Chapter 3 of 20 · 3808 words · ~19 min read

Part 3

Government Edict-board and Regulations at the Ōmon.

Up to the time of the Restoration—some 30 odd years ago—the following official regulations were posted up before the Ō-mon (great gateway) of the Yoshiwara:—

[Illustration: The “_Ō-mon_” or Entrance Gateway of the Yoshiwara.]

“Persons other than doctors are forbidden to enter riding in _Kago_ (palanquin) or _norimono_ (sedan chair).

“Long weapons are forbidden.”[15] [This meant spears or long swords, and also other warlike weapons which formed part of the ordinary paraphernalia of a _Daimyō’s_ (noble’s) train.]”

The Present Ōmon.

On the present Ō-mon (great gateway) are inscribed the following characters from the pen of Mr. Fukuchi Genichirō (a well-known playwright) better known under his _nom de plume_ of “Ōchi Koji”:—

春夢正濃滿街櫻雲。秋信先通兩行燈影

“_Shum-mu masa ni komayaka nari, mangai no ō-un. Shū-shin saki ni tsūzu ryōkō no tō-yei_,” or freely translated into English:—

“_A dream of Spring-tide when the streets are full of the cherry blossoms. Tidings of the autumn when the streets are lined on either side with lighted lanterns._”

This poem is a eulogy composed of four sentences each containing four Chinese characters, the style being an imitation of that of the blank verses which were in vogue in the _Tsin_ dynasty. The depth of meaning conveyed by these sixteen ideographs is almost incredible to the uninitiated, and to explain the full sense of the composition in English is well-nigh impossible. The words which are rendered “_A dream of Springtide when the streets are full of the cherry blossoms_” refer to the custom of planting cherry-trees right down the centre of the _Naka-no-chō_ from the main gateway (_Ō-mon_) to _Suidō-jiri_. The cherry trees are in full bloom about the first week in the third month (according to the old calendar—now April) and when one then glances down the avenue at night, after the place is lighted up with thousands of brilliantly coloured lanterns and flashing electric lamps, the whole quarter appears as if smothered in flowers. The commingling blossoms, seemingly transmuted into dense masses of soft and fleecy cloud, braid the trees in a wealth of vernal beauty, and the gay dresses both of the unfortunate women, and those of the passers-by, ever kaleidoscopic in effect and vividly oriental in colour, all go to make up a scene at once strange, fascinating, and well-nigh dream-like in character. The women in the Yoshiwara are likened in a certain poem to “_cherries of the night which blossom luxuriantly_,” and their power of fascination is expressed by another poem which says “_Cherry blossoms of the night at length become those of the morning and again those of the night_”: and yet another poem runs—“_Naka-no-chō, where the night-cherries_ (courtesans) _blossom luxuriantly_.” There is a _double entendre_ in the sentence, for the words not only refer to the intermingling cherry blossoms in the _Naka-no-chō_ but imply that joy and pleasure is to be found in “_A dream of spring, in a town inhabited by beautiful and voluptuous women to whom their lovers cleave as the commingling blossoms of the cherries blend together._” The poem also implies an indirect allusion to an episode in the life of one of the Chinese Emperors, who was distinguished for his Solomon-like proclivities in his admiration for the fair sex, and the harem of ravishingly beautiful damsels he kept at Fuzan.[16] The words “_Tidings of the autumn when the streets are lined on either side with lighted lanterns_” refer to the custom of hanging out _tōrō_ (lanterns) in front of every tea-house in the Naka-no-chō during one month from the 1st day to the last day of the 7th month (old calendar.) These _tōrō_ were first hung out as an offering to the soul of one Tamagiku, a popular courtesan in olden days. When one enters the great gate at the time of this festival it is a very pretty sight to see the rows of lanterns after they are lighted up. Some of these lanterns bear pictures by celebrated painters and are therefore quite works of art, and the effect of the display is heightened at times by artificial flowers being placed between them. It is said that the approach of Autumn is heralded by the cry of the wild geese, but that it is also foretold by the display of lanterns in the Naka-no-chō during the festival of the dead. The sight of these lanterns moreover remind the sightseers of the words of an old poem which runs—“_Alas! it is the night when the dead Tamagiku comes to visit the tōrō._”

Of the Reason Why Going to the Yoshiwara was Called “Chō ye yuku.”

In the “Yoshiwara Ō-kagami,” (吉原大鑑 “Great Mirror of the Yoshiwara”) it is mentioned that the origin of the common expression in former days of “Chō ye yuku” (going to Chō)—meaning “going to the Yoshiwara”—was as follows: Formerly the streets of the Yoshiwara were laid out in the shape of a cross, but afterwards one of the entrances was closed, changing the cross into a shape like that of the Chinese character “Chō” (丁), hence the saying. In later times this expression was changed, and nowadays people speak of going to the Yoshiwara as “_naka ye yuku_” (to go inside).

Classes of Brothels.

In ancient times the houses were classified according to the position and standing of their inmates. As we mention elsewhere, the courtesans were formerly classed as Tayū, Kōshi-joro, Tsubone, Sancha-joro, Umecha-joro (also read “Baicha-joro”) and Kirimise-joro, and in a similar manner brothels were also divided as Tayū-mise, Kōshi-mise, Tsubone-mise, Sancha-mise, Umecha-mise (or “Baicha-mise”) Kiri-mise, etc. Afterwards, the name of the Tayū-mise and Kōshi-mise was changed to “Yobidashi,” and the “Umecha-mise” having disappeared the so-called “Zashiki-mochi” and “Heya-mochi” came into existence. After the era of Kwansei (1789–1800) the following classes of brothels sprang into existence:—1st class:—Ōmagaki; 2nd class:—Ham-magaki; 3rd class:—Dai-chō ko-mise; 4th class:—Kogōshi; 5th class:—Kirimise, etc. Courtesans classed as Yobidashi, Hirusan, and Tsuke-mawashi belonged to the Ōmagaki, while the Zashiki-mochi and Heya-mochi were attached to the Dai-chō ko-mise.

The style of architecture employed in the erection of the “Tsubone-mise” is elaborately described in the “_Dōbō Goyen_,” (洞房語園) and the fact that the general features of the “Sancha-mise” were similar to those of the Furo-ya in the city is also mentioned in the same book. After the era of Kwansei (1789–1800) the classes of brothels, it appears, were determined according to the height of the bars of the cages. The highest _magaki_ (籬) are said to have reached to the ceiling while the lowest were about 2 feet high. The wood used in the lattice window of an _Ō-magaki_ (a first-class house with bars running up to the ceiling) was about 8 inches in width and was painted red. The houses themselves were generally as large as 13 _ken_ by 22 _ken_ (78 x 132 ft). The lattice bars of the lower class houses, on the contrary, were 3 inches in width and therefore these houses were called Ko-gōshi (small lattices). The lowest class houses had bars which ran horizontally instead of vertically. These distinctions were maintained up to the time of the general liberation of prostitutes in the 5th year of Meiji (1872) but since that time the brothels have been classified as either _Ō-mise_, _Chū-mise_, or _Ko-mise_ (Large, medium, and small “shops.”)

At present there is no uniform style of architecture, but as the better class of houses are naturally visited by a superior class of guests, the leading establishments are fine buildings, and are noted as much for the luxurious character of their furniture and appointments as for the beauty of the women who inhabit them. The best houses do not exhibit the women in cages.

[Illustration: Street Scene in the “Naka-no-chō,” Yoshiwara.]

The following are the names of the 126 existing brothels of the Yoshiwara (1899).

Ō-mise (_First-class houses._) Kado-ebi-rō in Kyō-machi It-chō-me. Inamoto-rō “ Sumi-chō. Daimonji-rō “ Yedo-chō It-cho-me. Shinagawa-rō “ Ageya-machi. Nomura-rō “ Kyō-machi Nichō-me.

Naka-mise (_Second-class houses._) Man-kwa-rō in Yedo-chō Nichō-me. Hōrai-rō “ Ageya-machi. Ai-idzumi-rō “ Sumi-chō. Naka-gome-rō “ Kyō-machi Ni-chō-me.

Ko-mise (_Third-class houses._) Shin Hanai-rō in Yedo-chō It-chō-me. Shō-yei-rō “ “ “ Shin Ichino-rō “ “ “ Nari-hisa-rō “ “ “ Sugimoto-rō “ “ “ Kikuya-rō “ “ “ Ichino-rō “ “ “ Shin Kinkwa-rō “ “ “ Kajita-rō “ “ “ Nishihashi-rō “ “ “ Yoshi-Inaben-rō “ “ “ Fuku-Suzuki-rō “ “ “ Fukurai-rō “ “ “ Katsu Nakagome-rō “ “ “ Shō-yū-rō “ “ “ Izutsu-rō “ “ “ Seikwa-rō “ “ “ Hanaoka-rō “ “ “ Moto Fujiyoshi-rō “ “ “ Fukuyosu-rō “ “ “ Kawa-tachibana-rō “ “ “ Kyōchū-rō “ “ “ Kyō-shin-rō “ “ “ Kiku-matsu-kane-rō “ “ “ Matsu-mi-rō in Yedo-chō Ni-chō-me. Katsu-moto-rō “ “ “ Tama Mikawa-rō “ “ “ Tama Hanai-rō “ “ “ Tsune-Matsu-kane-rō “ “ “ Hikota-rō “ “ “ Ōsaka-rō “ “ “ Kiyo Fujimoto-rō in Yedo-chō It-chō-me. Oto Hanai-rō “ “ “ Musashi-rō “ “ Ni-chō-me. Hisa Hanai-rō “ “ “ Yawata-rō “ “ “ Ryūgasaki-rō “ “ “ Toku Hanai-rō “ “ “ Kikkō-rō “ “ “ Matsu Yebi-rō “ “ “ Sugito-rō “ “ “ Sumi-Yawata-rō “ “ “ Suke-Komatsu-rō “ “ “ Iwa Hanai-rō “ “ “ Moto Komatsu-rō “ “ “ Hanai-rō “ “ “ Asahi-rō “ “ “ Matsu-Nakagome-rō “ “ “ Tsuru-yoshi-rō “ “ “ Chisei-rō “ “ “ Fuji-yoshi-rō “ “ “ Naka-Hanai-rō “ “ “ Nakamura-rō “ “ “ Yū-sen-rō “ “ “ Kane Koshikawa-rō “ “ “ Manji-rō “ “ “ Kinkwa-rō “ “ “ Hira Hanai-rō “ “ “ Moto Kawachi-rō “ “ “ Shin Yoshiwara-rō in Yedo-chō Ni-cho-me. Yasu Nakagome-rō “ “ “ Masui-rō “ “ “ Shin Ryū-ga-saki-rō “ “ “ Kyōsei-rō in Ageya-machi. Ogawa-rō “ “ Nishi-naka-rō “ “ Sei-kwa-rō “ “ Takahashi-rō “ “ Naka Inaben-rō “ “ Kikumoto-rō “ “ Shin-Fujimoto-rō “ “ Hei-Daikoku-rō “ “ Seihō-rō “ “ Nari-Yamata-rō “ “ Masu-Kawachi-rō “ “ Nishioka-rō “ “ Hōrai-rō “ “ Kin-Nakagome-rō “ “ Ise-rō “ “ Sawa-Inaben-rō “ “ Owari-rō “ “ Tama Hōrai-rō “ “ Kiku Inaben-rō “ “ Yamada-rō “ “ Sawa Nakagome-rō “ “ Sada Kawachi-rō “ “ Shin-Matsu-Daikoku-rō “ “ Ume-man-rō “ “ Shimotake-rō “ “ Tanaka-rō “ “ Takeman-rō “ “ Tama-Kawachi-rō “ “ Aichū-rō “ “ Tatsu-Inaben-rō “ “ Shin-Inaben-rō “ “ Shin-Matsu-kin-ro “ “ Kame-Inaben-rō “ “ Toku-Inaben-rō “ “ Ni-masu-rō “ “ Shō-Nakagome-rō “ “ Tsuta-Inaben-rō “ “ Fuku-Yamato-rō “ “ Hiroshima-rō “ “ Niikawa-rō “ “ Naga-Idzumi-rō “ “ Takara-rō “ “ Matsuoka-rō “ “ Koshikawa-rō “ “ Daikoku-rō “ “ Tama-Kawachi-rō “ “ Shin-Ai-idzumi-rō “ “ Inaben-rō in Kyō-machi It-chō-me. Shin-man-rō “ “ “ Ai-man-rō “ “ “ Shin-Fukuoka-rō “ “ “ Is-shin-rō “ “ “ Hyō-Daikoku-rō “ “ “ Toyo-Matsu-Kin-rō “ “ “ Matsumoto-rō “ “ “ Shin-Hōrai-rō “ “ “ Inage-rō “ “ “ Fujimoto-rō “ “ “ Man-nen-rō “ “ “ Yedo-rō “ “ “ Shin-Okamoto-rō “ “ “ Hoku-yetsu-rō “ “ “ Mikawa-rō “ “ “ Matsu-Owari-rō “ “ “ Sen-Inaben-rō “ “ “ Kimman-rō “ “ Ni-chō-me. Matsuyama-rō “ “ “ Matsu-Kin-rō “ “ “ Sen-Nakagome-rō “ “ “ Matsu-Daikoku-rō “ “ “ Yoshida-rō “ “ “ Kawachi-rō “ “ “ Moto-Higashi-rō “ “ “ Koiman-rō “ “ “ Bitchū-rō “ “ “ Kane-Nakagome-rō “ “ “ Shin-Nakagome-rō “ “ “ Gyokusai-rō “ “ “ Waka-take-rō “ “ “ Kin-Hōrai-rō “ “ “ Shin-Adzuma-rō “ “ “ Tatsu-Komatsu-rō “ “ “ Kado-Owari-rō “ “ “

Hikite-jaya.[17]

(“_Introducing Tea-houses._”)

The business of _hikite-jaya_ is to act as a guide to the various brothels, and to negotiate introductions between guests and courtesans. There are seven of these introducing houses within the enclosure (_kuruwa_) fifty in Naka-naga-ya, Suidō-jiri, and outside of the Ō-mon (great gate).

[Illustration: 1. Entertainment given by a _Yūjo_ who has been Redeemed from a Brothel. 2. Guests in a Tea-house Diverting themselves with Dancing Girls. 3. A Guest being conducted to a Brothel by the Servants of a _Hikite-jaya_.]

Besides these there are many houses in Yedo-chō, Sumi-chō, Kyō-machi (It-chō-me and Ni-chō-me) Ageya-machi, etc. The first-mentioned seven houses are first-class, those in Naka-naga-ya second-class, while those at Suidō-jiri and Gō-jik-ken are very inferior indeed. The reception of guests, and arranging affairs for them, is attended to by servant maids, three or four of whom are generally employed in each _hikite-jaya_. As, of course, the reputation of the house depends on these servant maids, their employers generally treat them very considerately, well knowing that if the girls attend to their duties satisfactorily the number of guests will continue to increase.

When a visitor arrives before the entrance of a _hikite-jaya_, the mistress of the house and her maid-servants run to welcome him with cries of “_irrasshai_” (you are very welcome!), and on entering the room to which he is conducted (in case of his being a stranger) the attendant will ask him the name of the brothel to which he desires to go, as well as that of the particular lady he wishes to meet. If he has no “friend” with whom he is acquainted, photographs are produced for inspection and the guest chooses his _oiran_ from them. Then the attendant will guide him to the brothel selected, act as a go-between in negotiating for the courtesan’s favours, and after all preliminaries have been settled will wait assiduously upon the guest throughout the banquet which inevitably follows, taking care to keep the _saké_ bottles moving and the cups replenished. By and by, when the time comes for retiring, the attendant conducts the guest to his sleeping apartment, waits until the arrival of the “lady friend” and then discreetly slips away and leaves the brothel. When one of these servant maids takes charge of a visitor she becomes, for the time being, the actual personal servant of such guest and attends to everything he requires. To perform the services rendered by her is professionally spoken of as “_mawasu_” (廻 to turn round, to move round) because she goes bustling round in order to arrange a hundred and one matters for the guest upon whom she is in attendance. If the guest calls _geisha_ (dancing and singing girls) the maid carries (supposing it to be night-time) the _geisha’s samisen_ (guitar) and the guest’s night-dress in the left hand, and a “_Kamban chōchin_”[18] and a white porcelain _saké_ bottle (_haku-chō_)[19] in the right—a performance which requires considerable experience to achieve successfully.

With the exception of the guests, no persons are allowed to wear _zōri_ (sandals) inside the brothels.

Of late it has become a rule that the office which manages all affairs in the Yoshiwara shall distribute to the various tea-houses registration books, of a uniform style, in which are to be minutely recorded the personal appearance of visitors, status and place of registration, profession, general figure and build, aspect, style of clothes, personal effects (i.e. rings, chains, watches, etc., etc.) The books are carefully ruled off in columned blanks headed:—“Nose, Ears, Mouth, Status, Place of registration,” etc., etc.; and the descriptions have to be written in under the respective headings. In short, these books (for which, by the way, a charge of 20 to 30 sen is made) are something like the usual Japanese hotel registers but more complex and detailed, and when the blanks are faithfully filled up an exceedingly good description of guests is secured. In all brothels similar books are kept, and the duty of comparing the entries in these with the entries in those of the _hikite-jaya_ devolves on the staff of the Yoshiwara office. In addition to these duties there are a good many harassing and vexatious police regulations to be observed by the introducing houses. Should any _hikite-jaka_ keeper or employé secretly introduce a guest who is in possession of explosives, a sword, or poison, he is severely punished and caused no end of trouble. The payment of the guest’s bill is made through the _hikite-jaya_ on his return to the introducing house in the morning. The guest pays his total bill to the _hikite-jaya_ and the latter squares up accounts with the brothel. The strict rule is for the _hikite-jaya_ to settle up these accounts daily with the brothels, but it has become a custom with the majority to balance accounts only twice a month—viz:—on the 14th and 30th day of each month. In case of a frequent visitor being without money, and unable to pay his bill, the _hikite-jaya_ will not, as a rule, refuse him credit in consideration of the patronage he has extended to the house and in anticipation of future visits. Sometimes, however, it happens that a regular customer becomes heavily indebted to a certain house, and turning his back on this establishment he seeks for new pastures and fresh credit; but here the extraordinary secret intelligence system upsets his calculations. Among these tea-houses exists a kind of “honor among thieves” _esprit de corps_, and besides, self-protection has forced the houses to give secret information to each other where their mutual interests are threatened; so when a party is in debt to one of the _hikite-jaya_ he will be boycotted by the others. A smart hand may successfully pretend to be a new arrival in the Yoshiwara once or twice, but his trick is sure to be discovered ere long. Faithful service of employés is ensured in the Yoshiwara in a similar manner. In case of a servant-maid employed in one house being desirous to enter the service of another establishment, she must first obtain the consent of her employer, and the master of the house to which she wishes to go will certainly confer with the master of the establishment she wishes to leave. In ordering food from a _dai-ya_ (a cook-house where food is cooked and sent out to order), or in making purchases from storekeepers in the Yoshiwara, a maid-servant belonging to any of the _hikite-jaya_ requires no money with her because the dealers all place confidence in the house from which she has come, and this they know at once by the inscription on the lantern she carries. Immediately an order is given by a maid-servant the goods are handed over without the slightest hesitation, so under these circumstances an evil-minded woman might resort to fraud without any difficulty; but should she once be detected she would never again be able to get employment in the Yoshiwara.

The fifty tea-houses outside the _Ō-mon_ (great gate) were in former times called “_Kitte-jaya_” (ticket tea-houses) or “_Kitte-mise_” (ticket shops); they were also colloquially termed in _Yedo_ slang—“_Yoshiwara no go-jū-mai kitte_” (the fifty “tickets” of the Yoshiwara) because they had the monopoly of issuing tickets or passes for the Yoshiwara. In a book called the “_Hyōkwa Manroku_” (萍華漫錄) it is recorded that in the 3rd year of _Keian_ (1650) one of the tea-houses named “_Kikuya_” (sign of the Chrysanthemum Flowers) issued tickets—or rather passes—for the passage of women through the great gate. On one of these old passes was written:—

It appears from this that every lady who wished to enter the precincts for the purpose of sightseeing, or for any other reason, had to obtain a pass from the tea-houses above-mentioned. Afterwards, the “_Midzu-chaya_” (rest-houses) began to be built on the _Nihon-dsutsumi_ (Dyke of Japan) and as they gradually increased and prospered they at length encroached upon the _Naka-no-chō_ where the tradesmen of the quarter were living. This continued until the street came to be monopolized by _Midzu-chaya_, and from the latter the present _hikite-jaya_ were finally evolved. It is recorded that since the era of _Genroku_ (1688–1703) the keepers of _funa-yado_ (a sort of tea-house where pleasure boats are kept and let out on hire for excursions and picnics) used to arrange for guests to go and come in their river-boats, “and among the sights of Yedo were the long lines of boats floating up and down the river with gaily-dressed courtesans and the _jeunesse dorée_ of the city in them.” During the 8th year of Kwambun (1668) all the unlicensed prostitutes in Yedo city were pounced upon by the authorities and placed in the Yoshiwara, and about this time the inconvenient custom of being obliged to visit brothels through an _ageya_ was abolished. The tea-houses which had their origin on the banks of the _Nihon-dsutsumi_, now acted as guides (_tebiki_) to intending visitors to brothels, the old custom of the place was broken, and the name of _hikite-jaya_ come into existence. [The tea-houses belonging to the _Ageya_ which were removed from the old Yoshiwara, and the “_Amigasa-jaya_” (see this heading further on) which sprang into existence while the brothels were temporarily situated at Sanya, after the _Furisode-kwaji_ (fire) of the era of Meireki, are separate establishments.] In this way the newly evolved tea-houses prospered greatly, and their influence grew apace until the older houses in Ageya-machi began to lose their trade. No doubt but the decadence of the older institutions is attributable to the superior facilities afforded to guests by the new houses. In the old days the tea-houses in Ageya-machi were allowed to construct balconies on the second stories of their establishments for the convenience of those guests who desired to witness the processions of courtesans (_Yūjo no dō-chū_) that formed one of the most interesting features in the life of the Yoshiwara. Prior to the fire of the Meiwa era (1764–1771) the second stories of all the tea-houses in _Naka-no-chō_ were fitted with open lattice-work in front, but subsequent to that memorable conflagration this restriction was removed and the houses were built so as to render them convenient for sight-seeing from the upper floor. This freedom did not prove of much advantage to many of the houses, however, as it was decided that the processions should thenceforward be confined to the _Naka-no-chō_. In the 10th year of Hōreki (1760) the “_Ageya_” completely disappeared, and the receiving of and arranging matters for guests became the monopoly of the tea-houses. Taking advantage of the position attained, the tea-houses abused their prosperity and influence and allowed their establishments to be used by courtesans, _geisha_, _taiko-mochi_, and various guests, for the purpose of carrying on illicit intrigues and advancing amours between men and women of loose morals. Not only this, but the houses allowed their accounts with the brothels to fall into arrears, or made payment in an unpunctual and perfunctory manner, and for these reasons many were suspended from exercising their business. In the era of Tempō (1830–1843) all food served to the guests in _hikite-jaya_ was prepared on the premises by professional cooks in the service of the houses.