Referred to as simply “the Chairman” for most of the novel, Ken Iwamura is the gentle, dignified, and kind love interest of Sayuri. While most people in Kyoto would pay no attention to a crying girl on the street, the Chairman comforts the young Sayuri when he sees her weeping by a stream. The Chairman falls in love with Sayuri at that moment because he sees an honest openness in her eyes that is different from the lies and deceit in the rest of the world. An honorable and loyal man, the Chairman at first sacrifices a relationship with Sayuri in order to let his friend and business partner Nobu pursue a relationship with her. But when the Chairman realizes that Sayuri feels as much love for him as he does for her, his love for Sayuri outstrips his loyalty to Nobu. After the Chairman takes Sayuri as his personal geisha, he and Sayuri live out the rest of their happy lives in a flurry of passion and love.
Chairman Ken Iwamura Quotes in Memoirs of a Geisha
The Memoirs of a Geisha quotes below are all either spoken by Chairman Ken Iwamura or refer to Chairman Ken Iwamura. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
But how can I describe what I saw in that instant? He was looking at me as a musician might look at his instrument just before he begins to play, with understanding and mastery. I felt that he could see into me as though I were a part of him. How I would have loved to be the instrument he played!
Related Characters:
Sayuri Nitta / Chiyo Sakamoto (speaker), Chairman Ken Iwamura
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17
Quotes
“I'm the one who picked it,” Mameha said. "The fortune-teller doesn't pick names; he only tells us if they're acceptable."
“One day, Mameha,” Nobu replied, “you'll grow up and stop listening to fools.”
“Now, now, Nobu-san,” said the Chairman, “anyone hearing you talk would think you're the most modern man in the nation. Yet I've never known anyone who believes more strongly in destiny than you do.”
“Every man has his destiny. But who needs to go to a fortuneteller to find it? Do I go to a chef to find out if I'm hungry?” Nobu said.
Related Characters:
Toshikazu Nobu (speaker), Chairman Ken Iwamura (speaker), Mameha (speaker)
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 34
Quotes
In the instant before that door opened, I could almost sense my life expanding just like a river whose waters have begun to swell; for I had never before taken such a drastic step to change the course of my own future. I was like a child tiptoeing along a precipice overlooking the sea. And yet somehow I hadn't imagined a great wave might come and strike me there, and wash everything away.
Related Characters:
Sayuri Nitta / Chiyo Sakamoto (speaker), Chairman Ken Iwamura
Related Symbols:
Water, Rivers, and Streams
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
And so you can imagine that this kiss, the first real one of my life, seemed to me more intimate than anything I'd ever experienced. I had the feeling I was taking something from the Chairman, and that he was giving something to me, something more private than anyone had ever given me before.
Related Characters:
Sayuri Nitta / Chiyo Sakamoto (speaker), Chairman Ken Iwamura
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Chairman Ken Iwamura Character Timeline in Memoirs of a Geisha
The timeline below shows where the character Chairman Ken Iwamura appears in Memoirs of a Geisha. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9
When a geisha standing near the man calls him Chairman and tells him not to bother with the maid, the Chairman tells the geisha to...
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Chiyo watches the Chairman walk away before getting the shaved ice. She sits with the treat and thinks that...
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...become a geisha so that she could attract the notice of a man like the Chairman. After praying, she tucks the Chairman’s handkerchief into her sleeve and goes back to the...
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Chapter 12
...move with greater expressiveness and dignity. From that day on, Chiyo dances as if the Chairman were observing her movements, which gives her dance a deep sense of feeling.
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Chapter 13
...excited to finally get some attention from the people around her. She imagines pouring the Chairman a cup of tea while feeling his eyes peering at her face.
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Chapter 16
...to put on. Mameha says they’re going to a sumo match where they will entertain Ken Iwamura and Toshikazu Nobu, the joint directors of the Iwamura Electric company. Mameha says that the...
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...the man’s face, Sayuri realizes she made a mistake. It is not Tanaka, but the Chairman.
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Chapter 17
Sayuri had only seen the Chairman for the briefest moment years ago, but she had spent many evenings holding his handkerchief...
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...match, Sayuri finds herself staring at Nobu’s scars. She had been so preoccupied by the Chairman’s presence that she hadn’t even realized that Nobu was missing an arm. Though Sayuri didn’t...
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When the first match ends and the crowd quiets down, Sayuri turns back to the Chairman and says she has never been to a sumo match before. Hearing this, Nobu turns...
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...an electric wire. Worried that Hatsumomo will try to embarrass her in front of the Chairman, Sayuri points her out to Mameha. Mameha and Sayuri excuse themselves from the men so...
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...for “Mr. Lizard.” To keep herself engrossed in the conversation, Sayuri imagines Nobu as the Chairman. At one point she convinces herself that she and the Chairman are alone in quiet...
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Chapter 18
Now that Sayuri knows the identity of the Chairman, she begins to read every news magazine she can in hopes of learning more about...
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...geisha who has been the mistress of a close business associate or friend. Since the Chairman is Nobu’s business partner, Sayuri fears that she will never be able to be with...
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Chapter 19
...next few weeks, Sayuri and Mameha attend small parties and gatherings with Nobu and the Chairman. Before going out every night, Sayuri tells Auntie – in Hatsumomo’s presence – that she’s...
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On one occasion, Sayuri and a group of geisha are entertaining Nobu, the Chairman, and some other businessmen at a teahouse when Hatsumomo appears. All night, Sayuri doesn’t even...
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To convince Hatsumomo that she likes Nobu and not the Chairman, Sayuri loosens one of her ornaments so it lands in Nobu’s lap. At first, Sayuri...
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Chapter 22
...marvel at her beauty. After a few hours of walking around, she runs into the Chairman. Surprised at seeing him, Sayuri stares affectionately at him. The Chairman says he’s leaving the...
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As Sayuri and the Chairman approach the Chairman’s car, they run into the Baron. The Chairman gives the Baron the...
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After the Chairman drives off, Sayuri feels elated that she had the chance to talk with the Chairman...
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Over the last few years, Sayuri has developed the habit of tying the Chairman’s handkerchief to the inside of her kimono before going out to entertain men. Now, as...
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Chapter 23
On the night of the performance, Sayuri tucks the Chairman’s handkerchief into her sleeve as she puts on her costume. Sayuri is playing a maiden...
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Chapter 24
...to see Nobu, who often asks for her company. Whenever she’s with him and the Chairman at events, Sayuri hopes the Chairman will show a sign that he has affection for...
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Chapter 25
...he becomes her danna then she will never have a chance to be with the Chairman, because of the custom that prevents two business partners from pursuing the same geisha. All...
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In the days after her conversation with Mameha, Sayuri loses hope that the Chairman will ever become her danna. While entertaining at a group of boring men at a...
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Chapter 28
...on the General, but hopes that she now knows her true destiny. Thinking of the Chairman, Sayuri says that her true destiny lies with the man who runs the Iwamura Electric...
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...Sayuri feels nervous and afraid because she doesn’t know when she will see Nobu, the Chairman, or even Gion again. She remembers the fear she felt as a child when Mr....
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Chapter 29
...falling toward the ground.” She had spent almost everyday of her life yearning for the Chairman, but now she realizes that it is possible that she might never even see him...
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...she can perform a task for him. Nobu says that all through the war, the Chairman resisted converting their factories into military factories. By the time he agreed to cooperate, the...
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...Hearing him use the word destiny, Sayuri feels all of her hopes of winning the Chairman’s affection flood through her once again. Sayuri asks him if the Chairman will join them...
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Chapter 30
...she will bring a couple more geisha next time, and that Nobu should bring the Chairman so that the event will be more lively. Nobu agrees and lugs Sato out of...
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Chapter 31
On the night of the engagement, Sayuri arrives to find the Chairman all alone in the reception room. Startled to see him after all these years, Sayuri...
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...a good time. When it’s Sayuri’s turn, she considers telling the story about meeting the Chairman when she was a young girl. But after considering that the Chairman paid little attention...
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Chapter 32
...Gion on a weekly basis to drink and talk with Sayuri, Mameha, Pumpkin, and the Chairman. During these months, Sayuri sees more of the Chairman than ever before. She realizes that...
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...“Cruel Rain.” To give her performance emotional weight, Sayuri pretends that Nobu, and not the Chairman, is her danna. By the end of the dance, she feels almost overcome with sadness,...
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After Sayuri finishes the dance and sits back down, the Chairman asks about Pumpkin. Mameha says that she is ill and won’t be joining them tonight....
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One night a few months later, Pumpkin, Mameha, and the Chairman cannot attend the party, so Sayuri entertains Nobu and Sato alone. Nobu is in a...
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Chapter 33
...feels is her inevitable relationship with Nobu, she tries to erase all thoughts of the Chairman from her head, replacing them with thoughts of Nobu. But whenever she pictures Nobu, something...
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...that Nobu has proposed himself as her danna. Mother also says that Nobu and the Chairman have arranged for Sato, Pumpkin, Mameha, and her to fly this coming Friday to a...
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...off. But once it does takes off, Sayuri feels her body relax. She watches the Chairman get up to use the bathroom. She considers how the Chairman is the only man...
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...Nobu becomes her danna, then she will never have a chance of being with the Chairman.
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...explain any further, but that her future depends on Pumpkin bringing Nobu and not the Chairman. Pumpkin responds, “So it’s time for a favor from Pumpkin again, is it?” and then...
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...off when she hears the door open and sees in the doorway Pumpkin and the Chairman.
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Chapter 34
...her life expanding like a river whose riverbanks have swelled, but when she sees the Chairman, she feels only a sense of chaos. The next thing she remembers is being back...
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...Nobu in a private room of the teahouse. She dozes off and dreams of the Chairman touching her shoulder. When she awakes, she sees the Chairman beside her. Sayuri begins to...
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Recognizing the handkerchief, the Chairman asks if she remembers that day as well. Sayuri says that all these years she’s...
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The Chairman says that after meeting Sayuri that day, he asked Mameha to find and mentor the...
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The Chairman says that he values Nobu’s friendship more than anyone else’s. The Chairman explains that after...
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With great effort, Sayuri admits that she betrayed Nobu because of her feelings for the Chairman. She says that every step she took since that day by the stream has been...
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...why he kissed her if he is still planning to give her to Nobu. The Chairman says that Nobu withdrew his proposal to be her danna. The Chairman explains that when...
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Chapter 35
In the present, Sayuri says that the day the Chairman kissed her marked the end of her grief and suffering. Every day since leaving Yoroido,...
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To make his relationship with Sayuri easier for Nobu to accept, the Chairman has Sayuri stop being a geisha. This way Nobu would not have to see her...
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They are happy together and time passes quickly until the summer of 1956. The Chairman had two daughters with his wife and, during that summer, he arranges for his eldest...
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A week after Minoru Nishioka’s change of heart, Sayuri approaches the Chairman and suggests that she should relocate to New York and open up a traditional teahouse...
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...August of that year, Sayuri moves to New York and Nishioka agrees to marry the Chairman’s daughter. Before long, New York comes to feel as much a home to Sayuri as...
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One day, Sayuri and the Chairman walk through Central Park. Standing with two frail hands on his cane, the Chairman breathes...
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...her in her life. She awakens with tears streaming down her face and grips the Chairman’s hand, fearing his death. But when he dies only a few months later, she understands...
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