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Liza Crihfield Dalby is an American anthropologist and novelist specializing in Japanese culture. Her book Geisha (filmed as American Geisha) is based on her experiences with the geisha community in Kyoto's PontochÅ. However, despite incorrect reports that she was the only non-Japanese woman to ever be a geiko, she was in fact never one. Although she supposedly accompanied geiko-friends on some of their engagements, she never went through the formal processes of becoming a geiko (or maiko) herself, nor was she formally associated with any of the okiya or ochaya in Kyoto. Her attendance at such parties was at the invitation of her friends only, and clients were not billed for her attendance. Other books by her include Kimono: Fashioning Culture, a history of the symbolism and cultural meaning of kimono in Japanese culture; and a novel The Tale of Murasaki, the fictionalized account of the life of Murasaki Shikibu. Her unique experience in the geisha community led her to serve as a consultant for the 2005 movie Memoirs of a Geisha starring Zhang Ziyi. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. She is married to Michael Dalby, managing director of Stylus LLC. They have 3 children: Marie, Owen and Chloe, and live in Berkeley, California.
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