The Tayū and K�shi-j�ro were entitled to two and three Kamuro attending upon them respectively while the Sancha-j�ro had only one; this system of limiting the number of the Kamuro of a courtesan was instituted to distinguish the class to which she belonged. The wearing of a kind of clothes, made of material called �giya-zome, by the Kamuro was considered fashionable. In the era of H�yei (1704–1710) a San-Sim-machi, was attended by two Kamuro when she walked through the quarter, and this excited a good deal of comment, the elders of the place claiming that it was contrary to established custom. The matter, however, was settled when Miyakoji explained that one of the little maids who had accompanied her was the servant of a sister courtesan. This precedent once established, it became a custom for Sancha-j�ro to sometimes walk out attended by two Kamuro under the pretext that one of these girls was not her own servant. It is said that this Miyakoji was a very popular woman, and that in the house of Naka Ōmiya, to which she belonged, her memory was preserved for several generations by means of calling her successors by a similar name. Since then Wakashu-Kamuro and B�zu-Kamuro came into fashion, and of later years it became the custom for Kamuro to wear the same kind of beautiful clothes as the courtesan on whom she was in attendance. Even at the present day it is the custom for the Kamuro to wear cotton clothes, dyed with a pine-tree pattern, during the first week in January, a period which is known by the Japanese as matsu no uchi.
Modern Courtesan and Her Attendants.
The “Yedo Kwagai-Enkwaku-Shi� (江戶花街沿�誌) says:—When a young girl was brought to a brothel as a Kamuro, it was usual for the keeper of the house to see and name her. In the selection of these names high-flown cognomens such as were bestowed on courtesans were carefully avoided, and pretty innocent names were chosen. These names rarely exceeded three syllables, and never four in any case. In the event of two Kamuro being attached to one courtesan, names were given them to match: e.g. one being called “Namiji� (waves) the other would be named “Chidori� (plover), or if one was called Kureha (�織 was one of the weavers who came from Go—a kingdom of China—in ancient times) the other would receive the name of Ayaha (a weaver from another kingdom in China.) The courtesan to whom the Kamuro belonged was called her “ane-j�ro� and this ane-j�ro found the Kamuro in clothes and paid all other expenses in connection with the child. The keeper of the brothel watched the behaviour and disposition of all the Kamuro in his houses, and if any promised to become famous courtesans he had them instructed in every branch of deportment, and taught the banjo (samisen), harp (koto), floral arrangement (ikebana), incense-burning (senk� 燃香), tea ceremonial (cha-no-yu), and other accomplishments which were considered necessary in aspirants for the “profession.� The behaviour of Kamuro towards their ane-j�ro was generally gentle and submissive, and they waited on her most assiduously. They attended to all her wants, waited on her at meals, lit her pipe when she desired to smoke, accompanied her when she promenaded in the Naka-no-ch�, and ran all her errands in the neighbourhood. The Kamuro would also perform trifling services for the guests of her ane-j�ro such as bringing water for washing their hands, etc. It was the custom originally that no Kamuro should assist at a wine party, as she was expected to remain sitting by the side of her mistress in the same manner as the page of a feudal lord sat behind his master, but later on this custom was changed and now the Kamuro wait on guests and pour out the saké. When there was no available ane-j�ro the Kamuro used to wait on the master of the house, and if the latter found her smart, beautiful, and likely to become a popular courtesan, he took her himself as a sort of adopted daughter, and had her educated at his own expense so as to fit her for the calling. On the other hand, girls who gave no promise of turning out well in the business were left without any education whatever, became household drudges pure and simple, and ended their days in dismal ignorance: under the most favourable circumstances, this latter class of Kamuro would not be able to attain to reading characters other than hiragana (an easy form of native script) and to a slight smattering of samisen playing. When a Kamuro attached to a courtesan was sick, her place was taken by one of the girls attending on the master, and it was also a custom for one brothel to make a loan of Kamuro to a neighbouring house whose keeper was short of these children. There were no particular rooms assigned to the Kamuro but they generally slept in a room next to that of their ane-j�ro. They took their meals in the kitchen together with Shinz� (see [chapter] headed thus) and Wakaimono (see that [heading]) and in the day-time were allowed to romp about the galleries of the brothels and play together.
Modern Courtesan, Attendant, and Kamuro.
The term Kamuro has only been employed in the Yoshiwara, and in the Okabasho (which includes the prostitute quarters at Shinagawa, Shinjuku, Senju, etc.) young servant maids were either called mame-don or ko-shoku. Even in the Yoshiwara there was a rule limiting the number of kamuro to attend to a courtesan of a particular grade.
Shinz�.
In the “Yoshimura Daizen� (�原大全) it is mentioned that the name of Shinz� (newly constructed) has been borrowed owing to the fact that a newly launched ship is so called. When kamuro (these girls generally entered service between the ages of five to seven years) had grown up to thirteen or fourteen they were made Shinz�, according to the discretion of the ane-j�ro. About ten days prior to this event the girls obtained some ohaguro[24] (collected from seven different friends of their ane-j�ro) and blackened their teeth for the first time. On the actual day of the ceremony soba (buckwheat macaroni) was made and partaken of by all the inmates of the house, and presents of the same food were sent to every j�ro-ya, tea-house, hikite-jaya, and funa-yado with which the brothel was acquainted and on friendly terms. Sometimes sekihan (rice boiled with red beans) was distributed instead of buckwheat macaroni. It was also the custom on these occasions to put out a large number of seir� (vessels for steaming food) ranged in a row in front of the brothel, and to place them on a long table of unpainted board measuring from 9 to 18 feet in length. On a table (also of unpainted wood) inside the brothel, in the room of the ane-j�ro, were exhibited rolls of dress materials, tobacco-pouches, fans, towels, etc., which were to be given as congratulatory presents to friends of the house as souvenirs of the ceremony. In front of the tea-house or funa-yado, where the guest who was supposed to finance the ceremony was wont to come, a number of seir� were piled up, and to all the tea-houses and funa-yado presents of mushi-gwashi (steamed cakes) were distributed. On this day the interior decorations of the brothel were so magnificent and splendid that according to ancient writers the spectacle defies the power of language to adequately portray them. The shinz�, or im�to-j�ro did not at once appear in the “mise�. For a week or more from the day of her initiation she promenaded the Naka-no-ch� (clad each day in different garments) under the guidance of her ane-j�ro, and in case of the latter having any im�to-j�ro she would bring her along. When the week of introduction was past, the fellow-courtesans of the girl would “shimai-tsu-kawasu� her to their ranks by engaging her and paying her agedai every day in turn, and she would receive congratulatory presents from her friends. Sometimes two or more shinz� were initiated in one house at the same time. When a girl who had not been brought up in the Yoshiwara was made a shinz� she was technically termed a “tsuki-dashi� (one who is pushed out to the front) and as, in this case, there would be no ane-j�ro to look after her interests, the kutsuwa (explained further on) provided her with the necessary bedding, wearing apparel, and furniture suited to a heya-mochi, chūsan (hirusan?), or tsuke-mawashi as the circumstances required. The amount of money spent greatly depended on the personal attractions and beauty of the girl. As in the case of a regularly trained fille de joie, she promenaded the Naka-no-ch�, accompanied by another shinz�, for the space of a week from the day when she made her début, and, as a necessary accessory to this ceremony, a present of sakazuki (small saké cups), each bearing the name and crest of the debutante, was made to all the various tea-houses and funa-yado.
