Part 1
Transcriber’s Note:
This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character (e.g. _some italic text_). For other changes see the Transcriber’s Note at the end of the text.
THE NIGHTLESS CITY
不夜城
OR THE “HISTORY OF THE YOSHIWARA YŪKWAKU”
By J. E. DE BECKER
_Twenty Years a Resident of Japan_
“Virtuous men have said, both in poetry and classic works, that houses of debauch, for women of pleasure and for street-walkers, are the worm-eaten spots of cities and towns. But these are necessary evils, and if they be forcibly abolished, men of unrighteous principles will become like ravelled thread.”
73rd section of the “_Legacy of Ieyasu_,” (the first Tokugawa Shōgun.)
With Numerous Illustrations
Third Edition Revised
Yokohama Shanghai Bremen
MAX NÖSSLER & Co.
London
PROBSTHAIN & Co.
14 Bury Street, W.C.
_Copyright_,
BY THE AUTHOR.
_All rights reserved._
PRINTED BY THE BOX OF CURIOS PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO., YOKOHAMA. JAPAN.
Contents
PAGE.
History of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku 1
Nihon-dzutsumi (_The Dyke of Japan_) 15
Mi-kaeri Yanagi (_Gazing back Willow-tree_) 16
Yoshiwara Jinja (_Yoshiwara Shrine_) 17
The “Aisome-zakura” (_Cherry-tree of First Meeting_) 18
The “Koma-tsunagi-matsu” (_Colt tethering Pine-tree_) 18
The “Ryo-jin no Ido” (_Traveller’s Well_) 18
Government Edict-board and Regulations at the Ōmon (Great Gate) 18
The Present Ōmon 19
Of the Reasons why going to the Yoshiwara was called “Chō ye Yuku” 21
Classes of Brothels 21
Hikite-jaya (“_Introducing Tea-houses_”) 28
The Jū-hachi-ken-jaya (_Eighteen Tea-houses_) 41
The “Amigasa-jaya” (_Braided Hat Tea-houses_) 42
The “Kujaku Nagaya” 42
The “Kembansho” 43
Classes of Prostitutes 44
“Kamuro” (_Young Female Pages_) 52
Shinzō 55
Yarite (_Female Managers_) 59
The “Kutsuwa” 62
The “Wakaimono” (_Male Servants_) 63
Hōkan and Geisha 67
The Europeanization of the Yoshiwara and the Introduction of Loochooan Courtesans 84
Zegen (_Procurers_) 85
The Dress of Courtesans 94
Coiffures of the Yūjo 99
Rooms of the Yūjo 104
Tsumi-yagu no koto 108
Sōbana (“_All round tips_”) 112
Shokwai (_First Meeting_) and Mi-tate (_Selection of Women_) 112
I-tsuzuke no koto 118
O cha wo hiku to iū koto 118
Shiki-zome no soba-burumai no koto 119
Shashin-mitate-chō (_Photograph Albums for Facilitating the Selection of Women_) 121
Signs and Cyphers Showing the fees of Courtesans 123
System of Book-keeping in the Yoshiwara 124
Brothel Advertisements 130
Ageya no sashi-gami (_Summons to the “Ageya”_) 134
Yoshiwara Dialect 136
Magic Charms of the Yoshiwara 140
Yoshiwara “Pot-pourri” 156
Dai-ya no koto (_Cook-houses of the Yoshiwara_) 158
Famous Things of the Yoshiwara 160
Peddlers, Hawkers, and Beggars 160
The Examination of Licensed Women at the Hospital for Venereal Complaints 163
Results of Medical Inspection 166
Mu-sen Yū-kyō (_Going on a “Spree” without having any money to pay for it_) 167
Yoshiwara-gayoi no Jinrikisha. (_The Jinrikisha Traffic of the Yoshiwara_) 170
Sanya-uma da-chin-dzuké (_The Cost of Hiring Horses to and from the Yoshiwara_) 174
Byō-chū oyobi In-shoku no koto (_Of the Sickness of Prostitutes and of Their Meals_) 176
Hiké no koto (_Closing Hours in the Yoshiwara_) 177
Kōchō no koto (_The Next Morning_) 177
Hiru-jimai Yo-jimai no koto (_The Day and Night Engagements of Courtesans_) 177
Raku-seki no koto (_The Removal of Names from the Register of the Yoshiwara_) 178
Gwaishutsu oyobi tōbō (_Exit and Flight from the Yoshiwara_) 180
Yūjo byō-shi oyobi jō-shi no koto (_Of the Death and Double-suicide of Courtesans_) 183
Shin-Yoshiwara no Bodaiji (_The Cemetery of the Shin-Yoshiwara_) 186
Karitaku no koto (_The Temporary Prostitute Quarter_) 186
Dōchū no koto oyobi tsuki-dashi no koto (_The Processions of Yūjo and the First Appearance of “Recruits” in the Yoshiwara_) 191
Yo-misé “Suga-gaki” no koto (_The Night Exhibition and the Suga-gaki_) 201
Daijin-mai no koto (_Dancing of Millionaires_) 206
Daikoku-mai no koto (_Daikoku-mai Dancing_) 210
Introductory Songs of the “Daikoku-mai” 211
Dote-bushi no koto oyobi Hayari-uta (_Dote-bushi (Songs) and Popular Songs_) 214
Annals of a Year 217
Naka-no-chō no Hana-ue (_Flower-planting in the Naka-no-chō_) 229
Tōrō no koto (_Lanterns_) 232
Niwaka Dancing 235
Tori-no-machi 245
Yoshiwara Nana-fushigi (_The Seven Mysteries of the Yoshiwara_) 246
Yoshiwara no Kyō-ka (_Comic Poetry_) 247
Yoshiwara Kwai-rok-ki (_Chronology of Fire Disasters in the Yoshiwara_) 248
Furi-sodé Kwaji (_The Great Fire of Meireki_) 254
Mei-gi ryaku-den (_Brief Sketches of the Lives of Famous Courtesans_) 261
Takao 261
Hana-ōgi 264
Tamakoto 267
Katsuyama 268
Segawa 270
Usugumo 271
Ōsumi 274
Ko-murasaki 275
Kaoru 278
Kokonoye 281
Kinokuni-ya Bunzaemon 282
The Laws Relating to the Control of Prostitution 288
Forms of Contracts between Brothels and Courtesans 303
The Medical Aspect 311
Result of Medical Inspection in the Shin-Yoshiwara, 1898 315
Result of Medical Inspection in the Shin-Yoshiwara. January to April 1899 315
Statistics _re_ Social Evil in Japan in 1898 316
Pros and Cons 316
Correspondence from the _“Japan Times”_ 316
Notes on “Jigoku” or Illicit Prostitutes 326
Appendix
The Government of “The Nightless City” 331
Details of “_Employees_” Books 342
The Medical Inspection of Prostitutes 344
Special Inspection 345
Hospital Regulations 347
Medical Statistics 359
Digest of the Regulations of the Yoshiwara Guild 361
The Validity of Debts 366
“Yarō”—“_Peccatum illud horribile, inter Christianos non nominandum._” 367
“Golgotha”—The Last Hours, Death, and Burial of a Courtesan 373
Five Curious Legal Documents actually used in the Yoshiwara in 1902 380
List of Illustrations.
FACING PAGE.
Map of the Yoshiwara in 1846 Preface
Present Plan of the Yoshiwara After Preface
Procession of Courtesans 1
Artist Painting Mural Decorations 14
A Familiar Guest in a Brothel 16
The “_Ō-mon_” or Entrance Gateway of the Yoshiwara 18
Street scene in the “_Naka-no-chō_” 22
Entertainment given by a Redeemed Yūjo 28
Guests Diverting Themselves with _Geisha_ 28
A Guest being Conducted to a Brothel 28
Outside a Third-class Brothel at Night 36
Types of Modern Courtesans 44
An Ancient “_Shirabyōshi_” 46
A “_Yobidashi_” of the Yoshiwara 46
Type of Modern Courtesan in “State” Costume 48
Type of Dress Worn by a Courtesan 50
Modern Courtesan and Her Attendants 52
Modern Courtesan, Attendant, and _Kamuro_ 54
The _Début_ of a “_Shinzō_” 56
_Geisha_, Dancing the “_Kapporé_” 68
_Geisha_, _Hōkan_, and Guest 72
A Rainy Day in the Yoshiwara 104
Courtesan Making Her Toilette 106
Courtesans Composing Letters to their Guests 106
Arranging “_Tsumi-yagu_” 108
Introduction of Courtesans to Guests 112
Courtesans Making Their Toilettes 114
Interior of a Brothel at Night 116
Guest Detained by “Love and Stress of Weather” 118
Courtesans on Their “Rounds” 120
Guests Making Their Toilettes 122
The “_San-ya-uma_” 177
Modern Courtesans in Their “Cages” 202
Street scene in the Yoshiwara a Hundred Years Ago 206
Courtesans about to pay New Year’s visits 218
Gathering of Courtesans at the “_Hassaku_” 224
Preparing “_Mochi_” for the New Year 228
Courtesans Viewing Cherry Blossoms. 230
Illuminated Lanterns 232
The “Feast of Lanterns” 232-a
Night scene in the Yoshiwara 234
The “_Niwaka-odori_” (1801 to 1803) 236
Modern “_Niwaka-odori_” 240
The “_Tori-no-machi_” 244
A Fire in the Yoshiwara 248
Inspection Day 346
The “_Yarō_” 368
The Grave of a Courtesan 372
Tombs of “Double-suicides” 376
The “_Mu-en-dzuka_” 378
[Illustration: Map of the Yoshiwara in 1846.]
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
So long as the human race shall last, so long as human appetites demand illegitimate gratification, so long as human blood shall course hot in the veins, so long as men have passions, so long as women are frail, so long as illicit pleasure has attraction for bewildered wallowing humanity, and so long as lust—“the headstrong beast”—stalks through the earth, venery and dissipation will undoubtedly continue to claim thousands of unhappy victims.
“Vice, like disease, floats in the atmosphere,” and not-withstanding the strenuous efforts which have been made in all countries and ages to eradicate prostitution, it still exists rampant and invincible.
History demonstrates the sad truth that all human efforts have been—and probably will ever be—unequal to the task of stamping out the social evil from our midst, and we are therefore forced to recognize that the most we can hope to achieve in the direction of ameliorating its consequences is to regulate and control its worst features.
Many and earnest have been the vain attempts of European reformers to grapple with the evil, but their efforts have invariably ended in disappointment. The Church has thundered and anathematised, the secular authorities have enacted severe and even cruel laws, but the courtesan still survives and will doubtless survive and flourish until the waters of Time have engulfed the World.
Japan has not stood still among the nations in her endeavour to solve the problem of prostitution, and the present system of legal control is to all intents and purposes a development of that inaugurated _well-nigh three centuries ago_.
While admitting the existence of objectionable features in the Yoshiwara, it is evident that a system which has stood the test of three hundred years must possess _some_ good points to account for its long lease of life, and it is also manifest that in the course of three centuries a great many curious customs—some good, some bad—must have crystallized around the institution.
Being no partizan or special pleader, I have simply confined myself to what I believe to be assured facts, and hope that the contents of the volume will be of interest and service to persons who are anxious to impartially investigate the customs of one of the most remarkable institutions in this country. I have compiled this book with the object of providing foreign students of sociology, medical men, and philanthropists, with some reliable _data_ regarding the practical working of the system in the leading prostitute quarter of the Japanese Metropolis, and I leave my readers to form their own opinions as to the pros and cons of the success or otherwise achieved by the plan of strict segregation adopted in this country.
To Japanese who may think that the Yoshiwara is a disgrace to Japan I would remark that this Empire has by no means a _monopoly_ of vice; and to foreigners who declaim against the “immorality of Japanese” I would say frankly—“Read the ‘_History of Prostitution_’ by Dr. W. W. Sanger of New York, also the ‘_Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon_’ which appeared in the Pall Mall Gazette fourteen years ago. You cannot afford to criticize this country too closely, for you certainly dare not lay the flattering unction to your souls that you, as a race, have any _monopoly_ of virtue.”
The Author.
Tōkyō, 1899.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
Subsequent to the anonymous publication of the first edition of “_The Nightless City_” in 1899, the author was severely remonstrated with by certain unctuous persons for writing a work which lays bare a phase of Japanese social phenomena before which all writers (with the notable exception of Mr. Henry Norman) have studiously drawn a veil. To this class of persons he neither owes, nor offers an apology; but, in order to obviate any misunderstanding of his motives, it may be well to explain the _raison d’être_ of the book.
The voluminous _data_ on which is based the science of Medical Jurisprudence, the records of all Courts, and the experience and common knowledge of mankind, prove the universal existence of the “social evil” to be, a present and undeniable _fact_.
History shows that from the earliest ages society was never free from the devastating influences of a vice which arises from an apparently inextinguishable natural impulse inherent alike in human beings and in the lower creation. Wrap ourselves up as we may in a mantle of prudery, refuse as we may to recognize the evil, it is still there, and like the poor, it will probably “be with us always.”
We can no more hope, to eradicate or suppress it than to control an earthquake or harness the winds and waves! Its existence being thus palpable, is it not far wiser to frankly recognize and investigate the phenomenon with a view to control, by judicious regulations, the current of the vice and direct it into channels where it may be, at least to a certain extent, grappled with and arrested, than to foolishly close our eyes and refuse to discuss the subject on the cowardly plea that we may possibly disturb the “conventionalities” by publicly and fully investigating the evils of prostitution?
The author utterly denies the proposition that there can be any impropriety in enquiring into the facts of a matter which virtually affects, either directly or indirectly, the whole community; on the other hand he affirms that much good may be done by collecting facts and statistics which may prove of value to the legislator, the philanthropist, and the clergy. Without adequate data, how can we ever hope to devise measures of a preventative or ameliorative nature, and how can such _data_ be obtained if we are all to be deterred from necessary investigations by the mawkish sensibility of Mrs. Grundy?
Legislators of all nations, at different times, have apparently endeavoured to crush out or control prostitution, and by various high-handed methods sought to single out and distinguish, for the alleged protection of the public, women known to be guilty of leading a professedly abandoned life. Moses, the great Jewish law-giver, hurled cruel and oppressive edicts against improper unions among the children of Israel. Greece made the _Disteriads_ wear a distinguishing costume, and, branding these women with infamy, made regulations by which they were subjected to the control of the municipal police, and were forbidden to offend the public by open indecency. Rome required the registration of its prostitutes, who, under the directions of the _Ædile_ were forced to wear special garments and to dye their hair a certain colour. Mediæval Europe tried (among other gentle (!) measures) sumptuary laws, banishment, scourging, branding, the stake, the gibbet, the block, outlawry; while the spiritual powers launched against prostitution all the terrors of religious anathema, threatening physical torment and strict excommunication in this world, and in the world to come everlasting damnation!
Modern Europe, while outwardly wearing a spotless garment of professed self-righteousness, and turning up its goggling eyeballs in sanctimonious horror at the bare suggestion of anything being amiss with _its_ morality, knows well enough that its various Governments are secretly struggling with the problem through their police, and that the latter have found no satisfactory solution of the matter notwithstanding many serious essays.
Thousands of miles away from Europe, and practically cut off from all intercourse with the rest of the world at large, the Japanese, found themselves confronted with the same problem and, after various attempts at control, they endeavoured to solve the question in a manner far more practical than that of the Europeans. They were astute enough to see that human passions could not be changed by human legislation, and instead of attempting impossibilities they started in to limit and control what they knew they had not the power to prevent; so, with the object of rendering the evil as inoffensive as possible, the authorities decided upon setting aside certain areas within which prostitutes were allowed to pursue their calling subject to various stringent laws. These quarters were fenced in and moated, their great gateways carefully guarded, and so successful did the system prove in many respects that it has been maintained (with certain modifications) up to the present day.
Human nature is fixed and immutable, is, always was, and ever will be the same; and while race environment and education may affect its outward form, the _animal_ man is essentially the same throughout the entire globe. This being so, it is evident that the experience of one nation or country may often be of considerable value to other peoples if accepted and applied _mutatis mutandis_ to the circumstances and needs of the latter; thus it is always well to investigate the results of institutions foreign to our own in a candid and receptive frame of mind before concluding that we possess a monopoly of wisdom in our own home lands. Moreover, human nature is so constituted that when a separate community is established in such a manner as to be practically unaffected by pressure from the outside, its units are sure to co-operate, however unconsciously, in moulding new customs and habits and even superstitions, which gradually crystallize into time-honoured precedents by immemorial usage. The Yoshiwara, during its three centuries of existence, proved no exception to the rule, and in the course of years its inhabitants became slaves to numberless precedents, with the result that some extraordinary customs were developed and even yet linger on in a modified form. A serious consideration of these facts induced the author to believe that it would be of value to students of sociology throughout Europe and America to be provided with all available _data_, as to the ins and outs and the working of this unique and purely native Japanese system of control—a system of which the Westerners have had no experience whatsoever. The result of his labours was “_The Nightless City_” this new edition of which he now publishes together with an appendix which brings the work up to date so far as is possible.
The author’s best thanks are due to Prof. Dr. Tōichirō Nakahama, Director of the “_Kai-Sei-Byō-in_” and Member of the Central Board of Health, who kindly furnished certain medical statistics and _data_. He also desires to express a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. E. Beart for lightening his task by assisting in seeing the book through the press, and has pleasure in acknowledging the strenuous endeavours of the Box of Curios Printing & Publishing Company in producing in Japan, notwithstanding certain drawbacks and disadvantages, a handsome volume worthy of the great printing houses of London or New York.
The Author.
Kamakura, December, 1905.
[Illustration: Present Plan of the Yoshiwara.]
[Illustration: Procession of Courtesans.]
History of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku.[1]
It was not until after the City of Yedo had become the seat of the Tokugawa government that regular houses of ill-fame were established, and up to the period of Keichō (1596–1614) there were no fixed places set apart for brothels and assignation houses. Under these circumstances, the brothels of Yedo were to be found scattered all over the city in groups of twos or threes, but among the many localities in which such stews were situated were three spots where the houses were to be found in larger numbers plying their shameful trade side by side.
(1.)—In Kōjimachi, hat-chō-me, there were fourteen or fifteen houses: these had been removed from Roku-jō in Kyōto.
(2.)—In Kamakura-gashi (Kanda district) the numbers of houses was the same as in Kōjimachi: these had been removed from Miroku-machi of Fuchū (now Shidzuoka?) in Suruga province.
(3.)—In Uchi-Yanagi-machi, near Ōhashi (Ōhashi is now the Tokiwa-bashi gate, and Yanagi-machi is now Dōsangashi-dōri) there were twenty houses. This group was inhabited by Yedo women exclusively. It is stated by some writers that the name of this street “Yanagi-machi” (Willow Street) was derived from the fact that at the entrance of the street stood two gigantic weeping-willows. Prior to this date, in the period of Tenshō (1573–1591), a person named Hara Saburōzaemon had established a brothel quarter at Made-no-Koji, Yanagi-no-baba, in Kyōto, but although it is true that the name of Yanagi-machi was given to this place, the Yanagi-machi of Yedo did not derive its title from the one in the Western city.
In the 10th year of Keichō (1605) Yanagi-machi was selected by the Government in connection with the construction of the castle of Yedo, and consequently all the brothels were removed to a place in front of the Moto-Seigwanji (temple).
As Yedo prospered and her population increased, various enterprising individuals gradually arrived from Shumoku-machi in Fushimi, Kitsuji-machi in Nara, and other places near Kyōto, and established themselves in the brothel-keeping business.
But as Yedo still grew more and more prosperous and thriving, and her marts busier, various municipal improvements were projected, numerous new roads were opened, and bridges constructed, and, as gradually the work of organizing the urban districts progressed, many houses had to be pulled down; consequently large numbers of persons were forced to remove their residences. Under these circumstances, the brothel-keepers considered the moment to be an opportune one for the presentation to the powers that were of a petition requesting the Government to allow of the collection, into one special locality, of the Yedo _demi-monde_. They therefore petitioned the authorities to establish a regular _Keisei-machi_,[2] but their petition was unsuccessful and matters remained _in statu quo_.
In the 17th year of Keichō (1612) a certain _Shōji Jinyemon_ (a native of Odawara in Sagami province) conceived the idea of collecting all the brothels and assignation houses of Yedo into one special quarter of the city, and after many consultations with his _confrères_ (for this gentle “reformer” was in the “profession” himself) he made a representation to the Government to the effect that:—
“In _Kyōto_ and in _Suruga_, and also in all other thickly populated and busy places (to the number of more than twenty) there have been established, in accordance with ancient custom and precedent, regular licensed _Keisei-machi_, whereas in _Yedo_, which is growing busier and more populous day by day, there is no fixed _Yūjo-machi_.[3] In consequence of this state of affairs houses of ill-fame abound in every part of the city, being scattered hither and thither in all directions. This, for numerous reasons, is detrimental to public morality and welfare, _etc._, _etc._”
The petitioner further enumerated the advantages which would be gained by the system he advocated, and he submitted a memorandum of reasons and arguments divided into three headings, the substance of the same being:—
“(1.) As matters stand at present, when a person visits a brothel he may hire, and disport himself with, _Yūjo_ (_filles de joie_) to his heart’s content, give himself up to pleasure and licentiousness to the extent of being unable to discriminate as to his position and means and the neglect of his occupation or business. He may frequent a brothel for days on end, giving himself up to lust and revel, but so long as his money holds out the keeper of the house will continue to entertain him as a guest. As a natural consequence, this leads to the neglect of duty towards masters, defalcations, theft, etc., and even then the keepers of the brothels will allow the guilty guests to remain in their houses as long as their money lasts. If brothels were all collected into one place a check would be put to these evils, as, by means of investigation and enquiry, a longer stay than twenty-four hours could be prohibited and such prohibition enforced.
“(2.) Although it is forbidden by law to kidnap children, yet, even in this city, the practice of kidnapping female children and enticing girls away from their homes under false pretences is being resorted to by certain vicious and unprincipled rascals. It is a positive fact that some evil-minded persons make it a regular profession to take in the daughters of poor people under the pretext of adopting them as their own children, but when the girls grow-up they are sent out to service as concubiness or prostitutes, and in this manner the individuals who have adopted them reap a golden harvest. Perhaps it is this class of abandoned rascals that even dare to kidnap other people’s children? It is said to be a fact that there are brothel-keepers who engage women knowing perfectly well that they are the adopted children of the parties who wish to sell the girls into prostitution. If the prostitute houses be all collected into one place, strict enquiries will be made as to the matter of kidnapping and as to the engagement of adopted children, and should any cases occur in which such reprehensible acts are attempted, information will be immediately given to the authorities.