Liza Dalby

Dalby's first non fiction book, Geisha (filmed as American Geisha), is based on her experiences in Japan's various geisha communities, specifically within the district of Pontochō in Kyoto.[4][8] In the book, Dalby writes of her experiences in both the contemporary geisha communities of the mid 1970s and the experiences of geisha in previous decades, emphasising a number of changes in the community and the profession of geisha stemming from WWII, changes in the economy and the changing status of women in wider Japanese society, amongst other issues. Dalby writes about the tightly knit geisha community, and the lives of the geisha within its hierarchical society of female artists, cutting between vignettes from her experiences in the geisha community and wider explanations of the many facets of geisha in Japanese society.[9]

Murasaki Shikibu depicted in formal Heian period clothing in this 17th century illustration by Tosa Mitsuoki

Geisha was followed by a book about kimono, entitled Kimono: Fashioning Culture; Fashioning Culture leading on from the last chapter of Geisha, which briefly covers kimono in the context of geisha. In an interview with Salon.com, Dalby explained that in 11th century Japanese court literature, female authors such as Murasaki Shikibu wrote lengthy descriptions of the clothing people wore, with outright descriptions of people's faces or names considered highly rude and almost non-existent in Heian period literature; as such, definitions of beauty and high fashion of the time period centred around the symbolism represented in the layering of clothing and its interaction with the depiction of nature and the seasons in Heian period art and literature. The fine interaction between clothing and art was often described in texts such as Murasaki's The Tale of Genji.[4] In the book, Dalby presents essays about the social symbolism of the kimono, as well as its development over a period of several centuries, beginning in early 7th and 8th century Japan, through to the present status of the kimono in post WWII Japan, and the reasons behind wearing the kimono in a modern society where the kimono is no longer the predominant item of clothing.[10]

Heian era court life depicted in a 19th century ukiyo-e illustration of The Tale of Genji by Hiroshige

Dalby's The Tale of Murasaki, a fictional biography of Murasaki Shikibu, 11th century court poet, whose work The Tale of Genji is considered a classic, was published in 2000. Dalby stated her decision to write a fictional account of Murasaki's life was driven by the fact that she "couldn't contribute anything scholarly".[4] Fascinated by an 11th century Heian period court culture oriented for the most part around poetic art and literature reflecting the natural world, Dalby wove much of it into the book, writing about the clothing the women wore; the love affairs they had; the manner in which poetry was frequently exchanged; and the seclusion of women within the Heian period court, where they were often seen by men behind screens, their faces unseen by lovers. Dalby explains that the geisha society did not develop until at least 500 years later, and that a lady-in-waiting such as Murasaki would not have had the temperament to become a geisha, due to the reserved nature expected of court women at the time.[4]

Dalby followed The Tale of Murasaki with her memoir, entitled East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir Through the Seasons, published in 2007. In the book, Dalby follows a system of time and the seasons derived in ancient China, wherein a year is divided into 72 five day periods. The memoir consists of 72 vignettes, titled as chapters in lowercase letters, such as "chrysanthemums are tinged yellow".

The New York Times Book Review praised East Wind Melts the Ice, calling Dalby's writing style "eccentric", presenting unusual yet interesting material, weaving together experiences from Japan, China and northern California to create a "wealth of information".[8] Dalby received praise from Booklist for the manner in which she uses a stream of consciousness style of writing, to create a work in which the Eastern concept of time is contrasted with the Western; her ability to see with an anthropologist's eye and yet to bring an imaginative and creative view to the book; and, in particular, to bring together the various places she has lived, from Kyoto, where she lived as the first Western woman to unofficially become a geisha in the 1970s, to northern California, where she currently lives.[11]

Dalby's second novel, Hidden Buddhas: A Novel of Karma and Chaos, was published in 2009, in which she returns to writing fiction. In this book, set in modern day Japan, Paris, and California, she writes a story set against the backdrop of the concept of hibutsu (secret Buddha statues) in Japanese Buddhist temples.[12]