chiyo. 'Mother' gave her her parents' tablets and a letter informing her of her parents' death.Chiyo had dishonoured the house rules & had to pay her price by being a slave.

One fine day, Chiyo was chanced upon by the Chairman (Ken Watanabe). He comforted & encouraged her.she donated the money he gave her to the temple & wished that she would be become her geisha & meet him some day.

Little did she know that the Chairman would one day pay Mameha to groom Chiyo.She adopted a new name, Sayuri. She was groomed within months & this angered Hatsumomo.Hatsumomo was grooming Pumpkin to become the next geisha.she forbade Pumpkin to talk to Sayuri again,for they were rivals.Hatsumomo stooped low in order for Pumpkin to outshine Sayuri.Her plans were foiled & Sayuri's performance as a maiko was outstanding.she won the hearts of many men.Tho' the highest bidder was Mameha's Danna (sponsor), The Baron was the highest bidder, she let Doctor Crab win the bid.(Mameha) had fallen in love with her Danna.Nobu,the Chairman's partner,did not bid for Sayuri as it was against his own principles,tho' he had already fallen in love with her.he had always hated geishas. 'Mother' adopted Sayuri as her daughter & successor of the Okiya.

After the war with the Americans were over,Nobu went to the plains to look for Sayuri.he and the Chairman needed the geishas to come together to entertain the Americans in order to attain a contract with them.Sayuri had planned to let Nobu catch her in bed with the Colonel.

Pumpkin,thought to be her best friend,was aware of her feelings for the Chairman & set her up.the Chairman caught Sayuri in bed with the Colonel instead.Just when she thought the Chairman's respect for her was lost,he arranged to meet her at the teahouse.he told her the truth bout him payin' to groom her & his feelings for her.