Naomi Graham (Diaz)
Owner, Site Designer, Researcher & Writer.

Through out my life, I have always had an interest in various ethnical cultures, arts, and traditions but the one that always shone out from the rest for me was the Japanese culture.

I've never really been able to quite place my finger on just what it is within the Japanese culture that continues to draw me in and fascinate me so. What I do know though, is that a little over five years ago, my interest in the culture slowly grew into an obsession of sorts, and I finally realized that I wanted to seriously study all that I could about the Japanese culture and the people themselves. Around about this time, I stumbled upon Liza Dalby's book, "Geisha".

"Geisha" made such a huge impact on my life and I instantly needed to know more about Geisha, living national treasures. Being somewhat artistically inclined myself, I found myself drawn to these mysterious women. In particular, I found myself understanding and even relating to their passions with their art: their never ending dedication in achieving perfection. I admired them for their strength and willpower to achieve in a male dominated culture. Most of all, I gained a true, deep found respect for these often misunderstood women.

After reading "Geisha", I found myself hunting down further books that I could find about these women. I also started to look on the internet for information. Much to my surprise and dismay, it lacked in any decent information about geisha what so ever.

I also become painfully aware of the huge misconception the Western world seems to have of geisha and the Japanese culture in general. This frustrated me to no end and as a result, the idea for Immortal Geisha started to form.

My initial plan for Immortal Geisha was much smaller than what it is today. I wanted a nice cozy place so I could provide well researched and accurate information about geisha and their lifestyle. To help people gain a better understanding of these unique women and the important part they played (and still play) in the Japanese society. Over the years though, I became more deeply involved with my researching than I ever imagined, and as a result, Immortal Geisha has grown beyond that small cozy place into a a large comprehensive research database. I've also taken it upon myself personally to preserve items of interest from geisha history, namely odori programmes, photographs and postcards, along with vintage books. In the short span of two years, my collection of geisha memorabilia has grown substantially. This collection, of course, is not just a private collection - but a collection I strive to share with the public, with those who may never get a chance to come across these themselves and as a result, you will find many gems on Immortal Geisha that you will never see in books.

With my researching and collection of memorabilia, I hope that in some small way, Immortal Geisha, and her sister site, Caged Birds, may help to preserve a slowly dying tradition and educate the public about what being a geisha truly details.