The Nightless City | Project Gutenberg

Up to the 20th year of Meiji, both brothels and hikite-jaya were in the habit of freely distributing hand-bills for the purpose of attracting guests, but since then all classes of advertisements, having for their object the enticing of visitors to prostitute quarters, have been strictly prohibited by the authorities. Under these circumstances, it may prove interesting to reproduce some specimens of the old hand-bills issued by enterprising brothel-keepers in past times, and accordingly they are printed below.

Ageya no sashi-gami.
(Summons to the “Ageya.”)

In ancient times a guest was unable to visit a brothel direct, but had to negotiate for the services of courtesans through the “Age-ya.” The “Age-ya” then issued a written request or “summons” (sashi-gami) to the brothel, nominating the woman desired. The bearer of these sashi-gami accompanied the courtesans both going and coming between brothels and “Age-ya,” and as soon as guests had finished their “spree” and left, the yūjo were sent back to their respective houses. In the “Kwagai Manroku” (花街漫錄) a specimen copy of the summons is given: the size is about 11″ x 5″ (actually 9 sun 6 bu x 4 sun 3 bu) and wording as follows:—

The above was issued in the “year of the dog”—the second year of Tenna (1682)—and at that time Shōzaemon was the keeper of the “Kadomanji-ya” in Sumi-chō. Again, in the same book, (Kwagai Manroku) are given the following rules, relating to age-ya, which were in force in the Tenna era:—

Thus, when one wished to engage a courtesan in those times, he had to make a special arrangement in advance, fixing the date so as to avoid inconvenience, this agreement was termed a ken-yaku (兼約 = a previous convenant). The act of inducing a woman to cancel a previous engagement in favour of a later guest was called “morai” (貰ひ = something received, (a gift)), and when this was insisted upon, the successful bidder had to pay, besides the regular fee, an extra sum as compensation to the age-ya which was party to such previous engagement. This extra fee was the “shurai-gin” referred to in the above rules. The origin of the “age-ya” dates back to the Moto-Yoshiwara, and by the eras of Tenna (1681–1683) and Teikyō (1684–1687) these establishments had reached the zenith of their popularity. Since the sancha-jōro appeared, the age-ya gradually declined until the 10th year of Hōreki, when they completely disappeared, leaving hikita-jaya in their place.

“Kuruwa-kotoba” or Yoshiwara Dialect.

It appears that owing to the Yoshiwara being a rendezvous of people from various parts of the country, there were a great many provincialisms spoken. This caused considerable inconvenience to persons visiting the quarter, and therefore, for the purpose of making the language used as uniform as possible, a kind of dialect known as the “sato-kotoba” (里言葉 language of the prostitute quarter) was coined, and all the prostitute were taught to speak it. The “Hoku-jo-ryo Kigen” (北女閭起原) says:—

It is, however, suggested by some people that the dialect was transmitted from Shimabara, Kyōto (a noted prostitute quarter) for under the “Shimabara” section of the “Ukiyo Monogatari” (浮世物語) reference is made to the popular sato-kotoba words “kinanshita ka?” (have you come?), and “hayōinanshi” (go quickly.)

According to ancient records, up to the period of Meiwa (1764–1771) the honorific irregular verb masu (to be), which is always used as a terminal in conjunction with other verbs, was corrupted to “nsu” therefore such words as omoimasu (to think) gozaimasu (to be: to have) and mōshimashō (to say, to be) were changed to “omoinsū,” “gozarinsu,” “mōshinshō,” etc. From the end of Anyei (1772–1780) this again changed to “isu” and words like “gozaimasu” and omoimasu were pronounced “gozarisu” and “omoisu.” At that period “gozarimasu” was often pronounced as “gozansu,” or even “ozansu,” and in the vulgar colloquial it was sometimes pronounced as “gozensu” or “gozēsu”: accordingly “nasarimasé” (please deign to do) changed to “nasansé,” but in the Yoshiwara dialect this was further abbreviated to “nanshi.” Thus instead of “o kun nasai” (an abbreviation of “o kure nasarimasé” = please do) and “o agari nasaimashi” (an abbreviation of “o agari nasaimasé” = please come in: (or) please eat) were developed the words “o kun nanshi,” and “o agan nanshi,” etc. From the end of Kyōwa (1801–1803) until the Bunkwa era (1804–1817) “masu” and “mashi” changed to “namashi,” and afterwards into zansu, zaisu, zaimasu, ossu, osu, ariisu, etc.

It also appears that in former times the various brothels had their own special dialects, but these, not being specially interesting, all the dialectical differences are omitted here.

A few examples of sundry sentences and expressions may be cited to give an idea of the language:—

Yoshiwara Dialect.	Modern Japanese.	English.
Nushi wa mada chaya ni iinsuka?	Anata wa mada chaya ni i-nasaru ka?	Are you still in the tea-house?
Kore wo o mi nanshi.	Kore wo goran nasai.	Please look at this.
Oide nasen ka e?	Oide nasaimasen ka?	Won’t you go? (or) Won’t you come?
Mō chitto shite mērinshō.	Mō chitto shite mairimashō.	I will go (or “come”) a little later on.
Uso-uso shimē yo.	Sawaijā ikenai.	Don’t be excited.
Sonnara o tano-mō-shinsu.	Sonnara o tanomi mō-shimasu.	Well then I will leave the matter in your hands.
Sore wa tareshi mo sō de ozansu.	Sore wa dare demo sō de gozaimasu.	That is the case with everybody.
Sō ossēsu ga.	Sō osshaimasu ga....	You say so but....
Kurashinsu zo e.	Uchimasu yo!	I’ll strike you!
O busharezansu na.	Baka ni suruna.	Don’t try and make a fool of me.
Hagurakasu.	Age-ashi wo toru.	To catch a person tripping.
Sonna koto wa shirinsen.	Sonna koto wa shirimasen.	I don’t know anything about it.
Yabo.	Fu-anai no hito.	A stranger who is unacquainted with a place.
Sui.	Tsūjin.	An adept: a person posted up on all points; one who “Knows the ropes.”
Yonde kiro.	Yonde koi.	Call him.
Hayaku oppashiro.	Isoide yonde koi.	Call him quickly.
Itte koyo.	Itte kuru.	I will go.
Ayobiyaré.	O aruki nasai.	Please walk (on).
Fukkobosu.	Kobosu.	To spill; To grumble.
Kechi na koto.	Warui koto.	A wicked thing.
Kosoppai.	Kosobaii.	Ticklish.
Unasaruru.	Osuwaruru.	To have the nightmare.
Daijin	Fu-kyaku.	A rich guest.
Daté.	Daté.	Luxurious and elegant: a fop.
Hanka.	Nama-naka.	Impertinent and pedantic.
Shara-kusai.	Nama-iki.	To pretend to be something that one is not. “Cheeky.”
O kan.	Atsu-mono.	A hot object.
Tanabata.	Tama ni kuru kyaku.	An occasional guest.
Kuzetsu.	Chiwa-genkwa.	A curtain lecture.
Sashi.	Ai-gataki kyaku.	A guest with whom one cannot meet.
Nushi.	Iro-otoko.	A paramour.
O yukari sama.	Najimi kyaku.	A familiar guest.
Mukō no hito.	Yō-tashi akindo.	A Yoshiwara storekeeper.
Shirōto-ya.	Futsū no shōka.	Merchants and shopkeepers.
Go te san.	Go teishu.	The proprietor of a tea-house or hotel.
Okasan.	O kamisan.	The wife of the above.
Ani-san.	Musuko.	The son of the above.
Gebizō: Kurai-nuke.	Bōshoku suru hito.	A glutton.
Inasé.	Sugata no yoi hito.	A person with an elegant figure.
Shitta ka yō.	Bakarashii.	Ridiculous.
Jirettōsu.	Jirettō gozaimasu.	I am vexed.
Yō-zansu.	Yō gozaimasu.	All right: Very well.
Nan zansu ka?	Nan de gozaimasu ka?	What is it?
Kii-shita.	Kimashita.	Has come.
Dashi-kitte.	Arawasu.	To show (or) manifest anything.
Shinobi-komeru.	Hisoka ni.	Secretly.
Samisen-ban.	Mise no samisen wo adzukaru {shinzo}.	{Samisen} keeper.
Nanto demo ii nanshi.	Nanto demo o ii nasai.	Say whatever you like (I don’t mind).
Chotto mi nē!	Miyagaré.	Oh! just look at (hear) him!
Ii ame dakké nē!	(The same).	What good rain!31
Akire-kēru yo.	Akire-kaeru yo.	I am astonished.
Pochi-pochi.	Oiran ni kawai-garareta hito.	A guest loved by a courtesan.
Chaki-chaki.	Oiran ni niku-mareta hito.	The reverse.
Ki-fū.	Kiita-fū.	Pedantic style.
Shiwo-ya. Enjirō.	Jiman unubore no hito.	A conceited fellow.

A saying in vogue about the Bunkwa era (1804–1817) was:—You can distinguish the Ōgi-ya by “watakushi” the Tama-ya by “shitsukata” the Chōjiya by “zansu” and the Matsuba-ya by “osu.” This was said because of the peculiar dialects, spoken in the respective houses, changed into zansu, zaisu, ossu, osu, ariisu, etc. The sato-kotoba has now entirely disappeared, but as many of the women come from the Western provinces, in the neighbourhood of Kyōto, it is common in the Yoshiwara to hear such words as “anata itsu kiyaharimasu” (when will you come?), “sō dakka” (is that so?), “ahōrashii” (nonsense!), etc.

Shōgi no okonau juho.
(Magic charms practised by the Yoshiwara courtesans.)

The Yoshiwara inhabitants are all peculiarly superstitious people and great believers in omens, consequently they carefully avoid anything which may be construed as fore-shadowing ill-luck. The word cha (tea) is supposed to be unlucky because it occurs in the phrase o cha wo hiku (literally “to pulverize tea,” but idiomatically it is applied to women of ill-fame who are unpopular and means “to be out of employment”) therefore it is carefully eschewed not only by courtesans but by geisha also.32 The courtesans call “tea” “agaribana” (“going-up-flower”: meaning a guest who is going up the stairs) or “yamabuki” (“yellow rose”) or Uji (the name of a place) because the liquor of the infused tea is the colour of the yamubuki flower, and because Uji (near Kyōto) is a noted tea-district. Geisha speak of tea as “o-de-bana” (“august-going-out-flower”) because this expression conveys the sense of their “going out” and gathering presents (hana) from guests. Sitting on the staircase is looked upon with aversion, as this is supposed to decrease the number of guests. When a cat, or a domestic fowl, passes through a room it is immediately caught and brought back to the direction from whence it came, because the local folk believe that the toleration of such an event will tend to make guests go away without stopping at the house. There are a great many silly superstitions of a similar nature in the Yoshiwara, and charms of all kinds are extensively practised. Every evening the bantō of each brothel says a prayer before the “Engi-dana” (the shelf of good luck: this was formerly furnished with emblems of phallic worship), a bundle of wooden clog-checks (to which a long rope is attached) is held up and struck several times against the floor of the house, and then an imitation of a rat’s squeak is made while the bantō strikes a pillar of the house with his hand. This process is said to be a charm for attracting many guests. It would require a thick volume to contain a description of all these charms, therefore only a few of the principal ones as mentioned in the “Shōbai Ōrai” (倡賣往來), written by Jippensha Ikku, are given here.

At present nobody seems to be acquainted with the charms mentioned above, they have fallen into disuse nowadays.

Below will be found a description of charms now in vogue. These are most important occult secrets and should not be lightly revealed to the vulgar!

To attract a person. Write the first letter of the name of the person, together with the date of his birth, on a piece of paper. Paste this under a staircase on the third step from the bottom, but do it secretly so that nobody will detect it. If a person misses his footing and falls from this stairway the charm will certainly be effective.

Ditto. When there is any particular guest whom a courtesan wishes to call, a letter supposed to be addressed to him should be prepared, and on the cover should be written the words—“Kogaruru kimi ye.” (To my beloved prince) and “Go zonji yori” (From—you know who). This missive must be dropped at a cross-way, and if it be picked up by somebody the charm will work.

Ditto. Take a sheet of hanshi paper and cut it in the style of a noren (curtain hung before a shop) and on each leaf write the Chinese character 狐 (kitsune = “fox”). Stick this on the inside of a cupboard or drawer so that nobody will know about it, and then offer up a prayer for the speedy advent of the person for whom you are waiting. When he arrives you must secretly remove the paper and throw it away.

Ditto. There is a game called en-musubi (marrying) which is played by making a couple of koyori (soft Japanese paper twisted into a string) and holding them in the middle while a person ties both ends together. The koyori are now stretched by pulling, and if they become entangled in the process the marriage is supposed to be assured. If you tie the paper strings which have been used for this purpose to a tobacco pipe-stem, or to the mouth of a teapot, this will certainly cause the appearance of the party whose presence you desire.

Ditto. Seven paper-strings (koyori) are bundled together and held by the centre, while four of them are fastened at one end in pairs; the remaining three are also fastened, two with one string. Of the last two strings, one represents the girl’s lover, and is to be marked as such. When all these strings are pulled, sometimes none of them get tangled, but now and then one of the three strings tied together may entangle itself with the others in a curious fashion. Taking this as the “boundary” the length of the remaining two strings should be compared, presuming the one that is marked to be the man and the other to be the woman. If the male string is longer it means that the man’s love is deeper, and vice versa. When the paper strings have entangled themselves in an auspicious manner, such strings should be fastened to the end of the woman’s koshi-maki (kind of waist-cloth) and they will prove to be an irresistible charm for attracting men. When the person longed for finally arrives, this koyori must be secretly removed and thrown away so as not to be detected by anyone. Should this once be forgotten, and the woman go to bed with her lover while the strings are still attached to her waistcloth, the charm will lose its efficacy in future.

Ditto. The woman must concentrate her mind and think of the abode of her lover (if the street, number, etc. is not clearly known a hypothesis will suffice), the route to be taken in going there, and the distance. She must then imagine herself departing from her own house, and on her way to that of the lover, counting her steps as she goes. Then she will shortly suppose that she has reached her destination, that she has met with the man she was seeking, and that she is urging him to visit her in the evening without fail. After obtaining his consent she must mentally commence her return journey, going through the same process as she did on her outward journey. Of course all this labour of love is mentally performed, so that it may be done even in the presence of another guest without arousing the slightest suspicion in the minds of outsiders. This practice of telepathy is said to be startlingly effective in its results.

Ditto. Take a sheet of hanshi paper and from it cut out seven human figures, all joined together. Then fill in the eyes, noses, and mouths, but do not complete these in each figure: let some be without a nose or mouth, or minus one eye, etc. On the abdomen of the central figure should be written three times the first letter of the man’s name, and on the remaining six figures it should be written five times. The central letter on the central figure should be pierced with a needle in an upward direction, and all the figures should then be solemnly promised that if the desired party turns up, their organs shall be completed and that they shall be thrown into a stream and allowed to float away. The figures should then be pasted in a place where they will not be detected. In the event of the person whose presence is desired actually appearing, the organs of the figures should be completed, and then the paper men should be thrown either into the moat or the W.C.

Ditto. In the small hours of the morning, enter a room which faces the street and which is not usually occupied by anybody. Shut up the paper shutters (shōji) and place your sandals in the room with the bottoms upwards. Then pass through the room out into the verandah, place your hands in the bosom of your dress and shutting your eyes repeat an old well-known poem three times in succession. If you then listen very carefully you will hear a human voice which, speaking in an undertone, will tell you whether “he” will come or not. This is a very doubtful charm!

Ditto. Write on a sheet of hanshi paper the well-known poem:— “Konu hito wo Matsuo no ura no yū-nagi ni yakuya moshiwo no mi wo kogashi-tsutsu” [this has been translated by Mr. F.V. Dickins (with a slight verbal alteration) as follows:—

On Matsuo’s shore, our meeting place,

At dusky hour of night, I wait

My longed-for loved one to embrace;

Ah, why linger’st thou so late!

My ardent passion, than the fire

That heats the salt-pans, rages higher.

or “Waiting for he who comes not with a passion fervent as the heat which bakes salt,”] and at the end of the papers—“Tare sama itsu made ni kuru yō ni tonomi-age-mairase-sōrō” (I beg that Mr. _______ will come by ________ (date) ________) as well as the name of the God or Buddha which you usually worship. Stick this paper on the wall upside down.

Charm for attracting guests when “trade” is dull. Either burn a large moxa on the bottom of the wooden pillow you generally use, or tie two pillows securely together with an obi (sash) and fling them into an unlighted room. The charm is said to be extraordinarily effective.

Charm for attracting an unfaithful man. When you desire to see an unfaithful man for the purpose of upbraiding him for his insincerity, first write everything you wish to tell him and pour out all your wrath upon him in the letter. Then procure a frog, stick a needle in its back, and putting your letter before the reptile tell it to take the missive to the addressee, promising that if it be successful in conveying the letter into the man’s sleeve-pocket the needle shall be extracted. The frog will assuredly deliver the letter into the man’s sleeve-pocket, come back, and immediately die. The faithless one, finding the letter in his sleeve, will certainly visit you to seek an explanation of the mystery.

Charm to send away a guest. Take a ko-yori (a paper string or “spill”) and with it form the shape of a dog. Place this on the wardrobe or mirror-stand in a room next to the one in which the guest is, making the paper animal face him. Ask the doggie in a whisper to quickly answer you whether the guest will go away or stop. It is said that this charm is so extraordinarily efficacious that a guest who is thinking of taking his departure goes away forthwith, while one who wishes to stay immediately expresses his intention of renewing the engagement and prolonging his visit.

Ditto. If the end of the underfold of your waistcloth or “petticoat” (koshi-maki) be tied in a knot the guest will leave immediately.

Ditto. Wrap up a small quantity of luke-warm ashes in a piece of paper and place the packet under the night-clothes (bedding) of the guest near his feet. He will immediately go away.

Ditto. Stand a broom on end in the room next to your guest’s room, and laying out a pair of sandals before it, say in a whisper—“There now, do please go away quickly.” The guest will leave at once.

How to know whether “he” is coming or not. This charm is a somewhat indelicate and disgusting one, but it runs as follows:—In the small hours of the morning enter the W.C., carrying a piece of red paper and a box of matches. Light the paper by means of a match and glance down into the W.C. pan, and you will see the face of the person you are thinking about appear mysteriously. If the face is smiling your relations are at an end, and you must resign yourself to the situation; but if, on the other hand, it betrays signs of anger, the man will visit you ere long. When the charm has worked, put out the light and throw the remains of the paper down the W.C. If you accidentally drop the burning paper on the face of your ghostly visitant a scar is said to be left on the face of the real man.

To ascertain about the health a of man. Very early in the morning enter an unoccupied room which contains eight mats. Take a broom with you, dress it up with clothes as if it were a person, then tie an obi round its supposed waist, and cover the head with a towel after the fashion of hōkamuri. Now place a letter addressed to your friend in the bosom of the figure, instructing the dummy to deliver the missive to the addressee, obtain a reply from him, and place same in a certain specified drawer. Then stand the dressed-up broom in a corner of the room against the wall, and without looking back quit the chamber. Sometimes the broom topples over by itself without there being a puff of wind to cause the fall. If it falls down the charm will work, a reply be found in the drawer mentioned, and you will receive news of the person about whom you wish to know. (This is an exceedingly doubtful charm.)

How to read a man’s mind. While your guest is asleep, crawl secretly out of bed very early in the morning, and getting a single sandal from the W.C. get into bed again without awakening the man. If the guest is sound asleep, rub his chest very gently with this sandal and at the same time ask him his read mind towards you. He will, under these conditions, answer, as if in a dream, any question you may put to him, and thus unbosom all his secrets. When the charm is completed, you must return the sandal to its original place, and coming back go to bed again.

To call in money. If you have asked a guest for money and failed to obtain it, dress a broom up with clothes like a human figure, and standing it upside down complain to it of the non-fulfilment of promises just as if it were a human being: then knock the figure down, telling it to bring the money without fail on the following day. This will cause the man to dream of your indignation at his breach of promise and he will visit you forthwith, bringing with him the necessary money.

To arrest the menstrual flow. Before retiring at night, float some tōshin (pith wick of a lamp) or ashes on water and drink the mixture. This is said to be wonderfully effective in arresting the courses.

If the ears are ticklish it is a sign of a lucky event about to happen. In the morning the right ear and in the evening the left ear tickles.
Sneezing denotes:—
- Once,—Some person is secretly praising you;
- Twice,—Some person is backbiting you;
- Thrice,—Some person is in love with you;
- Four times,—You have caught a cold.
Cramp in the leg is cured by plucking out a straw from the matting of the room, slightly wetting it with saliva, and rubbing it on the forehead while repeating the formula—“Shibire Kyō ye noboré!” (Cramp, go up to the Capital!).
He who puts parings of human nails, or hair from a human head into the fire, will go mad.
To dislodge a bone which has stuck in the throat, stroke the throat thrice with any ivory instrument and repeat the formula—“U no nodo, u no nodo” (Cormorant’s throat, cormorant’s throat).
To cure a corn on the foot. Previous to mentioning anything about it to another person rub it thrice with the natural oil which exudes from the side of the nose.
How to tell the sex of a child yet unborn. After obtaining a charm (for ensuring safe delivery) from the temple of Kwannon (Goddess of Mercy) at Asakusa, if the paper within the packet is red the child will be a girl, and, if green, a boy. It is also said that if on the morning of the first day of the month of parturition a male visitor arrives the child will be a boy, but, if a female visitor, a girl.
When the combined ages of a married couple can be divided by three without leaving a remainder, a girl will be born, but if there is a remainder a boy will be born.

If the yet unborn child shall have been conceived in one year and its birth be due in the following year, the ages of the parents should be added together, one year added to the number resulting, and then the total should be divided by three.

If a pregnant woman asks her first-born child (whether boy or girl is a matter of indifference) “Mame ka adzuki ka?” (Ordinary bean or Adzuki bean?) and the child answers “Ordinary bean” a girl will be born, but if the answer is “Adzuki bean,” then a boy will be born.
If you wear a basket on your head by way of a hat you will become dwarfed in stature, and if you tread in horse-dung you will become tall.
Dust in the eyes may be removed by closing the eyes and licking the upper lip for a short time, or by spitting thrice and repeating the formula “Gomi, nara dero; suna nara tokero!” (If dirt go out; if sand melt!)
When you meet a person suffering from opthalmia, and he stares at you, if you do not stare back you will catch the disease.
When you meet a funeral procession you should conceal your thumbs or else your parents will die.
Should a woman wash her hair on the “day of the Horse” (Uma no hi) she will go mad.
A person who is not sensitive to tickling is the child of an illicit lover.
If one allows the nail of his little finger to grow, he will not be forgetful.
If one removes the skin excretions (aka) from his navel (heso) he will catch cold.
Method of curing toothache:—
Bottom of two feet.

Place a piece of white paper on the floor, put both your feet upon it close together, and draw the outline of the feet. You have now a shape on the paper approximating to a human face. In this draw eyes, nose, and then draw a representation of a set of teeth in the mouth. Then paint the representation of the aching tooth quite black, and the two next teeth slightly black, fold up the paper in eight folds, drive a nail through the same and then throwing the paper into a river let it drift away down stream.
To cure a corn on one’s foot. Draw upon it three times the character 鳩 (hato = pigeon) and then thoroughly smudge out the character. (Perhaps the idea is that the pigeon eats the corn!)
If one allows wax to collect in the glands of the ears his memory will be improved.
To cure ringworn (tamushi). Draw on the affected part the character 鴫 (shigi = snipe) or else 南 (minami = south) and then thoroughly smudge out the writing with black ink. (It is said that when the character 鴫 (shigi = snipe) is used the idea is that the snipe will eat up the tamushi—ringworm. This arises from a play upon the words used. Tamushi, if divided, becomes ta mushi, and phonetically may mean 田 (ta = a ricefield) + 虫 (mushi = an insect). It is well-known that snipe (shigi) devour the insects (mushi) in the rice-fields (ta) and thus the superstition.)
If you dream of eating anything you will catch cold the following day.
When a woman has trouble in suckling her child owing to the flow of milk being scanty, she should draw a picture of a namadzu (cat-fish) on a piece of paper, and stick this paper on a Kōshin-dō (shrine of the Kōshin). This is a sovereign remedy and will certainly ensure a full flow of the lacteal fluid.
If a woman washes her hair when she has the monthlies, she will die of a burning fever.
Circle divided into 4 sections.
To cure the hiccoughs, fill a tea-cup with hot water or tea, and on the top of the cup place a pair of chopsticks cross-fashion. Then drink a mouthful from each of the four divisions thus formed, and after each mouthful be sure not to forget to mention the name of some bridge. You must however be careful that the word bridge (hashi) appearing in the name is not changed in the combination by reason of euphony. For instance Same-ga-hashi (Shark’s bridge) Naka-no-hashi (Middle bridge) O-hashi (Great bridge) Ichi-no-hashi (First bridge) will do, whereas Nippon-bashi (Japan bridge) Kyō-bashi (Capital bridge) will not do because the word hashi (bridge) undergoes a phonetic change in the combination.
To cure a wart. Wrap a spider’s web around it, or go to a grave-yard and apply water from the oldest grave-stone. Another method is to rub the wart gently with an adzuki bean and then bury the bean in the earth placing a heavy stone or tile upon it. If this bean does not germinate and sprout the wart will disappear. Still another method is to stand by a sanshō (Xanthoxylon piperitum) tree, and to gently stroke the tree, repeating the formula “ibo utsuré, ibo utsuré!” (Wart be transferred, wart be transferred!). This last method is eminently efficacious.
In order to hasten menstruation thread a needle with red thread and stick it into the wall of the W.C. In order to prolong the courses, step over three adzuki beans or over the bank-like paths dividing the fields. To swallow an adzuki bean is also efficacious.
If one places a mushroom on his navel, and keeps it there, he will not become sea-sick.
In case of many persons having had illicit intercourse with a woman, and it is not certain who is the father of the child, if the placenta be placed on a lacquered tray and examined it is said that the father’s crest (armorial bearings) will appear.
If one goes to sleep early on the night of the Kōshin, a boil will form on his buttocks.
If you shake your legs you will become poor.
If you break wind your tongue will turn yellow for a little while.
If you cut your nails at night you will be bewitched by a fox.
A woman who has curly hair is lecherous.
Talk about your own death and you will live to a good old age.
If your front teeth are wide apart you will soon be separated from your parents.
If you tell falsehoods your tongue will be plucked out by Emma (the King of Hell).
If a person bleeds at the nose or eyes when climbing a high mountain he is a wicked man.
To cure ring-worm rub the effected part with ame (a kind of syrup made from malt), stick this ame on the branch of an e-no-ki (celtis sinensis) and go straight away without looking back.
To cure a stye (mono-morai). If it has grown on the lower eyelid, you must receive some nigiri-meshi (boiled rice rolled up into a ball-like shape) from a person in an inferior station in life and eat the same: the nigiri-meshi must be received from outside of the window, the giver being inside the room. If the stye be on the upper lid, the nigiri-meshi must be obtained from a person who is your social superior.
Or, stroke the affected spot with a miso (bean-sauce) strainer and reflect half the bottom of the strainer in a well: when a cure is effected reflect the whole strainer in the well.

Or, rub a comb until it becomes warm by reason of the friction, and then touch the stye with the same.
If you kindle a fire in front of the entrance of your house (Kado-guchi) on the occasion of the Shōryō-matsuri (the festival celebrated in commemoration of dead relatives on the 7th day of the 7th month—old calendar) and tread on the ashes, your legs will become strong. If your light your pipe by this fire you will not suffer from coughs.
He who shaves off the hair from his legs will not be able to run swiftly when he runs away.
If a small boil or pimple forms within your nostrils, a child will be born in the house of some relative.
If you glare fiercely at your parents, you will become squint-eyed (yabu-nirami to naru).
Strike a person on the chest and you will not survive three years.
If you have te-midzu (water for washing the hands) thrown over you, you will die within three years.
If you hang up over a midzu-game (water-jar) a straw snake (mugiwara no ja) such as is purchased by Fuji-mōde (pilgrims to Fujiyama) on the first day of the sixth month (old calendar), the inmates of your house will not suffer from fever. If you preserve the tongue of this straw snake it will be efficacious as a febrifuge if boiled in water and the resulting liquor swallowed by a feverish person.
If a child has been bruised, and is in pain, if he repeats the formula—“Chichin pui-pui, go yō no on takara” (This cannot be translated into English) the pain will disappear.
If a pregnant woman drinks saké (Japanese rice wine) and eats the flesh of a sparrow together, the child to which she gives birth will be lewd and immoral (impon).
In order to determine the sex of a fœtus, look at the jijikké (soft hair growing on the nape of the neck) of the child born previously, and if it is bent to the left the child will be a boy whereas, if to the right, a girl.
If a pregnant woman happens to touch her own skin while beholding a conflagration, the child to which she gives birth will be found to have maculæ (aza) on the corresponding part of its body. If however she happens to be carrying a mirror in the bosom of her dress the child will escape being thus marked.
Should two pregnant woman live together in the same house, one of them will either die together with her child, or have a miscarriage.
If a child plays with fire he will urinate the bed.
If one spits into the W.C. he will go blind.
If you press down a person’s shoulder, your own stature will become short.
If you throw te-midzu (see No. 44) over a person you will have a child born without hands.
If the soles of your feet become ticklish you will become poor.
If you urinate on an earth-worm your penis will swell up and become inflamed, but if you subsequently wash any earthworm with water the swelling will subside and the inflammation disappear.
If you go to sleep with your hand on your breast you will be disturbed by dreams.
If when you have “the hiccoughs” you repeat thrice, without taking breath, the formula—“Ebisu sama no omori-mono nusunde Kuiyasen ka! (Haven’t you been stealing and eating the things offered up to Ebisu Sama?33) you will be cured.
When many circular and wave-like lines or wrinkles (udzu no makitaru shiwa-suji) appear on the finger-tips, one becomes skilful at doing everything.
If the great toe of a person’s foot is shorter than the next toe, then he will be more prosperous than his parents.
Persons whose eyebrows are close together are short-lived.
If you stick a piece of paper, on which is written “Chinsei Hachirō Tametomo Kō on yado” (The sojourning place of Chinsei Hachirō, Lord Tametomo), on the door of the house, small-pox will not enter.
If you dress a small-pox patient in red garments the attack will be but slight. The imp of small-pox is pleased with the sight of red garments and deals gently with the wearers.
If you write “Hisamatsu rusu” (“Hisamatsu is not at home”) on a piece of paper, and stick it on the door of the house, you will not catch “o some kaze” (influenza). [The origin of this saying is that in the good old times there lived two lovers, the man being named Hisamatsu, and the woman O Some. Ergo, when Hisamatsu is not at home, O Some does not enter the house, whereas if he were in she would enter to meet him.]

If previous to going to bed you repeat the following three times, you will awake the next morning at any hour you choose:—

Hono-bono to
Akashi no ura no
Asa-gari ni
Shima-kakure-yuku
Fune wo shiso omou34

Gazing upon the beautiful scenery of the coast of Akashi, and faintly seeing the fishing boats going out to fish in the grey light of the dawn, I feel a sense of regret when the white sails of the tiny crafts disappear from sight behind the islands in the distance.

[This poem was composed by Hitomaro, one of the Sanjū-rok-ka-sen or thirty-six famous poets of Japan.]

When a white spot forms on the finger-nails, one’s stock of clothes will increase.
If you are guilty of unfilial conduct you will get a sasakure (hang-nail.)
If a stye has formed on your eyelid, go to the house of another person and ask for food. Eat the food given you and the stye will disappear.
If a child he conceived on the night of the Kōshin, he will turn out a robber. [“Kōshin is a deification of that day of the month which corresponds to the 57th term of the Chinese sexagesimal circle.” Murray’s Hand-Book for Japan.]
When you are suffering from kusa (a kind of cutaneous eruption), draw the character 馬 (uma = horse) upon the affected spot and it will then heal up.
If you desire not to beget any more children, when you name your last child you should introduce the character 留 (tomé = to stop; to stay) or 極 (kiwa = to come to an end; a limit). This method is most efficacious.
To protect a child from having convulsions. Hang up together to the ceiling (1) a toy basket, (2) a toy umbrella, (3) a papier maché dog (inu-hariko), all of which things must have been purchased in the naka-mise (the row of shops leading up to the gate of Kwannon Sama) at Asakusa.
To protect a child from whooping-cough (hyaku-nichi-zeki), Take a piece of white cotton (shiro-momen) one shaku (15 inches) square, and wrapping therein one gō (1.2706 gills) of salt, tie the whole up with red silk thread and then hang the package up to the ceiling of the doma (the small unfloored court at the entrance of Japanese houses.)
To protect a child from natsu-boshi (a kind of prickly heat). Place one of the first fruits of the egg-plant (hatsunari no nasu) in a tea-bag and suspend from the ceiling.
If a woman sweeps and cleans out the W.C. her labour will be easy in child-birth.
When a person finds that his children die and that he cannot rear them, it is a good plan to abandon the next child born, watch until some person picks it up, and then reclaim it. This will ensure the child’s subsequent health and it will grow up safely. It is also a good plan to use the character 捨 (suteru = to throw away) when composing the child’s name, or else to call him “Aguri.” If one constructs a tōba out of the wood of a keyaki (Zelkowa acuminata) tree, using it upside down so that the grain points downwards, and erects it by the grave of the last child who died, children born subsequently will grow up safely. [As tōba, or sotōba, is a long, narrow, and thin wooden table on which is inscribed Sanskrit characters quoted from the Buddhist sacred books, this term is derived from the Sanskrit word “stupa” = “a mound.”]
If an infant not yet weaned has two lines on the back of the thigh between the buttocks and the knee, the next child born will be a girl. If only one line be visible the next child will be a boy.
An old saying runs—“Don’t cut your nails on the day of the Hare (U), Swine (I), Serpent (Mi), or Goat (Hitsuji), or the tears on your sleeves will never dry up,” (Japanese use their long flowing sleeves in wiping their tears away) and in consequence of this maxim, people do not like to cut their nails on those days: they also dislike to cut their nails at night (yo-dzume), or when about to go out (de-dzume).
If on the day of the Dog (inu no hi) a pregnant women makes an iwata-obi (the bandage worn by pregnant women after the 5th month until confinement), her delivery will be painless.
If you stumble and fall down in a graveyard you will die within three years, and if you are wounded the scar will not heal up.
If you fall down at San-nen-saka (three years hill) in San-nen-machi (three years town) in Kōjimachi district, you will not live three years.
To cure toothache. Wrap a piece of paper round the top of one of the piles of the sluice near Same-ga-hashi in Yotsuya district, and then tie it on with midzu-hiki (a line paper cord used for tying up presents.)
If you wash your face with too hot water wrinkles will appear very soon. It you hang up a wet towel on a rack without smoothing it out, your face will soon become wrinkled.
If you pull out one of the soft hairs on the back of the neck (jijikké) this will stop bleeding of the nose.
If you do not put out fire with your foot you will never have a calamity or loss by fire.
If you bury pen and ink (fude-sumi) with the placenta (ena) the child will become a skilful penman, and if a fan be buried also, the child will rise in the world.
If you allow your nails to grow too long you will catch cold.
The child always dislikes (has an aversion towards) the particular insect that first passed over the place where the placenta (ena) was buried. (If the first insect to crawl across was a caterpillar, the child will always feel a creeping horror when he sees one in after years).
If you sit down on a seat which has just been vacated by a person, you will fall out and quarrel with him unless you tap the seat thrice before sitting down.
If a man and woman visit the shrine of Benten Sama (in Enoshima) together, their connection will be severed.
Fan the palms of your hands and your whole body will become cool.
If after giving birth to a child the stomach is aching obstinately, burn an old tea-bag and eat the ashes. This will cure the pain.
If you dream of being cut down (wounded) by a person, it is a sign that you are going to make money.
To prevent the spread of infection in case of fever, wrap up some horse-dung in a piece of paper and place the package under the mattress on which the patient is lying.
If the palms of the hands itch you will receive money; if the backs of the hands itch you will disburse money. When the sole of the foot itches, go straight home and scratch it and you will certainly escape the impending evil.
If you have contracted hayari-me (epidemic opthalmia), you can cure the disease by the following method. Get a tsukegi (old-fashioned sulphur match), write on it “Yamme ō-yasu-uri” (Diseased eyes for sale cheap), and throw it away, together with 10 Mon sen (1 sen present coinage), at a place where cross-roads meet.
If you suffer from earache (kara-mimi) you can cure yourself by applying water to the ear from the oldest grave you can find.
To care ague (okori). Write down the patient’s name and age on a piece of paper and throw the same into the river from Jinnoi-bashi at Fuku-tomi-chō in Asakusa district.

1st	•	(first)	Dearly beloved one. Oh! how I love you! come—do come! Hamanoya.
2nd	◦•		Vexing and horribly irritating. Kichisama.
3rd	•		As he does not know my real mind it is very irritating. Ryūsama.
4th	•	(second)	Oh! you sickeningly ugly brute! Your face is like that of Heisaku the Octapus! Sumiya.
5th	•	(first)	The fellow looks just like Hachibei of Tamachi. (i.e. “an ass.”) Iseya
6th	◦•	(first)	I love you! Come quickly! Sumiya.
7th	•	(first)	Yes you are handsome: if you want to come then come. Minatoya.
8th	◦•		Ah! what joy and gladness! Minatoya (and) Yasu Sama.

		(Hitherto.)	(Reduced price.)
1.	Women possessing zashiki	1 Bu (Yen 2.50)	12 Momme (silver) (Yen 2.00)
2.	Women possessing heya	2 Shu (Yen 1.25)	6 Momme ( “ ) (Yen 1.00)
3.	Private geisha	2 Shu (Yen 1.25)	6 Momme ( “ ) (Yen 1.00)

Hire of yūjo, and cost of saké, soup, on-suzuributa (a tray of cooked foods), on-hachizakana (fish served in dishes), and mitsu-mono (a set of three procelain vessels containing food).	3 Bu. (Yen 7.50)

Hire of yūjo and cost of saké, soup, a tray of cooked food, and mitsumono.	2 Bu. (Yen 5.00)

Hire of yūjo and cost of saké, soup, kuchi-tori (a side dish), and mitsumono.	1 Bu 2 Shu. (Yen 3.75)

Hire of yūjo and cost of saké, soup, side-dish, and futatsu-mono.	1 Bu. (Yen 2.50)

Hire of yūjo and cost of soup, and futatsu-mono.	2 Shu. (Yen 1.25)

Per geisha and cost of one dish of food.	2 Shu. (Yen 1.25)

(Signed.)	Kyūyemon. (Proprietor.)	(SEAL.)
(Countersigned.)	Chōbei. (Monthly Manager.)	(SEAL.)

Yūjo no hiki-fuda.
(Brothel advertisements.)

Ageya no sashi-gami.
(Summons to the “Ageya.”)

“Kuruwa-kotoba” or Yoshiwara Dialect.

Shōgi no okonau juho.
(Magic charms practised by the Yoshiwara courtesans.)

Some Queer Japanese Superstitions.

Yūjo no hiki-fuda. (Brothel advertisements.)

Ageya no sashi-gami. (Summons to the “Ageya.”)

“Kuruwa-kotoba” or Yoshiwara Dialect.

Shōgi no okonau juho. (Magic charms practised by the Yoshiwara courtesans.)

Some Queer Japanese Superstitions.

Yūjo no hiki-fuda.
(Brothel advertisements.)

Ageya no sashi-gami.
(Summons to the “Ageya.”)

Shōgi no okonau juho.
(Magic charms practised by the Yoshiwara courtesans.)