Part 4

At present, a first customer to a tea-house is called “_shōkwai_” (first meeting): the second time he comes “_ura_” (behind the scenes) and the third time “_najimi_” (on intimate terms). According to prevalent custom, guests have to pay a certain sum of money as “footing” on their second and third visits, and persons who are anxious to pass as “in the swim” are often willing to pay both these fees (_ura-najimi-kin_ and _najimi-kin_) down at once. Ordinarily the _najimi-kin_ is fixed at from 2-1⁄2 _yen_ or 3 _yen_, according to the brothels to which a visitor wishes to go, and the tea-houses do not guide visitors who do not patronize either a first (_ōmise_) or second (_naka-mise_) class establishment. In addition to other small fees the visitor is expected to give a tip of 20 or 30 _sen_ to the maid who acts as his guide, but if he does not hand it over voluntarily it is carefully included in his bill under the heading of “_o-tomo_” (your attendant). _Jinrikisha_ fares advanced will also appear in the bill (_tsuké_ = contraction of “_kakitsuke_” = an account, writing, or memo) under the title of “_o-tomo_” (your attendant). Experience of _hikite-jaya_ will convince visitors that these establishments never fail to charge up every possible or impossible item in their accounts: when a man is returning home in the morning with a “swollen head” after a night’s debauch his ideas of checking a bill are generally somewhat mixed up.

The expenses of planting flowers in the streets in Spring, setting up street lanterns (_tōrō_) in Autumn, and maintaining street dancing (_niwaka_) are defrayed by the tea-houses.

The profits of _hikite-jaya_ are chiefly derived from return commissions on the fees paid to courtesans and dancing girls, and percentages levied on the food and _saké_ consumed by guests. (A large profit is made upon _saké_, as this is kept in stock by tea-houses themselves). Besides, they draw a handsome revenue from visitors in the shape of “_chadai_” (tea money) which rich prodigals bestow upon them in return for fulsome flattery and cringing servility. The guests will also often give a _sōbana_ (present to all the inmates of the house) when they are well treated, and at special seasons of the year, festivals, and occasions of rejoicing, the liberality of visitors brings quite a shower of dollars, all nett profit, into the coffers of the _chaya_ proprietor.

It is one of the many curious customs of the Yoshiwara that the expression “_fukidasu_” (to blow out) is disliked, as also is the blowing out of the ground cherry (_hozuki_).[20]

[Illustration: Outside of a Third-class Brothel at night.]

I must not omit to state that there is a low class of tea-houses which resort to extortion and barefaced robbery in dealing with strangers to the Yoshiwara. These houses are known by the general term of “_bori-jaya_” and their _modus operandi_ is to detail their rascally employés to prowl about outside the quarter and inveigle uninitiated visitors to the _kuruwa_. Under various pretexts, inexperienced persons are guided to _bori-jaya_ by these touters, welcomed effusively, and pestered with the most fulsome flattery and attention. _Saké_ and food is served to them, including a number of dishes never even ordered by the guest, and by and by _geisha_ are called in to sing and dance, although the visitors have not requisitioned their services. Later on, when the guests are primed with liquor, they are urged to visit a brothel on the condition that the expenditure shall be kept as low as possible, but, once within the low stews to which they are taken, they are persuaded to squander money on _geisha_ and other things. If meanwhile the visitor, fearing heavy expenses, should desire to settle his bill, the keeper of the house will put off the matter and invent various plausible excuses for delaying the making up of the account. Time flies and morning succeeds the night, but no bill is rendered, and every artifice and trick is employed to detain the guest, until the latter, overcome with _saké_ and fatigue, rolls over on the floor in a drunken sleep. Meanwhile the pockets of the unfortunate victim are surveyed in order to discover the extent of his means, and as soon as it is evident that there is no more money left to be sucked he is allowed to depart. Sometimes, however, the visitors prove too smart to be successfully swindled, but in these cases the houses afford them a very cold reception indeed. Sometimes it happens that the _bori-jaya_ proprietors overestimate the pecuniary resources of guests who have fallen a prey to their wiles, and find that their purses are not lined sufficiently well to meet the bills run up against them. In such a case the proprietors will allow the guest to depart under the escort of one of the employés of the house. This man exercises strict surveillance over the guest, and follows him like grim death wherever he goes until the bill is settled. He is known as a _tsuki-uma_ (an attendant—or “following”—horse) and if payment is not made he will inflict the disgrace of his presence upon the luckless wight he follows, tracking the latter home to his very doorstep and there making a noisy demand for the money owing. It is only fair to add, however, that such low tea-houses are not to be found in the _Naka-no-chō_.

Name of the Present “Hikite-jaya (1899) (Those marked “w” are kept by women.)

_In Go-jikken-machi._ Yamato-ya kept by Kuwagata Saku (w) Hama-Yamato “ Sakamoto Komajirō Ōmi-ya “ Tanaka Fumi (w) Wakamatsu-ya “ Wakamatsu Tomi (w) Suzuki-ya “ Suzuki Naka (w) Ōsaka-ya “ Ōta Tama (w) Tsurutsuta-ya “ Ieda Hanzaburō Shin-Wakamatsu “ Ogiwara Riye (w) Naniwa-ya “ Sada Koto (w) Yawata-ya “ Kobayashi Kiku (w) Taka-Yamato “ Takamatsu Kame (w)

_In Yedo-chō It-chō-me._ Gin-Yamato kept by Onozuka Ginjirō Takeji “ Takenouchi Jihei Nagasaki-ya “ Koboso Kihei Yamaguchi Tomoye “ Shimura Tsunejirō Fukudama-ya “ Sugenuma Fuku (w) Komi-Nomura “ Kuga Mitsu (w) Takasago-ya “ Hagii Tetsu (w) Rō-Nakamura “ Otsuka Tatsu (w) Owari-ya “ Oda Tarōbei Wakamizu “ Ōkubo Aikichi Masu-dawara “ Okamura Iku (w) Chikahan “ Shimizu Hanshir Hayashi-ya “ Ishii Mine (w) Kane-Ōsaka “ Takata Kane (w) Nishinomiya “ Saruhashi Shōzō Ise-matsu-ya “ Sugiyama Chisa (w) Fuku-no-ya “ Miyazaki Fuku (w) Saiken-Tsuta-ya “ Matsumae Saku (w) Masu-minato “ Ishiguro Nobutarō Den-Daikoku “ Itō Shin (w) Yonekawa “ Ishikawa Eizaburō Uwajima “ Uwajima Kichizō Kameda-ya “ Tanaka Harutarō Kiri-ya “ Kimura Kin (w) Ume-no-ya “ Kagawa Ichizō Kanō-ya “ Kuriyama Tsuru (w) Matsu-zumi-ya “ Sakigawa Rin (w) Yoshi-mura-ya “ Yoshimura Tameshichi Awa-manji “ Ōta Masa (w) Morita-ya “ Mori Nao (w) Adzuma-ya “ Ogiya Fuku (w) Tsuruhiko Ise-ya “ Ōmori Hikojirō Ine-ya “ Katsuya Heisuke Tani-Iseya “ Katō Chika (w)

_In Yedo-chō Ni-chō-me._ Ueki-ya kept by Kakubari Chō (w) Kanzaki-ya “ Hirano Fuku (w) Hisa Ono “ Ishizaka Hisa (w) Idzutsu-ya “ Yamagoshi Kane (w) Iwa-Yamato “ Kobayashi Hide (w) Tatsumi-Ōno “ Ōno Saki (w) Mon-Matsumura “ Nemoto Mon (w) Myōga-ya “ Koidzumi Fuku (w) Yamazaki “ Yamazaki Mitsu (w) Kanedama-ya “ Nozaki Yura (w) Mon-Kadzusa “ Tomizawa Hanshichi Shin-Owari “ Kuroda Genjirō Matsu-Iseya “ Sugiyama Kayo (w) Hisa-Yamato “ Ozawa Masu (w) Kirisa “ Hiroto Sahei Nobuzen “ Nakajima Kin (w) Minomura “ Shinowara Natsu (w) Kotobuki-ya “ Hozaka Kamekichi Shin-Nagashima “ Takashima Iku (w) Tokushima “ Sugimoto Nisaburō (w)

_In Ageya-machi._ Hanagawa-ya kept by Katagiri Ito (w) Matsumura “ Ikeda Kayo (w) Umemura “ Momooka Matsunosuke Idzutora “ Tsuji Toku (w) Horikawa-ya “ Uchida Tokuji Dai-yoshi “ Minagawa Fuku (w) Tamasei “ Satō Kin (w) Ichimonji-ya “ Saitō Katsu (w) Ōshima-ya “ Saotome Kiku (w) Daichū “ Wakizaka Kenjirō

_In Sumi-chō._ Shin-Kirihan kept by Shimidzu Matsuzō Suzuki Kadzusa “ Suzuki Shige (w) Shinakin “ Miyazawa Kin (w) Tamasano-ya “ Shimidzu Tamasaburō Nobuki “ Yamamoto Kisaburō Matsumoto “ Itō Kihei Hatsune-ya “ Nakamura Shintarō Ishigaki-ya “ Minoura Jingorō Masumiya “ Yamazaki Tetsu (w) Aoyagi “ Ishii Rihei Ozaki-ya “ Miyazaki Tano (w) Mansen “ Kōno Teru (w)

_In Kyo-machi It-chō-me._ Akashi-ya kept by Akashi Shika (w) Kawagoe-ya “ Matsumoto Jūbei Tamayoshi “ Suzuki Rika (w)

_In Kyo-machi Ni-chō-me._ Naka-Ōmi kept by Hagiwara Yoshi (w) Masuda-ya “ Amano Kin (w) Hyōgo-ya “ Yoshida Rui (w) Komatsu-ya “ Akao Yoshizō

The Jū-hachi-ken-jaya. (_Eight Tea-houses._)

The “_Yoshiwara Zatsuwa_” 吉原雜話 states that there were in Ageya-machi, besides the “_Ageya_” themselves, eighteen tea-houses to which persons repaired for the purpose of watching the _tayū_ entering the various “_ageya_.” According to the regulations of the Yoshiwara in ancient times, the construction of _tsuki-age-do_ (shutters which slide up into a groove above the window, like shop-shutters) in the windows of the second stories of these houses was permitted, whereas it was prohibited in any other part of the _kuruwa_. In the tea-houses in Naka-no-chō, lattice work doors were used in their upper floors. It is stated that originally only the central portion of the Yoshiwara leading from Ageya-machi was called Naka-no-chō, the other portions being named Yedo-chō division, Kyō-machi division, etc. According to an old resident of Ageya-machi, Naka-no-chō was formerly amalgamated with Ageya-machi owing to the number of officials being small in the former street, and about that time there was a fireman’s ensign (_matoi_) in existence in Ageya-machi bearing the character 中 (“_Naka_”), clearly showing the connection between the wards. [Nowadays the whole central street is called _Naka-no-chō_—middle street—because it passes right through the centre of the enclosure.]

The “Amigasa-jaya.”

(_Braided hat tea-houses._)

It is mentioned in the “_Yoshiwara Taizen_” (吉原大全) that there were tea-houses, standing on each side of the Go-jikken-michi outside the great gate, which were known as “_Amigasa-jaya_” because they lent to samurai, nobles, and people who wished to conceal their identity, “_amigasa_” which covered the entire head, face and all.[21] These hats were usually made of rush, and being very deep looked something like inverted baskets. The twenty tea-houses are still to be seen in Go-jikken-machi, but the rush hats formerly supplied are conspicuous by their absence. In passing, it may be noted that it was a custom for these houses to lie built without second-stories facing the street.

[Illustration: AMIGASA.]

“The “_Yoshiwara Kagami_” 吉原鑑 says:—In ancient times there were _amigasa-jaya_ outside the great gate and visitors used to enter the Yoshiwara wearing the deep rush hats supplied by those houses. Each hat cost 100 _mon_ (10 _sen_), but if the purchaser returned it on the way home the keeper of the _amigasa-jaya_, would exchange it for 54 _mon_ (about 6-1⁄2 _sen_).

“These hats are no longer used, but the old name still clings to the tea-houses.”

The “Kujaku Nagaya.”

In the “_Yedo Sunago_” (江戸砂子) we find this passage:—

“The _Kujaku-nagaya_ (a _nagaya_ is a long building in which are several separate residences. The old _nagaya_ were used as a species of barracks for the retainers of the feudal lords. _Kujaku_ = peacock) are situated at the rear of the street at the end of the paddy-fields, and are so called because from this place the brilliant spectacle of the lighted Yoshiwara can be seen to great advantage. The spot has therefore been compared to the body of a peacock, and the dazzling splendour of the Yoshiwara to the magnificent tail of that vain bird.

“In the “_Bokusui Shōkaroku_” (墨水消夏錄) it is written:—“A row of houses on the eminence along that part of the Nihon-dzutsumi which leads to Tamachi, is called the “Peacock _nagaya_.” The origin of this picturesque name is that about the era of _Kwanbun_ (1661–1672) there lived in the extremity of the _nagaya_ a lovely girl whose wonderous beauty was noised about the neighbourhood, and, owing to the dingy block of houses having such an enchanting damsel residing in the end building, some admirers of the fair nymph, by a quaint conceit, compared the block of houses to the body and the dainty maiden to the gorgeous tail of a peacock.”

The “Kembansho.”

(_Office which manages the affairs of geisha and other professionals._)

“The “_Yedo-Kwagai Enkaku-shi_” (江戶花街沿革誌) says:—“In the 7th year of Anyei (1778) there were about 100 professional artists in the Yoshiwara including 20 _otoko-geisha_ (male _geisha_) 50 female _geisha_, and 16 young dancing girls (_geiko_).”

These people had to obtain licenses from the headmen of their respective districts, but as no fixed taxes were imposed upon them, all their earnings, including tips (_shūgi_) and fees (_gyokudai_), went into their pockets intact. Under these circumstances, many persons began to consider the advisability of taxing the _geinin_ (_artists_ and _artistes_) and appropriating such taxes towards defraying the common public expenses of the Yoshiwara. At this time the morals of the _geinin_ were at a very low ebb, and their conduct so lax that great trouble was experienced in the quarter. Female _geisha_ began to compete with the regular courtesans and openly offered themselves as prostitutes, while the male professionals contracted intimacies with the women in the brothels and carried on liaisons with the latter. All these abuses clearly showed the absolute necessity of putting the _geinin_ under proper control and of framing regulations for putting a check to their unrestrained intrigues, amours, and general gross misconduct. In the 8th year of Anyei (1779) a certain person named Shōroku (who was the keeper of a brothel known as “_Daikoku-ya_”) agitated the question, and after consultation with his confrères established a _Kemban-sho_ (registry office for _geisha_ of both sexes). Abandoning his profession of brothel-keeping, Shōroku became the director (_tori-shimari-yaku_) of this institution, and under his supervision a system was inaugurated by which all _geinin_, including men, women, and children, _jōruri_-singers, _samisen_-players, etc., were brought under authoritative control. The business of the _Kemban-sho_ was transacted by two _bantō_ (head-clerks) and some ten assistant clerks (_te-dai_), the latter acting in the capacity of a modern _hako-ya_ (attendant who carries a _geisha’s_ musical instruments) and attending to female geisha when the latter went out to fill an engagement.

The male _geisha_, it appears, were all bound to do duty at the _Kemban-sho_ in turn.

Classes of Prostitutes.

The custom of dividing courtesans into higher and lower classes had already sprung into existence while the Yoshiwara was situated at Yanagi-machi (close by the present Tokiwa-bashi). They were then classified as _Tayū_ and _Hashi-jōro_.[22] During the period of the Yoshiwara three classes were added, viz:—_Kōshi-jōro_, _Tsubone-jōro_, and _Kirimise-jōro_. After the opening of the new (_Shin_) Yoshiwara, _Hashi-jōro_ and _Tsubone-jōro_ ceased to exist, while at the same period (_Genroku_ = 1688–1703) _Sancha-jōro_ and _Umecha-jōro_ came into existence. After the era of Kwansei (1789–1800) the classes in existence were:—_Yobi-dashi_, _Chūsan_, _Tsuke-mawashi_, _Zashiki-mochi_, _Heya-mochi_, and _Kirimise-jōro_. Particulars of these changes are mentioned in various old books and can also be gathered from the lists of courtesans published in those times. As to the origin of the names _Tayū_, _Kōshi_, _Tsubone_, etc., these terms appear to have been derived from a similar classification in vogue in Kyōto, and if my readers are curious to trace these derivations they will do well to refer to a book called the _Dōbō-Goyen_ (洞房語園) for further information.

[Illustration: Types of Modern Courtesans.]

The _Tayū_ was a courtesan of the highest class, excelling her unfortunate sisters both in respect to her beauty and accomplishments, and, as previously mentioned, this appellation had come into existence while the _kuruwa_ was yet in Yanagi-chō. In the 20th year of Kwan-ei (1642) there were 18 _tayū_, in the era of Manji (1658–1660) 19, and in the 2nd year of Kyōhō (1718) 14, but between the 21st year of Kyōhō (1736) and the 1st year of En-kyō (1744) the number of _tayū_ decreased to 5. In the 4th year of Kwan-en (1751) we only find one _tayū_ in the whole Yoshiwara, and by the end of the Hōreki era (1751–1763) the class had entirely disappeared. The _age-dai-kin_ (fee) of a _tayū_ was at first fixed at 37 _momme_ (about Yen 6.14), but by the era of Teikyō (1684–1687) it had been doubled. In the era of Kwampō it appears to have been 97 _momme_ of silver (about Yen 16.00). At that period the class of courtesans styled _Hashi-jōro_ was a very low one, and no reliable record is extant from which we can obtain particulars of their fees.

The _Kōshi-jōro_ were similar to those known as _Tenjin_ in Kyōto. These women had their rooms within the _ō-gōshi_ (great lattice doors or bars) and the _Dōbō-Goyen_ (洞房語園) states that these women had the prefix of _Kōshi_ placed before the word _jōro_ (courtesan) to distinguish them from _Tsubone-jōro_. _Kōshi-jōro_ were next in position to the _Tayū_, and their fee was at first 25 _momme_ (_Yen_ 4.15), but in the era of Kwampō (1741–1743) it rose to 60 _momme_ of silver (about Yen 10.00). It is mentioned in the Naniwa Seirōshi (浪花青樓誌) published in the 10th year of Hōreki (1760) that the term _Tenjin_ was in use not only in Kyōto but in Shim-machi, Ōsaka city. Next to the _Kōshi-jōro_ came the _Tsubone-jōro_,[23] and their fee was originally 20 _momme_ silver (about Yen 3.32), but, after the appearance of the _Sancha-jōro_, competition reduced it to 15 _momme_ (about Yen 2.49).

[Illustration: An Ancient “_Shirabyōshi_.” A “_Yobidashi_” of the Yoshiwara.]

In the front of the houses where _Tsubone-jōro_ resided, wooden lattice work screens, cut in a “figure of eight” all over pattern, of six feet in height were erected, presenting a most curious spectacle. This class of courtesans were in their turn ousted from popularity by the _Umecha-jōro_ about the era of Genroku (1688–1703). It is true that after the era of Temmei (1781–1788) a class of prostitutes bearing a similar name came into existence, but these latter-day _Tsubone-jōro_ were the lowest of low women and are not to be confounded with their predecessors.

_Kirimise-jōro_ were the predecessors of the present _Ko-mise-jōro_ (“small-shop-courtesans”) to be found by the creek. These women lived in _naga-ya_ (barrack-like tenement houses) and offered their services for the modest sum of 100 _mon_ (10 _sen_): in consequence of this latter fact they were described as _hyaku-zō_ (or freely rendered—“100 _mon_ women”).

At the beginning of Kwambun (1661–1672) a still lower class of harlot, called _Kendon_, arose, and later on another lower grade of strumpets came into existence under the euphonious name of _Teppō_ (a gun). The _Teppō_ charged 2 _shu_ (about Yen 1.25) for a day and night, but after 10 o’clock at night even this sum was reduced, on strictly business principles, to 400 _mon_ (40 _sen_).

_Sancha-jōro_ was the name of a class of women which sprang up when a raid was made on the _jigoku_ (“_Hell women_”) of Yedo and the _furo-ya_ (bath-house) women were brought into the Yoshiwara in the 5th year of Kwambun (1665). The derivation of the word _Sancha_ is very curious, and its explanation lies in a phonetically evolved pun. _Sancha_ was the old time word for powdered tea, nowadays known as _matcha_ or _hikicha_. In ancient times ordinary leaf tea was infused by placing it in a bag, and shaking this bag about in boiling water until the liquor was extracted. In the Japanese the verb “to shake” is _furū_, but this word is also used (especially by courtesans) to mean—“to repel” or “manifest dislike to” a guest. Ground tea (_Sancha_)—on the contrary—was not placed in a bag, but put right into the water, and therefore it required no shaking. The negative form of the word _furū_ is _furazu_, and _furazu_ has the sense not only of “not to shake” but “not to repel.” In the _Dōbō-Goyen_ it is stated that many of the better class courtesans were proud as peacocks, and in the zenith of their prosperity they would at times display marked antipathy to some of their guests, going so far as to repel (_furū_) the visitor altogether. The newly arrived courtesans who had been brought into the Yoshiwara from all parts of Yedo City were quite tractable and docile and did not attempt to rebuff (_furazu_) would-be guests and hence the name _Sancha-jōro_ (“Ground-tea harlots”). The fee of the _Sancha-jōro_ was at first 1 _Bu_ (gold) (about Yen 2.50). This class of women became very popular in course of time, and by the era of An-yei (1772–1780) and Temmei (1781–1788) this popularity had become so marked that the number and value of _Tayū_ and _Kōshi_ began to decrease. By the end of Hōreki (1763) the last-named classes disappeared, and as soon as they ceased to exist the _Sancha-jōro_ succeeded in monopolizing the whole field. About that time, however, there arose a superior class called the _Yobi-dashi_, and these again were divided into two grades, distinguished in the _Yoshiwara Saiken_ (list of prostitutes) of the period by the marks [SYM_1] and [SYM_2] respectively. Those marked [SYM_1] corresponded in all respects to the _tayū_. Their _age-dai_ for 24 hours was 1 _ryō_ 1 _bu_ (about Yen 12.50) while those bearing the sign [SYM_2] were similar to the _Kōshi-jōro_, their _age-dai_ for a day and a night being 1 _ryō_ (about 10.00 Yen).

[Illustration: Type of Modern Courtesan in “State” Costume.]

The _Sancha_ were divided into _Chūsan_ (or _Hirusan_) and _Tsuke-mawashi_, their charges being 3 _bu_ (about Yen 7.50) and 2 _bu_ (silver) (about Yen 5.00) respectively. Both the _Yobi-dashi_ and _Chūsan_ walked about the _Naka-no-chō_ on _hachimonji geta_ (clogs) whereas the other women, with the exception of the _Tsuke-mawashi_, appeared in the _hari-mise_ (or cage-like enclosure where the courtesans sat on exhibition). About the era of Genroku (1688–1703) a class of women named _Baicha-jōro_ came into existence and entered into competition with the _San-cha_, but failed to maintain their footing. The fee of these _Bai-cha_ was originally 10 _momme_ (silver) (about Yen 1.66) but it was raised to 15 _momme_ (about Yen 2.50) afterwards. By the era of Kwampō (1741–1743) the _Baicha_ had well-nigh disappeared. The _Zashiki-mochi_ and _Heya-mochi_ who existed up to the time of the Restoration are said to have been the remnants of the _Baicha-jōro_.

Since the Restoration (_I-shin_) the different classes of prostitutes have not been distinguished by any special names, but their _age-dai_ varies according to the position of the brothels to which they belong. At present (1899) the fees charged run from 20 _sen_ to 1 Yen 20 _sen_, and the women are divided into nine classes. The fees of the women in _ō-mise_ (large brothels) and _naka-mise_ (medium brothels) are Yen 1.20 and 90 _sen_ respectively. These large and medium-sized establishments must be visited through the agency of _hikite-jaya_, and the latter receive a commission of 10 per cent, on the business introduced by them.

In passing, it may be of interest to readers to peruse the following extracts from the “Kōshoku-Shūgyō-Shokoku-Monogatari,” (好色修行諸國物語), written by the well-known novelist Kyōden (京傳) under the _nom de plume_ of Shōzan (笑山). In this work elaborate descriptions of _Yobi-dashi_, _Zashiki-mochi_, and _Heya-mochi_ are given, and they portray a vivid picture of the lives and customs of those women between the era of Temmei (1781–1788) and Bunsei (1818–1829).

△ _Yobidashi_. (Fee from 1 _Ryō_ 1 _Bu_ to 1 _Ryō_ 3 _Bu_: about Yen 12.50 to Yen 17.50). The gorgeousness of her wearing apparel almost defies description. Her dress consists of a long robe of richly embroidered silk brocade. Her head is ornamented by a dazzling glory of hair-pins (made of the finest tortoise-shell) which glitter around her head like the lambent aureole of a saint, while her ravishing beauty is such that the mere sight of her face will steal away one’s very soul. * * * * * From this description, the neatness of her apartments, the tasteful arrangement of her furniture, and the dainty elegance of her personal effects may well be imagined. Every _oiran_ of the _Yobidashi_ class goes out walking in the _Naka-no-chō_ as soon as it is dusk. She is attended by two _kamuro_ (young female pages), two grown up female attendants (_shinzō_), a man bearing a box-lantern (_hakojōchin_), a footman holding an open long-handled umbrella, and an old woman (_yarite_) who acts as her chaperone.