Takemura no sembei.Rice and flour cracknels of Takemura.
Sanya-t�fu.Bean-curd of Sanya.
Kobu-maki.Rolled seaweed.
Shiso-maki.Rolled shiso leaf.
Tsuke-na.Pickled greens.
Ni-mame.Boiled beans.
Nameshi.Green rice.
Maku-no-uchi.Boiled rice balls.
Dengaku.T�fu baked and covered with sweetened miso.
Mugi-meshi.Boiled wheat.
Aoyagi-sushi.Sushi of Aoyagi.
Kanro-bai.“Kanro� plum.
Hakuro.“Hakuro� sweet-cake.
O-kagura.“O-kagura� buckwheat.
Kabasho-dango.Rice dumplings of Kabasho.
Shinowara-dango.Rice dumplings of Shinowara.

These things were very popular (even outside the Yoshiwara) from the An-ei (1772–1780) to Bunsei (1818–1829) eras, and the “Dote no kin-tsuba� (a cake made in the shape of the guard on a sword-hilt), was well known even after the Restoration. There is still one store which deals in this time-honoured cake, and it is as popular as ever.

The meibutsu (famous things) at present are the following:—The cuisine of the Kaneko restaurant; the kama-meshi (iron-pot-rice) of Horikawa; the tempura (fried fish) of Hamada; the kabayaki (roasted eels) of Ōtsune; Matsumo-zushi; shiruko (rice-cakes with a sauce of red beans and sugar) of Takaoka; Ki-no-ine-meshi (rice boiled with soy); kwashi (cakes and confectionery) of Futaba-ya; the saké of Okuda; the photographs of Kat�; the bath-houses of Ageya-ch� and Ky�machi; the patent medicines of Nakane and Konishi; the ez�shi (coloured pictures) of Sanuki-ya; the komamono (fancy goods) of Nori-ya; the z�ri (sandals) of Hishi-ya; etc.

Above all, the cooking of Kaneko is well known, and greatly esteemed, not only in the Yoshiwara but even outside the quarter as well. The construction and decoration of every room has been carried out in exquisite taste, and the furniture of the house is at once rare and costly: moreover, there is a fine bath-room in the restaurant, and, as everything is thus arranged comfortably for guests, many visitors to the Yoshiwara patronize the “Kaneko,� and go there accompanied by the yūjo they have chosen as their companions.

In the streets are to be found vendors of rice-dumplings (dango), boiled red-beans (ude-adzuki), fruit (midzu-gashi), oden (a kind of dumpling), saké (rice-wine); sushi (rice-cakes plastered over with fish or sea-weed on which vinegar has been sprinkled) etc., and crowds of miscellaneous hawkers and quacks, including tsuji-ura sellers (tsuji-ura are small pieces of paper on which are printed poems or mottoes: these are wrapped in cracknels made of rice (sembei) or put among parched-peas as a pastime), newspaper sellers, fortune-tellers (uranai-sha), natt�-sellers (natt� is a kind of food made from boiled beans), sellers of the t�fu (bean curd) of Komatsu-bashi, sellers of fūki-mame (cooked and sweetened beans), blind shampooers (amma) female hairdressers (onna kami-yui), washermen (sentaku-ya) messengers, etc. Then there are shinnai-bushi singers (shinnai-bushi is a style of popular song originated by a man named Tsuruga Shinnai), Kapporé-dancers, singers of hayari-uta (popular songs), ahodara-ky� (reciters of comic imitation of Buddhist sacred writings and prayers), and flute-players (shaku-hachi). Beggars swarm in front of the smaller brothels early in the morning and ransack the remnants of food left over by guests from the previous evening: the sight of these hordes of dirty unkempt beings, clawing at and hungrily devouring the broken victuals, is a sight at once sad and disgusting.

The Examination of Licensed Women at the Hospital for Venereal Complaints.

In September 1867, a hospital for the treatment of venereal diseases of prostitutes was established in Yokohama for the first time in the history of Japan, and subsequently similar institutions were established at K�be and Nagasaki. This measure was adopted by the Bakufu Government owing to the representations made by an Englishman—Dr. Newton, R. N.—who, in spite of much opposition from prejudice and ignorance, succeeded in converting the authorities to his views after a long struggle. At first the physical examination of prostitutes was limited to the three ports of Yokohama, K�be, and Nagasaki, but in September 1871 the measure was applied to the women at Senju. The vital importance and value of such inspection not being understood by the public at large, the courtesans regarded the system with strong aversion, and they accordingly began to remove away from Senju to other quarters which were as yet free from the objectionable measure. This anti-inspection movement so seriously interfered with their business that the brothel-keepers were eventually forced to apply to the authorities to suspend the system, with the result that it was abolished in April 1872. In June 1873, however, the T�ky� Municipal authorities again established physical examination offices, one being opened in each of the following six places:—Yoshiwara, Nedzu, Senju, Shinjiku, Shinagawa, and Itabashi. Examinations were made several times a month, and women who were found suffering from venereal diseases were sent to the hospital at Atagoshita for treatment. This was the first instance of a Lock hospital in T�ky�, but since then similar institutions have sprung into existence in different parts of the country.

In October 1888, physical examination places were established in the Yoshiwara and five other yūkwaku by the authorities, but in July 1889 these were abolished, and the brothel-keepers were ordered to fit up a hospital at their own expense: since that time the Lock hospital in every prostitute quarter has been maintained by the parties locally interested.

In the “Regulations of the Lock hospital of the Shin-Yoshiwara,� which obtained official sanction in June 1889, we find the following:—

“This hospital shall be known as the “Kubai-in� (Hospital for stamping out syphilis) and shall be established on the ground allotted for the purpose of providing against fire.