How It All Goes Down
- Two years pass, and Sayuri is ready for "turning the collar" (25.8).
- This is the ceremony held at age eighteen, when an apprentice becomes a geisha.
- Her collar is changed from the red collar of an apprentice to the white collar of a geisha.
- Now it's time to search for a danna, a man who will pay a great sum for exclusive privileges with a geisha.
- It is rumored that Nobu will be Sayuri's danna.
- Hatsumomo thinks this is funny, but even Sayuri isn't excited about it. She still wants the Chairman.
- Mameha tells Sayuri that love has nothing to do with it. She should be happy that Nobu will be her danna, even though she doesn't have fond feelings for him.
- Sayuri feels like her life is "burning down" (25.64) around her. Not a good metaphor to use about a man who has burns over half his body.
- Mameha collects her debt from Mother, which is like pulling teeth, and then she proposes another plan: a bidding war for Sayuri's danna between Nobu and General Tottori Junnosuke.
- She suggests that the General would be a better danna. He may not pay as much, but with war on the horizon, having a general as an ally would be an invaluable asset for the okiya.
- While Mother thinks this over, Sayuri continues business as usual, including entertaining at parties for Nobu, who glares at her as if he's angry.