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:—

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:—

In the following spring (1613) Shōji Jinyemon was summoned to the Magistrate’s Court and examined on various points by Honda Lord of Sado, after which he was informed that the result of the petition would be made known at a later date. He was then dismissed.

In the spring of the 3rd year of Genna (1617) Jinyemon was again summoned to the Court and, in the presence of several other judicial officials, Honda Lord of Sado notified him that the petition was granted. He was also informed that two square chō of land would be devoted to the purpose of founding a prostitute quarter, and that the site had been selected at Fukiya-machi. In return for this privilege, Jinyemon promised that no prostitutes should be allowed in the city of Yedo and neighbourhood except in the licensed quarter, and further covenanted that in case of any of the women being found elsewhere the matter should be communicated to the authorities, as in duty bound, either by himself or by the other brothel-keepers. At the same time, Shōji Jinyemon was appointed Keisei-machi Nanushi (director of the prostitute quarter) and was instructed by the Bugyō (Governor possessed of administrative, military, and judicial functions) to observe the following regulations:—

On the low land of Fukiya-chō, which was thus granted by the authorities, now stand Idzumi-chō, Takasago-cho, Sumiyoshi-chō, and Naniwa-chō, and the ko-hori (or small ditch) at Hettsui-gashi which was once the outer moat of the prostitute quarters. The present Ō-mon-dōri (Great Gate Street) was formerly the street leading to the Ō-mon (Great Gate). At the time about which I am writing the place was one vast swamp overrun with weeds and rushes, so Shōji Jinyemon set about clearing the Fukiya-machi, reclaiming and filling in the ground, and building an enclosure thereon. Owing to the number of rushes which had grown thereabout the place was re-named Yoshiwara (葭原 = Rush-moor) but this was afterwards changed to Yoshi-wara (吉原 = Moor of Good luck) in order to give the locality an auspicious name.

The work of filling in and levelling the ground, and the construction of houses, was commenced in the 3rd year of Genna (1617) and by November of the following year “business” commenced. The work of laying out the streets and completing the quarters was not however finished until the 9th day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of Kwan-ei (28th November 1626).

The following were the names of the wards of the Yoshiwara:—

Yedo-chō, It-chō-me: This was the pioneer prostitute quarter established in the city after the Tokugawa government had made Yedo the seat of their administration; and in the hope and expectation of sharing in the prosperity of the city itself the felicitous name of Yedo-chō (Yedo ward) was chosen as appropriate for the new ward. All the houses at Yanagi-chō removed to this Yedo-chō, and among them was the “Nishida-ya” (House of the Western Ricefield) which was kept by Shōji Jinyemon himself.

Yedo-chō, Ni-chō-me: To this ward (Second ward of Yedo-chō) were transferred all the houses formerly kept at Moto-Kamakura-gashi.

Kyōmachi, It-chō-me: To this ward were transferred the houses at Kōjimachi. The majority of these establishments having had their origin in Roku-jō, Kyōto, the ward was named Kyō-machi, thus using the first character 京 (Kyō) of Kyōto and preserving the old association with the capital.

Kyōmachi, Ni-chō-me: The brothelkeepers of Hisagomachi in Ōsaka, Kitsuji in Nara, and other localities, having heard of the opening of the Yoshiwara, many of them immigrated to this place. The buildings in this ward were completed two years later than those in the other streets, and accordingly this ward was commonly called Shim-machi (新町 New Street).

Sumi-chō: The brothels at Sumi-chō, Kyōbashi, having been removed to this ward, the name of the original place was copied when “christening” the new street.

After many vicissitudes, the brothel-keepers believed that they had now found an abiding place, and that no further changes would be made, but they were doomed to disappointment. On the 19th day of the 10th month of the 2nd year of Meireki (4th December 1656) Ishigaya Shōgen, the Bugyō, summoned the elders (toshi-yoridomo) of the Yoshiwara and informed them that the existing site of the prostitute quarter being required by the authorities for building purposes, the houses must be removed elsewhere. Ishigaya added that, in lieu of the Yoshiwara, the authorities were prepared to grant either a plot of land in the vicinity of the Nihon-dsutsumi (Dike of Japan) behind the Asakusa temple, or one in the neighbourhood of Honjō.

The representatives of the Yoshiwara people were filled with consternation at the action of the government, and they submitted a petition of grievances to the effect that the brothels had been in existence for 44 years and that the keepers would be put to great inconvenience and caused serious loss if they were suddenly forced to remove to a remote district. After reciting the above facts, and pointing out the injury which would be done to “vested interests,” the petition wound up with a prayer that the authorities would be pleased to permit the brothels to continue to ply their profession in the same place as hitherto. This petition, however, was rejected, and after mature deliberation the elders now applied for a grant of land at the Nihon-dsutsumi: they also petitioned that a sum of money might be given them from the public funds to assist their removal.

In response to the last petition, the authorities provided a suitable site near Nilion-dsutsumi, and in consideration of the removal of the houses to such a distant and out-of-the-way locality, Ishigaya Shōgen, and Kamio, Lord of Bizen, agreed to the following conditions in connection with the new Yoshiwara:—

It is very curious to note that Japan was not the only country where shady “bath-houses” were to be found. In a German book by Wilhelm Rudeck, entitled “Geschichte der Oeffentlichen Sittlichkeit In Deutschland,” it is stated that “bath-honses” were plentiful. Early in the morning a horn announced that everything was ready, and men, women and maids undressed at home and went nearly naked to the bath-houses, where the attendants were mostly girls who had a very liberal idea of their duties. The tubs in many cases were large enough for two, and a board was laid across, upon which food and drink was served to the bathers, who were not compelled to produce a marriage certificate. In the castles of the knights, the ladies often attended on the male guests in the bath and vice versa, and in bathing resorts, such at Wiesbaden, for instance, Frau Venus seems to have reigned supreme. A very free illustration, reproduced from an old volume, shows a row of tubs with a long board laid across them, upon which food and drink is served, and there are other illustrations, reproduced from old cuts, of some more than merely suggestive scenes, which we must presume were nothing out of the common in bath-houses.

On the 27th day of the 11th month of the same year (January 11th, 1657) the elders and monthly managers (月行司 = tsuki-gyō-ji) of the Yoshiwara repaired to the Treasury office at Asakusa and received the sum granted by the authorities to defray the expenses of removal: at the same time they applied to the officials to be allowed to remain in the Yoshiwara during the next three or four months, promising to complete the removal by the following April.

The request being a reasonable one, it was granted, and the removal was postponed until the fourth month, but on the 2nd March 1657 (Meireki 3 nen, Shōgwatsu, 18 nichi) Hi-no-to-tori (cycle of the Water Fowl) that disastrous fire known as the “Furisode kwaji” (fire of the long-sleeved garment) broke out in the Hom-myōji (temple) at Maru-yama in Hongō and raged through the city of Yedo during three days and three nights burning everything before it.8 The fire swept away a large portion of the city and gutted the Yoshiwara completely, so there was no further excuse left for not moving forthwith. The head-man of the Yoshiwara was again summoned to the Bugyō’s office and ordered to take advantage of the fire to carry out the removal without further delay.

In May 1657 Ishigaya Shōgen, Kamio Lord of Bizen, and Sone Genzaemon proceeded to Nihon-dsutsumi to inspect the site of the new quarter, and while the houses were being built and prepared temporary shanties called “Koya-gake” (小屋掛 = a temporarily built shed or house) were erected in the neighbourhood of Sanya and Imado, and in these (and also in private houses which were hired for the purpose) the loathsome trade was carried on as usual.

In September 1657, the new brothels were completed and the “profession” crowded into the “Shin-Yoshiwara.”

The “Shin-Yoshiwara” (new Yoshiwara) was so named in contra-distinction to “Moto-Yoshiwara” (former Yoshiwara). It is situated at a place formerly known as Senzoku-mura and is only a few chō distant from the Asakusa-ji (temple).

There is a hill (or rather slope) leading down from the Nihon-dsutsumi on the way to the Shin-Yoshiwara which is called “Emon-zaka” or “Dress(ing) Hill,” because it is supposed that visitors to the gay quarter began to adjust their garments and smarten themselves up in passing along this road. Another account states that the name was taken from the Emon-zaka of Kyōto.

The road leading from Emon-zaka to the Yoshiwara is known as Gojikken-machi. Tradition says that there was a servant named Koheiji in the employ of Shōji Jinyemon (the founder of the quarter) and that he advised his master to construct the road in three curved lines as this was considered more tasteful than one constructed in a plain line. Another tradition says that the road was constructed in that way in accordance with the commands of Kamio Lord of Bizen, but, at any rate, it is certain that the plan of the road was conceived by some person gifted with a (from a Japanese point of view) poetical imagination. On either side of the curved section of roadway twenty-five tea-houses (cha-ya) were built, making a total of fifty houses (go-jik-ken), hence the popular name “Go-jik-ken-michi” (fifty house street) or “Go-jik-ken-machi” (fifty house town). At the end of the road stood a gateway which formed the entrance of the Yoshiwara, and the vicinity of this gateway was known as the Ōmon-guchi (entrance to the great gate). The gate itself was called the Ō-mon (great gateway). Having passed through the Ō-mon, the visitor would find himself within the precincts of the “Shin-Yoshiwara.”

The Shin-Yoshiwara was about half as large again as the old place (Moto-Yoshiwara), measuring about 3 chō (1074 feet) from North to South, and 2 chō (716 feet) from East to West, and therefore embracing nearly 18 acres of land. The enclosure was surrounded by a kind of moat, and the streets within were laid out something in the shape of the Chinese character 田 (ta = a ricefield). As will be seen from the plan of the Shin-Yoshiwara annexed, Nakano-chō goes through the centre while Yedo-chō (It-chō-me and Ni-chō-me), Sumi-chō, and Kyō-machi (It-chō-me and Ni-chō-me) branch out to right and left on either side. As was the case with the Moto-Yoshiwara, another street was added for the convenience of “Age-ya,” and called “Ageya-machi.”9 This street was situated opposite Sumi-chō, to the right of the Naka-no-chō when facing Suidō-jiri.

In the 8th year of Kwambun (1668) a raid was made on the “jigoku” (unlicensed prostitutes) and the captives were transported to the Yoshiwara, but as they numbered 512 souls it was difficult to find accommodation for them and apparently there was not enough room in the quarter to erect new brothels. Under these circumstances, a little plot of ground was requisitioned at the back of each brothel in Yedo-chō Ni-chōme, and some seventy-five small houses were built there for the reception of the new immigrants to this earthly paradise. As the majority of the these fresh arrivals were natives of Fushimi and Sakai, the streets where their houses stood were called Fushimi-chō and Sakai-machi. Sakai-machi was destroyed by fire during the era of Meiwa (1764–1771) and has ceased to exist, but Fushimi-chō is to be seen to this day.

At first the five streets of the Shin-Yoshiwara consisted wholly of brothels, Ageya-machi of “age-ya” and Naka-no-chō of tradesmen’s stores, but as time rolled away the “age-ya” ceased to exist and in their place sprang up “cha-ya” (tea-houses). Gradually, also, the shopkeepers in Naka-no-chō removed elsewhere and their stores were turned into tea-houses. Subsequently tea-houses began to increase in number at Ageya-machi, and nowadays there are even many brothels to be seen in this street.

The following extract from the “Tsuikō Yoshiwara Taizen” (追考吉原大全 an old descriptive book on these matters) may be of interest to my readers:—

Nihon-dsutsumi.
(The Dyke of Japan.)

It is mentioned in the “Dōbō Goyen” 洞房語園 that there was an hereditary farmer at Minowa named Shibazaki Yohei, and according to his story he had heard from his grandfather that the Nihon-dsutsumi was constructed about a hundred years ago in the year of the “large monkey.” Now countrymen often call the year of Kōshin the “year of the large monkey,” so the year referred to by Yohei’s grandfather may be the 7th year of Genna (1621). It is also mentioned, in a supplement to the book, that the characters formerly used in writing the name were 二本 (ni hon = 2 lines) and not 日本 (Nihon = Japan), because there were two roads one of which led from Shōden-chō to Sanya-bashi. As, however, Yedo increased in prosperity, hills were levelled and canals dug, after a while the road to Sanya-bashi disappeared as part of the changes made in the city; and accordingly the characters 二本 were altered to 日本 in describing the remaining road. At the time of the construction of the Nihon-dsutsumi, a large number of lacquer-trees (urushi-no-ki) were planted on both sides of the road, forming a veritable avenue,14 and it was a common joke to warn an habitué of the Yoshiwara by saying significantly—“When you pass along the Sanya road, mind you don’t get poisoned by lacquer!” The bank commenced at Shōden-chō in the West and Yoshino-machi (Asakusa) in the East, and extended to Harajuku (Shitaya), the total length being 834 Ken (5004 feet), the width of the road 10 Ken (60 feet) and the horse-path 5 Ken on the average (30 feet).

Mi-kaeri Yanagi.
(Gazing back Willow-tree.)

This well-known willow-tree stands at the entrance of Go-jik-ken-machi, on the left, below the Nihon-dsutsumi. It has been so called because many a visitor to the Yoshiwara has looked regretfully back as he passed the willow tree, feeling reluctant to leave the pleasures of the quarter and to be separated from his fair, even though frail, inamorata.

This is situated on the right hand side of the Go-jik-ken-michi. Formerly there was on this site a shrine called Yoshitoku Inari, but of late years the Enomoto Inari (at the corner of Yedo-chō Ni-chō-me) the Kai-un Inari (at the corner of Kyō-machi, It-chō-me) the Kurosuke Inari (at the corner of Kyō-machi Ni-chō-me) and the Akashi Inari (at the corner of Yedo-chō Ni-chō-me—Fushimi-chō) were all amalgamated into one. The name of “Yoshiwara Jinja” was given to the new shrine and it has been made the guardian shrine of the “enclosure.” Every twelve days, on the day of the horse, the festival of this shrine is celebrated, crowds of people visit the neighbourhood including sundry itinerant dealers known as “ennichi akindo” (festival dealers) and the fête has become one of the popular features of the Yoshiwara. According to the Shimpen Yedo-shi,” (新編江戶志) the Kurosuke Inari was in the old Yoshiwara, having been founded in the 4th year of Wadō? (711?). Later on, a person named Chiba Kurosuke removed it to a space on the border of a paddy-field, and since the establishment of the Yoshiwara, in the era of Keichō (1596–1614), this Inari became the guardian deity of the prostitute quarter. Again, according to the “Kwagai Manroku” (花街漫錄) the shrine of the Kurosuke Inari was situated beneath Kyō-machi Ni-chō-me since its removal from the old to the new Yoshiwara, and about the era of Tenna (1681–1683) it began to be called “Kurosuke” Inari because a man called Kurosuke lived in front of the building.

As to the origin of the “Byakko-seki” (white fox stone) of the Akashi-Inari—which was the presiding deity of Yedo-chō Ni-chō-me—its shrine formerly stood on the estates of a certain Mr. Nishimura, but at the request of the local inhabitants to consecrate it shrine of the guardian deity it was removed to the present site. While the shrine was in course of construction a curiously shaped object was unearthed, and on closer examination it was found to be a beautiful blackish coloured stone resembling the figure of a byakko (white fox) gambolling in the fields. The people, thinking this a good omen, consecrated the image under the name of Akashi Inari (明石 = aka-ishi “the bright stone,” or even, by forced rendering, “the bright and revealed stone”) and prayed to it as a god which would bring prosperity and good-luck to the town and protect the quarter from disastrous fires.

The “Aisome-zakura.”
(Cherry-tree of first meeting.)
AND
The “Koma-tsunagi-matsu.”
(Colt teathering pine-tree.)

The above trees stand close to the Yoshiwara shrine.

The “Ryo-jin no Ido.”
(Traveller’s Well.)

This well is situated about the centre of the Go-jik-ken-michi, on the right hand side.

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:—

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.”

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.

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

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).