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I've just been reading 'Memoirs of a Geisha' – and am quietly amazed to realize that, even without classic good looks or sexy elbows, I've often been treated as a 'geisha' on my various academic research trips to Japan! I moved almost entirely among men and was frequently asked to 'sing for my supper – delicious sushi, tempura or whatever', by demonstrating my extensive knowledge of Japanese history, reciting verse or laughing prodigiously at various male jokes and insinuations. To cap it all, when I took my baby daughter with me to the Kansai, a bemused young male reporter from the Osaka edition of 'Mainichi Shimbun' listened to me pontificating innocently on Japan's modernization and economic development – and then left most of it out under the much more eye-catching banner headline »Mama-san koshi« (Mummy is a Lecturer.....). Has anything changed?!!
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