The country folk of that district possessed no word in their vocabulary, applicable to a j�ro of such high social status, so they coined one and handed down to future generations in the Yoshiwara the name tsubone-j�ro.

[24] Ohaguro is a dye made by immersing heated iron scrapes in water and then adding to it a small quantity of saké. It is used (mixed with powdered gall-nuts) by married women, and formerly by court nobles, to blacken their teeth. The custom is dying out fast.

[25] Ashi-odori is shown in the wood-cut, Suteteko is a vulgar pantomimic dance, and Hadaka-odori a dance in puris naturalibus.

[26] The following explanations of the origin of the word “oiran� are given:—

The “Kinsei jibutsu-K�� (近世事物考 Reflections about modern things) says:—the higher priced women of the Shin Yoshiwara are now called “oiran� The reason for giving them this name is that in the era of Genroku (1688–1703) the courtesans of the Yoshiwara all planted a large number of trees in the Naka-no ch� (central street). About this time a Kamuro (female page) attached to a certain house called the “Kishida-ya� wrote a stanza of poetry which ran:—

“Oiran ga itchi yoku saku sakura kana!� which means in ordinary language “Oira no ane-j�ro no ueshi sakura ga ichi-ban yoku sakitari� (The cherry-tree planted by my ane-j�ro blossomed more luxuriantly than the others).

This poem, which the little Kamuro so proudly wrote, is a proof that the word oira (“I,� or in connection with no or ga “my� or “mine�) had been corrupted to oiran in the Yoshiwara. It would therefore appear that the present word oiran, which is universally used, arose from the fact that the attendants of courtesans anciently spoke of them as “oiran� (oira no ane = my elder sister).�

The D�b�-Go-yen-ho 洞房語園補 says:—

“Oiran means “ane-j�r�� (elder-sister, or “senior,� courtesan) or “my elder sister� in the vocabulary of the Yoshiwara. The word oiran is applied to a mild and gentle courtesan.�

Another explanation is that the oiran were so beautiful that even when an old person (Oi-taru mono) met them he was apt to be excited, agitated, and half crazy (亂 = ran) for the love of their pretty faces. Thus the word oi+ran (an aged person + excited half crazy with agitation). The word “oiran� is written 花� (hana-no sakigake) and means “the leader of flowers� (i.e.—the most beautiful of all flowers) because a beautiful woman may be compared to a flower, and oiran occupy the same position among other courtesans as the cherry does among other flowers.