The nightless city; or, The "history of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku"

by J. E. De Becker

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, K�shi-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, K�shi-mise, Tsubone-mise, Sancha-mise, Umecha-mise (or “Baicha-mise�) Kiri-mise, etc. Afterwards, the name of the Tayū-mise and K�shi-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-ch� ko-mise; 4th class:—Kog�shi; 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-ch� ko-mise.

The style of architecture employed in the erection of the “Tsubone-mise� is elaborately described in the “D�b� 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-g�shi (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.

Street Scene in the “Naka-no-ch�,� Yoshiwara.

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

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

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, Suid�-jiri, and outside of the Ō-mon (great gate).

1. Entertainment given by a YÅ«jo who has been Redeemed from a Brothel.
2. Guests in a Tea-house Diverting themselves with Dancing Girls.
3. A Guest being conducted to a Brothel by the Servants of a Hikite-jaya.

Besides these there are many houses in Yedo-ch�, Sumi-ch�, Ky�-machi (It-ch�-me and Ni-ch�-me) Ageya-machi, etc. The first-mentioned seven houses are first-class, those in Naka-naga-ya second-class, while those at Suid�-jiri and G�-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 ch�chin�[18] and a white porcelain saké bottle (haku-ch�)[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 z�ri (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 “Hy�kwa Manroku� (��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:—

I certify that these six ladies belong to the household of a gentleman who patronizes my establishment.

January 26th—.

  Ticket-shop,

To    (signed) Kikuya Hambei.

The keeper of the great gate.

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-ch� 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 d�-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-ch� 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-ch�. In the 10th year of H�reki (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 Temp� (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 “sh�kwai� (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 (�mise) 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 (t�r�) 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 s�bana (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]

Outside of a Third-class Brothel at night.

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

Name of the Present “Hikite-jaya� (1899)

Those marked “w� are kept by women.

In Go-jikken-machi.
Yamato-ya	kept by	Kuwagata Saku	(w)
Hama-Yamato	“	Sakamoto Komajir�
Ōmi-ya	“	Tanaka Fumi	(w)
Wakamatsu-ya	“	Wakamatsu Tomi	(w)
Suzuki-ya	“	Suzuki Naka	(w)
Ōsaka-ya	“	Ōta Tama	(w)
Tsurutsuta-ya	“	Ieda Hanzabur�
Shin-Wakamatsu	“	Ogiwara Riye	(w)
Naniwa-ya	“	Sada Koto	(w)
Yawata-ya	“	Kobayashi Kiku	(w)
Taka-Yamato	“	Takamatsu Kame	(w)
In Yedo-ch� It-ch�-me.
Gin-Yamato	kept by	Onozuka Ginjir�
Takeji	“	Takenouchi Jihei
Nagasaki-ya	“	Koboso Kihei
Yamaguchi Tomoye	“	Shimura Tsunejir�
Fukudama-ya	“	Sugenuma Fuku	(w)
Komi-Nomura	“	Kuga Mitsu	(w)
Takasago-ya	“	Hagii Tetsu	(w)
R�-Nakamura	“	Otsuka Tatsu	(w)
Owari-ya	“	Oda Tar�bei
Wakamizu	“	Ōkubo Aikichi
Masu-dawara	“	Okamura Iku	(w)
Chikahan	“	Shimizu Hanshir
Hayashi-ya	“	Ishii Mine	(w)
Kane-Ōsaka	“	Takata Kane	(w)
Nishinomiya	“	Saruhashi Sh�z�
Ise-matsu-ya	“	Sugiyama Chisa	(w)
Fuku-no-ya	“	Miyazaki Fuku	(w)
Saiken-Tsuta-ya	“	Matsumae Saku	(w)
Masu-minato	“	Ishiguro Nobutar�
Den-Daikoku	“	It� Shin	(w)
Yonekawa	“	Ishikawa Eizabur�
Uwajima	“	Uwajima Kichiz�
Kameda-ya	“	Tanaka Harutar�
Kiri-ya	“	Kimura Kin	(w)
Ume-no-ya	“	Kagawa Ichiz�
Kan�-ya	“	Kuriyama Tsuru	(w)
Matsu-zumi-ya	“	Sakigawa Rin	(w)
Yoshi-mura-ya	“	Yoshimura Tameshichi
Awa-manji	“	Ōta Masa	(w)
Morita-ya	“	Mori Nao	(w)
Adzuma-ya	“	Ogiya Fuku	(w)
Tsuruhiko Ise-ya	“	Ōmori Hikojir�
Ine-ya	“	Katsuya Heisuke
Tani-Iseya	“	Kat� Chika	(w)
In Yedo-ch� Ni-ch�-me.
Ueki-ya	kept by	Kakubari Ch�	(w)
Kanzaki-ya	“	Hirano Fuku	(w)
Hisa Ono	“	Ishizaka Hisa	(w)
Idzutsu-ya	“	Yamagoshi Kane	(w)
Iwa-Yamato	“	Kobayashi Hide	(w)
Tatsumi-Ōno	“	Ōno Saki	(w)
Mon-Matsumura	“	Nemoto Mon	(w)
My�ga-ya	“	Koidzumi Fuku	(w)
Yamazaki	“	Yamazaki Mitsu	(w)
Kanedama-ya	“	Nozaki Yura	(w)
Mon-Kadzusa	“	Tomizawa Hanshichi
Shin-Owari	“	Kuroda Genjir�
Matsu-Iseya	“	Sugiyama Kayo	(w)
Hisa-Yamato	“	Ozawa Masu	(w)
Kirisa	“	Hiroto Sahei
Nobuzen	“	Nakajima Kin	(w)
Minomura	“	Shinowara Natsu	(w)
Kotobuki-ya	“	Hozaka Kamekichi
Shin-Nagashima	“	Takashima Iku	(w)
Tokushima	“	Sugimoto Nisabur�	(w)
In Ageya-machi.
Hanagawa-ya	kept by	Katagiri Ito	(w)
Matsumura	“	Ikeda Kayo	(w)
Umemura	“	Momooka Matsunosuke
Idzutora	“	Tsuji Toku	(w)
Horikawa-ya	“	Uchida Tokuji
Dai-yoshi	“	Minagawa Fuku	(w)
Tamasei	“	Sat� Kin	(w)
Ichimonji-ya	“	Sait� Katsu	(w)
Ōshima-ya	“	Saotome Kiku	(w)
Daichū	“	Wakizaka Kenjir�
In Sumi-ch�.
Shin-Kirihan	kept by	Shimidzu Matsuz�
Suzuki Kadzusa	“	Suzuki Shige	(w)
Shinakin	“	Miyazawa Kin	(w)
Tamasano-ya	“	Shimidzu Tamasabur�
Nobuki	“	Yamamoto Kisabur�
Matsumoto	“	It� Kihei
Hatsune-ya	“	Nakamura Shintar�
Ishigaki-ya	“	Minoura Jingor�
Masumiya	“	Yamazaki Tetsu	(w)
Aoyagi	“	Ishii Rihei
Ozaki-ya	“	Miyazaki Tano	(w)
Mansen	“	K�no Teru	(w)
In Kyo-machi It-ch�-me.
Akashi-ya	kept by	Akashi Shika	(w)
Kawagoe-ya	“	Matsumoto Jūbei
Tamayoshi	“	Suzuki Rika	(w)
In Kyo-machi Ni-ch�-me.
Naka-ÅŒmi	kept by	Hagiwara Yoshi	(w)
Masuda-ya	“	Amano Kin	(w)
Hy�go-ya	“	Yoshida Rui	(w)
Komatsu-ya	“	Akao Yoshiz�

The JÅ«-hachi-ken-jaya.
(Eighteen Tea-houses.)

The “Yoshiwara Zatsuwa� �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-ch�, 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-ch�, the other portions being named Yedo-ch� division, Ky�-machi division, etc. According to an old resident of Ageya-machi, Naka-no-ch� 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-ch�—middle street—because it passes right through the centre of the enclosure.]

The “Amigasa-jaya.�
(Braided hat tea-houses.)

AMIGASA.

It is mentioned in the “Yoshiwara Taizen� (�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 “Yoshiwara Kagami� �原鑑 says:—In ancient times there were amigasa-jaya outside the great gate and visitors used to enter the Yoshiwara wearing the deep rush hats supplied by those houses. Each hat cost 100 mon (10 sen), but if the purchaser returned it on the way home the keeper of the amigasa-jaya, would exchange it for 54 mon (about 6-1�2 sen).

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