Nowadays, a visitor to the Yoshiwara usually hurries there in a jinrikisha, drawn by a couple of agile and sprightly young fellows who rush along like the wind, brandishing their lanterns and giving vent to unearthly yells as they run. In former days, in contrast to the present time, a visitor rode slowly to the quarter on the back of a white horse caparisoned in white and red, the animal being led by two mago (grooms) who sang komuro-bushi in turn as they walked. The charges from Nihon-bashi to the ÅŒmon (gate-way) were 348 mon (34 sen 8 rin) including the fee for singing!
There were in the Genroku (1688–1704) and Teiky� (1684–1687) eras many popular songs such as the nage-bushi, tsuyi-bushi, magaki-bushi, kaga-bushi of Uji Kagaj�, tanzen, numeri-utu, r�sai, etc. In the beginning of Kwambun (1661–1673) a song called the “Dote-bushi� (embankment song) came into vogue, its name being derived from the fact that it was generally sung while people walked on the embankment. The words were about as follows:—
“Though it is such an out-of-the-way place, yet when I think of the place of your abode it is dearer to me than a gallery of precious jewels. Pray do not laugh at me in not paying heed to what others may think or say. Rumours may spread.�
The “D�b� Goyen� (洞房語園) says that the above mentioned dote-bushi was composed by an old man named Odaka Josuisai who lived at the foot of Matsuchi-yama. This old gentleman was also accredited with having written many other popular dote-bushi songs which were sung by men belonging to the associations (kumi) of otoko-date, such as the Ropp�-gumi, Sekirei-gumi, Yoshiya-gumi, Kanab�-gumi, Daish�-jingi-gumi, T�ken-gumi, etc. It is said that three of these songs remained popular up to the 2nd year of Bunkwa (1805), and that two of them ran as follows:—
“Yesterday was a jolly day, but somehow or other to-day seems gloomy. Shall we send for Wadadsumi (sea deity) or Shusubiin (?). There is something much better than these. What is it? We have left behind the fruit of an egg-plant painted with beni. Where? It was drawn somewhere at the funa-yado. Set your wits to work Bekuz�: have you no good ideas about the matter? I have none, absolutely none. I have no concern at all in the matter. The path of love, after all, is a weary one. Last night when in the Yoshiwara I learned a popular song, but I cannot remember either the beginning, middle, nor end of it.
Thinking I might forget it, I got it written down, but even the paper on which it was written I left at the entrance of my house. It is just the same with justice and reason. It is by no means amusing.�
There are only a few people who know whether the notes of these songs still remain in the miscellaneous songs of to-day. The air of the “Yoshiwara Suzume� seems to have been derived from the dote-bushi, owing to the composition of Hara Budayū who from his infancy used to recite these songs and attained great proficiency in singing them as he grew up. The preservation of the dote-bushi note to this day—after the lapse of two centuries—must be attributed to him.
In a light song in vogue in the Yoshiwara about the era of Kwambun (1661–1673), which was also popular even outside the quarter, it is said:—
“The shaven-pated taiko-mochi (jester) K�hei, wearing a long haori (over garment), goes strutting round the place.�