In 1929, two sisters, Chiyo and Satsu, are sold by their poor father and taken to Kyoto.
Once they reach the city, Chiyo is sold again to an okiya, an establishment where geisha
live and are booked; but Satsu is considered not pretty enough and is sold to a bawdy house.
In the okiya, Chiyo meets the ladies in charge: Granny, Auntie and the leader Mother, whose
attention immediately goes to Chiyo's blue eyes.
After being inspected, Chiyo is locked in her new room with another girl called Pumpkin,
who quickly tells her to stop yelling about her sister or she'll be hit with a stick.
Pumpkin also explains that if Chiyo behaves, she may be chosen to go to geisha school one
day.
The next day, Chiyo begins to work on chores with Pumpkin.
Chiyo gets a little upset when she learns they aren't allowed to leave the building,
but she doesn't mind gossiping with her new friend.
This is how she learns that this okiya's geisha likes to sneak around with a man, which isn't
allowed.
This geisha is Hatsumomo, who shows up to tell them to keep it quiet.
She also notices Chiyo's eyes and tells her to stay out of her room because she stinks.
Later, Chiyo learns that Mother only puts up with Hatsumomo because she brings in good
money - it's thanks to her that Chiyo is being fed.
The kimonos she wears though, are still not hers: they're extremely expensive and belong
to the okiya.
Chiyo works hard and well, getting Mother to send her to geisha school with Pumpkin.
This is the first time she leaves the house since she's arrived so Chiyo wants to try
to go looking for her sister, but Pumpkin doesn't let her because it could get them
in trouble.
At school, she learns various skills that geishas must know for their profession, like
dancing and hosting.
One afternoon, Chiyo is ordered to tidy up Hatsumomo's room, who she just saw getting
busy with a boy in secret.
Since the order comes from the house ladies, Chiyo can't ignore it, so when Hatsumomo finds
her touching her things, she gets angry.
As revenge, she tells Chiyo she knows where her sister is but denies telling her until
Chiyo swears herself to her.
In the evening, Hatsumomo comes back to the okiya with a fellow geisha friend.
They're both quite tipsy and looking over an expensive kimono they've paid a maid to
steal from Mameha, one of the district's most prominent geisha.
Hatsumomo makes Chiyo ruin the kimono with ink before taking it back to Mameha as a prank.
Chiyo is supposed to sneak around, but she fails and gets caught, with earns her a beating
with the stick and a bigger debt with the okiya because Mother had to pay for the kimono.
Afterward, Hatsumomo finds her and scolds her for failing, but Chiyo points out she's
kept her promise, so Hatsumomo finally tells her where Satsu is working.
She pretends she does it as a favor, but actually, she sees Chiyo as potential competition and
is trying to find a way to get her to leave.
A few evenings later, Chiyo walks with Hatsumomo to her next appointment to keep the umbrella
up for her under the rain.
Instead of waiting for her until she's done though, she runs to the red light district
to find her sister.
Satsu is happy to see her and explains she went to the okiya looking for her but she
was kicked out, so Chiyo explains nobody ever told her.
She wants to run away tonight, but Satsu needs to steal some money first.
They agree to meet the following night at the bridge, but Chiyo isn't sure she'll be
able to make it.
Satsu confesses she's already waited enough, and if Chiyo doesn't show up, she'll run away
alone.
Chiyo returns to the okiya and finds Hatsumomo getting busy with her secret boyfriend, causing
Hatsumomo to send him away before they're found.
Mother still hears noises and comes out, and Hatsumomo says she's caught Chiyo lying again.
As Mother begins beating her up, Chiyo realizes she doesn't owe Hatsumomo anything anymore
and tells Mother what she saw early.
Furious, Mother Hatsumomo's groin and confirms Chiyo's story is real, so she slaps her and
forbids her from seeing the boy again because geishas aren't free to love.
She also orders to bolt all doors - now nobody can leave the building without her knowing.
The following night, Chiyo decides to climb the roofs to try to escape in order to meet
with her sister, but she falls and gets severely injured.
Satsu escapes on her own and Chiyo never sees her again.
To make matters worse, news arrives that Chiyo's parents have died, and the doctor's bill has
been added to her debt.
Mother decides to stop investing in Chiyo's geisha training and keeps her as a mere servant
instead so she can pay the okiya back.
One afternoon, Chiyo stops by the bridge to think about how bad her life has gone.
That's when she's found by Chairman Ken, who doesn't like seeing a cute little girl sad
and buys her a shaved ice dessert to make her smile.
After admiring her eyes, Ken gifts her some money inside his handkerchief before leaving,
and Chiyo can't help noticing he's keeping two geishas as company.
It's then that Chiyo finally finds purpose in her life: she swears to become a geisha
so one day she can see Ken again.
She uses the money he gave her at the temple to make a wish, and she saves the handkerchief
as a memory of this special meeting.
Many years later, Pumpkin debuts as a geisha under Hatsumomo's tutelage while Chiyo, who
is now fifteen, continues to work as a servant for the okiya.
One evening, Chiyo runs to the dinner her friend is hosting to bring the instrument
she forgot and notices that Ken is among the guests.
However, when Ken hears a noise and comes outside to check, Chiyo runs away, not ready
to meet him yet.
A few days later, Mameha shows up at the okiya to talk to Mother.
She points out that since Granny died, a servant isn't very needed anymore, so she would like
to take Chiyo under her wing.
She'll cover Chiyo's expenses until her debut, and if in six months after her debut Chiyo
doesn't pay her debt back, Mameha swears to pay Mother twice over.
Mother is eager to accept such a deal, but Mameha adds one condition: if Chiyo does erase
her debt in that amount of time, then Mother won't have a part in her future earnings.
The okiya gets Chiyo ready to be sent back to training, which makes Hatsumomo jealous.
Pumpkin is supportive of her friend, but when Hatsumomo notices, she slaps Pumking and tells
her to stop because Chiyo is now her rival.
From then on, Pumpkin doesn't hang out with Chiyo anymore.
As promised, Mameha takes Chiyo under her wing and teaches her everything there's to
know to be a geisha.
Chiyo also gets to meet the Baron, who happens to be Mameha's personal patron.
Fortunately, Mameha has forgiven Chiyo for ruining her kimono because she knows it was
part of Hatsumomo's schemes and treats Chiyo like a sister.
Her lessons include the arts but also the right way to walk and charm men, among other
things.
The most important rule however, is that geishas are hosts and entertainers, not courtesans.
They don't sell their bodies.
Chiyo does her best to pay attention and learn all the tricks.
When she's finally ready, Mameha gives her a new name to be reborn as a geisha: Sayuri.
Her debut as a geisha comes during a dinner the Baron is having with some friends from
the military.
Her dance is very well received, but Hatsumomo is there too to throw passive-aggressive comments
at her.
Sayuri doesn't allow her to put her down and meets sass with sass, embarrassing her in
front of everyone.
Later in the okiya, Hatsumomo hits Sayori and promises to destroy her.
The next day, Mameha explains that Hatsumomo will spread rumors and try to steal her clients,
so they need to find a way to unwit her.
Mameha decides to take Sayuri to her first sumo match, where they'll entertain Ken and
his business partner Nobu.
Sayuri wants to chat with Ken, but Nobu is the boss of the company and the most important
catch, which means Mameha orders to entertain him instead.
Nobu usually doesn't like geishas, but Sayuri manages to impress him with her conversation
skills and subtle compliments.
Both women leave when Hatsumomo arrives with Pumpkin, not wanting to give them a chance
to start another argument.
A few days later, Mameha gets a plan rolling to undermine Hatsumomo.
The first step is for Sayuri to make a wound on her leg so she can be sent to see Doctor
Crab.
Sayuri is skeptical but follows Mameha's orders, and when Doctor Crab sees her bare skin, he's
charmed by her beauty.
Later, during another dinner with Ken and his business friends, Nobu gifts Sayuri a
beautiful comb.
In return, Sayuri secretly gives Nobu a special box with a rice cake as Mameha had previously
instructed her to.
After dinner, Mameha asks Sayuri to give another one of these boxes to Doctor Crab.
Sayuri doesn't understand what's going on, so Mameha finally explains: these boxes are
a way to announce Sayuri's deflowering ceremony is up for sale to the highest bidder.
Mameha sold hers when she was young too, and she got the highest sum ever paid, ten thousand
yen - this helped her pay her debt, and now Sayuri can do the same with her own.
However, when they go to see the doctor, he refuses to see them ever again.
This doesn't make sense, so when Sayuri returns to the okiya, she asks Pumpkin if she knows
anything about it.
At first, Pumpkin refuses to betray her mentor, but eventually, she gives in to honor her
old friendship with Sayuri and confesses that Hatsumomo told the doctor that Sayuri's lying
and she's already had lovers before.
The next day, Sayuri informs Mameha of this, but she tells her not to worry because there
is still plenty of fish in the sea.
The next part of Mameha's plan is to make Sayuri the lead in an incoming show, and she
even puts up signs all over town to advertise her blue eyes.
This makes Hatsumomo furious and never stops calling Sayuri by her old name.
The night of the show, all the other geisha dance together in a lovely performance, and
afterward, it's Sayuri's turn for her solo presentation.
Her performance is captivating and earns her an ovation from the public, including Ken,
Nobu, and the doctor.
Sayuri becomes the most popular geisha in town and manages to give the box to Doctor
Crab after convincing him not to listen to despicable rumors.
In fact, she's so popular that the Baron wants him at her estate for his next party.
Mameha at first refuses, not wanting Sayuri to work without her supervision because of
what they do to her, but the Baron makes it a direct order they can't refuse.
The day of the party, Sayuri gets to spend some time with Ken and learns he owes Nobu
his life.
Afterward, the Baron takes her to see his kimono collection, but this is just an excuse
to take her into a locked room with him and see her with no clothes on.
When Sayuri returns home, Mameha is furious because rumors are out and she believes them,
so Sayuri's deflowering ceremony may lose value, making her worthless.
Sayuri doesn't want to believe she's worthless, even if Hatsumomo keeps making fun of her
for it.
But later that night, Mameha shows up with a huge surprise: she's sold Sayuri's deflowering
for fifteen thousand yen, surpassing her own record.
This makes Mother decide that Sayuri will inherit the okiya, which destroys Pumpkin
because it had been her dream to be the next madam.
Hatsumomo gets furious because she's given it all to this okiya, but Mother explains
she's always known she wouldn't give it to Hatsumomo or her student because she's a manipulative
bastard that would've kicked Mother out as soon as she could instead of taking care of
her as they had done for Granny.
After Mother informs Sayuri that she'll have Hatsumomo's big room, Sayuri talks to Mameha
in private to thank her for everything.
Mameha explains Doctor Crab won the bid and that Nobu didn't participate because it goes
against his principles.
The actual highest bidder had been the Baron, but after his behavior, Mameha decided to
punish him by giving the win to the doctor.
This is how she knows Sayuri had been telling the truth about the Baron not having had his
way with her after all: nobody would pay this much for something they had already taken.
Mameha also admits it was her fault for not protecting her.
The night of her deflowering comes more quickly than expected, and Sayuri behaves perfectly
through it.
When she returns to the okiya, Sayuri finds Hatsumomo with Ken's handkerchief in her hand.
She intends to burn it, so Sayuri jumps on her to stop her, bumping into a lamp in the
process and starting a fire.
At first, the girls don't notice because they're too busy fighting, but when the flames begin
expanding, Sayuri begins crying for help.
However, a petty Hatsumomo actually decides to destroy more lamps to make the fire bigger.
Hatsumomo escapes the okiya after that, leaving Sayuri as the house's geisha.
At least the building is saved, even if they lose many of their precious kimonos in the
fire.
There's not much time to rebuild though, because that year the outbreak of World War II happens
and the town is warned about incoming attacks.
Most people are leaving for Osaka, but Ken knows that is the next target, so with Nobu's
approval and resources, he relocates the geishas to safe spaces: Mameha is sent to Kameoka
as a nurse's aid, and Sayuri is sent to the hills to work for a kimono maker.
Years pass and Sayuri is stuck in a routine of hard work and poor meals while the country
crumbled in constant battles.
It isn't until the war ends that Nobu comes to see her with some news.
Mother and Auntie escaped safely, but the Baron lost his business and ended things for
himself.
Ken is working hard in Osaka, but sadly, they've lost their factory as well.
Nobu wants to start rebuilding and soon he'll be meeting with an American colonel that has
the power to grant them a good contract.
He's shown the colonel a picture of Sayuri and he wishes to meet her, so Nobu asks her
to become a geisha again to help them get this contract.
Sayuri doesn't want to return to that profession, but she can't turn down the request when Nobu
mentions it would make Ken happy too.
Sayuri returns home only to find things have changed a lot: there are Americans everywhere,
and now every streetwalker with a painted face calls themselves a geisha, giving real
geishas a bad reputation.
When visiting Mameha, Sayuri discovers war has changed her as well: she's tired and heartbroken
over having lost the Baron, who she had feelings for.
She had to sell all her kimonos and jewelry to survive, and now she works renting rooms.
But after Sayuri begs for her help, Mameha accepts to join her next appointment by wearing
the one kimono she did keep, a memory from the day the baron accepted to become her patron.
While staying in town, Sayuri bumps into Pumpkin, who has become an Americanized escort.
Sayuri apologizes for what happened years ago, admitting the okiya should've gone to
her, but Pumpkin assures her she isn't angry about it anymore and she has plenty of clients
now.
Afterward, Mother reopens the okiya and helps Sayuri become a geisha again with the few
accessories they have.
The day of the business meeting, Sayuri meets Colonel Derricks, but she also gets to see
Ken again.
Nobu, Ken, Sayuri, Mameha, and Pumpkin travel with the American soldiers to the Amami Islands,
where they spend some time in the hot springs.
When everyone begins sharing stories, Sayuri tries to tell her tale about the special moment
on the bridge, but Ken doesn't allow her to finish.
Afterward, Derricks tries to proposition Sayuri, but she turns him down, explaining it's not
the geisha way.
Nobu sees them from afar and later, he snaps at Sayuri because he's in love with her and
doesn't want anybody else to have her.
Then he confesses he's in a hurry to rebuild his business because he wants to become her
patron.
After Nobu leaves her with a threat that he won't be refused, Sayuri goes to see Mameha
to complain about this situation.
However, Mameha disappoints her by saying she must accept because she owes Nobu her
life.
He treats Sayuri gently, and that's more than what any geisha can ever dream for.
Sayuri doesn't want to forget about Ken yet though, so she comes up with a plan to scare
Nobu away.
She finds Pumpkin and asks her for a simple favor: to bring Nobu to the garden at nine
p.m for a surprise.
At that time, Sayuri invites Derricks to her room to get busy with him, that way when Nobu
sees them, he'll consider her too dirty for his taste.
However, the person Pumpkin brings isn't Nobu but Ken, who leaves as soon as he notices
what's going on.
At Sayuri's distress, Pumpkin confesses this is her revenge for having had the okiya stolen
from her.
In the morning, a hopeless and heartbroken Sayuri throws the handkerchief into the ocean.
After a few days, Sayuri goes back to working as a geisha at the okiya.
A very important client wants her to come over to the tea house because he has an offer
to be her patron waiting for her, thus Sayuri thinks it must be Nobu.
However, when she gets there, she's surprised to find Ken instead.
It turns out Ken has always known Sayuri's the little girl from the bridge, and he was
the one that send Mameha to tutor her after he saw her night spying on Pumpkin's hosting.
Ken has always had feelings for Sayuri, but he never said anything out of respect for
his debt to Nobu.
Now though, Nobu isn't interested in Sayuri anymore because he's heard about Derricks,
so Ken officially asks Sayuri to take him as her patron.
Sayuri accepts and the two of them kiss as a sign of their new life together.