Memoirs of a Geisha Conclusion. It may not be accurate but it is a great novel nonetheless. Both of those things can be true. Golden's novel has become a household name but that should be used as a starting point for many people to learn more about a geisha and what they actually went through. No, it is not based on a true story. However, a real geisha, named Mineko Iwasaki, sued the author of the book because of defamation. Surprisingly, not the plot, but some characters in the book resembled some of the real characters in Mineko Iwasaki's life that she shared with the author in a private conversation. Culture Books News Memoirs of a geisha scorned Mineko Iwasaki, the greatest of the legendary Kyoto geisha girls, knew that Arthur Golden would retell her story in his four-million-selling .

is memoirs of geisha a true story