“2.—The profession of zegen and naka-tsugi having been prohibited in the 4th month of the 4th year of Kwansei (the year of the “Ox�) on the application of interested parties the authorities rendered the following decision:—

“Whereas heretofore there have been numerous instances of zegen and naka-tsugi having signed and sealed documents as sureties for courtesans under the pretence that they were relatives of the women, it is hereby decreed that, on and after the 5th month of the present year, when the period of service has expired (as mentioned in the separate bonds of guarantee handed to their masters) the ex-courtesans shall not be given over to their sureties but to their own actual blood relations, and it is further ordered that the proprietors of brothels are to assist the time-expired women in the matter of placing them in the charge of such actual blood relations as aforesaid.

“Should any zegen residing within the precincts of the Yoshiwara receive applications direct from women seeking employment as courtesans, such zegen shall conduct the applicants to a brothel for the purpose of introducing them to an employer. When engagements are finally concluded the zegen shall not (as formerly) seal the agreements inasmuch that he is only permitted to act as a mere introducer between the parties.

“3.—Should the number of middlemen in the Yoshiwara be limited, the profession would become a monopoly, and to prevent the selling and buying of the goodwill of the trade, as well as to prevent any dishonest practices, an agreement was lodged by each middleman with the nanushi. The latter has been in the habit of reminding the middlemen of the contents of this contract once in every month, and obtaining their signatures each time in proof of his having done so. Of late, persons plying a similar profession have appeared in the vicinity of the Yoshiwara, but have remained outside the enclosure. This is contrary to the notification and makes it difficult to exercise proper control over them, therefore they shall be compelled to move into the Yoshiwara under pain of having the exercise of their profession suspended. Henceforth all persons desirous of carrying on the business of a middleman shall only be allowed to do so inside the gates of the quarter.�

From the above it would appear that the profession was not altogether abolished, and that it was merely concentrated in the Yoshiwara for the purpose of enforcing a strict control over zegen and naka-tsugi. Even these regulations were relaxed in course of time, and by the era of Temp� (1830–1843) there were over ten houses carrying on the business of zegen in Tamachi, Asakusa, and Sanya. Among these, the most famous was the establishment of Ōmiya Sampachi, as he employed ten or more kobun (partly employé and partly protégé) who, in conjunction with the provincial zegen, freely resorted to the practice of kidnapping girls. These zegen sent agents into the country to buy, beg, borrow, or steal, women and girls, whom they brought back and locked up securely till the moment of their absolute transfer into the hands of brothel-keepers. How they maltreated the poor wretches whom they had kidnapped may be inferred from the fact that the owners of these “registry offices� were in the habit of stripping the girls absolutely naked every night, and hiding their clothes under their own futon (mattress) lest the unhappy victims should escape. When the women were about to be sold to the brothels with whom the men had made previous arrangements, they were nicely dressed in hired clothes (in order to make them appear to better advantage and thus enhance the selling price) and taken round as “goods on view.� Then followed protracted negotiations between the parties interested, each haggling over the bargain like a fish-monger and a house-wife, the zegen trying to squeeze out as much money as possible from the intending buyer, and the brothel-keeper endeavouring to beat him down. At length the price would be settled to the satisfaction of both the buyer and seller, but even then there would generally ensue a struggle relative to the payment of mizu-kin, or rebate allowed to the buyer as a fund with which to provide the woman with an outfit. (Some people say that this word should be mizu-kin �見金 = money without seeing because the money was never seen by the parents but deducted immediately by the brothel-keeper). Another version says that is a corruption of mi-tsuki-kin (身付金 = money attached to the body) because with this money the clothes and personal effects of the woman were supposed to be purchased. When a girl was sold as a prostitute, a certificate—called a nenki sh�mon (年季證文)—was given by the parents to the brothel-keeper. It ran (freely translated) as follows:—

Name of the girl ______________

Age ______________

This ______________ (name) residing at ________________ daughter of ______________ you ______________, owner of ____________ brothel, agree to take into your employ for ___________ years at the price of ________________ ry�.

_______________ ry� you retain as “mizu-kin�__________ ry�, the balance, I have received.