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

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

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

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

The fifty tea-houses outside the Ō-mon (great gate) were in former times called “Kitte-jaya” (ticket tea-houses) or “Kitte-mise” (ticket shops); they were also colloquially termed in Yedo slang—“Yoshiwara no go-jū-mai kitte” (the fifty “tickets” of the Yoshiwara) because they had the monopoly of issuing tickets or passes for the Yoshiwara. In a book called the “Hyōkwa Manroku” (萍華漫錄) it is recorded that in the 3rd year of Keian (1650) one of the tea-houses named “Kikuya” (sign of the Chrysanthemum Flowers) issued tickets—or rather passes—for the passage of women through the great gate. On one of these old passes was written:—

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

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

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.

The Jū-hachi-ken-jaya.
(Eighteen 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.]

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.

The “Kujaku Nagaya.”

In the “Yedo Sunago” (江戸砂子) we find this passage:—

The “Kembansho.”
(Office which manages the affairs of geisha and other professionals.)

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.

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).

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 Two overlapping inverted V’s with two horizontal filled dots below and Two overlapping inverted V’s with two horizontal unfilled dots below respectively. Those marked Two overlapping inverted V’s with two horizontal filled dots below 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 Two overlapping inverted V’s with two horizontal unfilled dots below were similar to the Kōshi-jōro, their age-dai for a day and a night being 1 ryō (about 10.00 Yen).

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).