Mineko Iwasaki also known as Mineko Iwasaki, born Masako Tanaka, is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geiko. Iwasaki was the most famous Japanese geiko in Japan until her sudden publicized retirement at the age of 29. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki was an established heir or atotori to her geisha house while she was just an apprentice. American author Arthur Golden interviewed her for background information when writing his 1997 book, Memoirs of a Geisha. Iwasaki later regretted interviewing for Golden, having cited a breach of confidentiality and later sued then settled with Golden for the parallelism between his book and her life. She later released her own autobiography titled Geisha of Gion in 2002. 

November 2nd, 1949 in Kyoto (Age 75)