I agree that the book was phenomenol. One of the sources that Mr. Golden used for reference was an American woman named Liza Dalby, who in the early 1970’s became the only Western (non Japanese) Geisha, that I’m aware of. Although not born in Japan, Dalby lived in Japan for during her teenage years, I think her dad was stationed in Japan, so she spoke some rudimentary Japanese and ultimately became fluent in the language. When she went to University, she discovered “cultural anthropology” and she ended up doing her thesis on the roles and customs of Geisha, by becoming one. I don’t think this is the same person who may have sued Mr. Golden, but Dalby’s own book “Geisha” gives a lot of insight into the lives of these women. Her book is very interesting, although it is a very different read, because it is a thesis and not a novel, but her information seems to corroborate a lot of the details and situations in Mr. Golden’s book. You can read more about Liza Dalby here
I thought of another good movie, “Shall We Dance?” The Japanese version, not the one with Richard Gere.