[89] ] This name is borrowed from the name of the sacred gem Nyoihōju, which figures both in Shintō and in Buddhist legend. The divinity Jizō is usually represented holding in one hand this gem, which is said to have the power of gratifying any desire that its owner can entertain. Perhaps the Nyoihōju may be identified with the Gem-Treasure Veluriya, mentioned in the Sûtra of The Great King of Glory, chapter i. (See Sacred Books of the East, vol. xi.)
| Nobu-ko | "Faithful." |
| Nobu-ko | "Abundance,"—plenty. |
| Nobu-ko | "The Prolonger." |
| Nori-ko | "Precept,"—doctrine. |
| Nui | "Embroidery,"—sewing. |
| Oki | "Offing,"—perhaps originally a place-name.[90] |
[90] ] A naval officer named Oki told me that his family had originally been settled in the Oki Islands ("Islands of the Offing"). This interesting coincidence suggested to me that the above yobina might have had the same origin.
| Sada-ko | "The Chaste." |
| Sada-ko | "The Sure,"—trustworthy. |
| Sakura-ko | "Cherry-Blossom." |
| Sakaë | "The Prosperous." |
| Sato-ko | "Home." |
| Sato-ko | "The Discriminating." |
| Seki-ko | "Great." |
| Setsu-ko | "The Chaste." |
| Shigé-ko | "Flourishing." |
| Shigé-ko | "Exuberant,"—in the sense of rich growth. |
| Shigé-ko | "Upgrowing." |
| Shigé-ko | "Fragrance." |
| Shiki-ko | "Prudence." |
| Shima-ko | "Island." |
| Shin-ko | "The Fresh,"—new. |
| Shizu-ko | "The Quiet,"—calm. |
| Shizuë | "Quiet River." |
| Sono-ko | "Garden." |
| Suë-ko | "Last,"—in the sense of youngest. |
| Suké-ko | "The Helper." |
| Sumi-ko | "The Clear,"—spotless, refined. |
| Sumi-ko | "The Veritable,"—real. |
| Sumië-ko | "Clear River." |
| Suzu-ko | "Tin." |
| Suzu-ko | "Little Bell." |
| Suzunë | "Sound of Little Bell." |
| Taka-ko | "High,"—lofty, superior. |
| Taka-ko | "Filial Piety." |
| Taka-ko | "Precious." |
| Také-ko | "Bamboo." |
| Taki-ko | "Waterfall." |
| Tama-ko | "Gem,"—jewel. |
| Tama-ko | "Gem,"—written with a different character. |
| Tamé-ko | "For the Sake of—" |
| Tami-ko | "People,"—folks. |
| Tané-ko | "Successful." |
| Tatsu-ko | "Attaining." |
| Tatsuru-ko[91] | "Many Storks." |
[91] ] So written, but probably pronounced as two syllables only.
| Tatsuru-ko | "Ricefield Stork." |
| Teru-ko | "Beaming,"—luminous. |
| Tetsu-ko | "Iron." |
| Toki-ko | "Time." |
| Tomé-ko | "Cessation." |
| Tomi-ko | "Riches." |
| Tomo | "Intelligence." |
| Tomo | "Knowledge." |
| Tomo-ko | "Friendship." |
| Toshi-ko | "The Quickly-Perceiving." |
| Toyo-ko | "Fruitful." |
| Tsuné | "Constancy." |
| Tsuné-ko | "Ordinary,"—usual, common. |
| Tsuné-ko | "Ordinary,"—written with a different character. |
| Tsuné-ko | "Faithful,"—in the sense of wifely fidelity. |
| Tsuru-ko | "Stork." |
| Tsuya-ko | "The Lustrous,"—shining, glossy. |
| Umé | "Female Hare." |
| Umé-ko | "Plum-Blossom." |
| Yachi-ko | "Eight Thousand." |
| Yaso-ko | "Eighty." |
| Yasoshi-ko | "Eighty-four." |
| Yasu-ko | "The Maintainer,"—supporter. |
| Yasu-ko | "The Respectful." |
| Yasu-ko | "The Tranquil-Minded." |
| Yoné-ko | "Rice." |
| Yori-ko | "The Trustful." |
| Yoshi | "Eminent,"—celebrated. |
| Yoshi-ko | "Fragrance." |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Good,"—or Gentle. |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Lovable." |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Lady-like,"—gentle in the sense of refined. |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Joyful." |
| Yoshi-ko | "Congratulation." |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Happy." |
| Yoshi-ko | "Bright and Clear." |
| Yuki-ko | "The Lucky." |
| Yuki-ko | "Snow." |
| Yuku-ko | "Going." |
| Yutaka | "Plenty,"—affluence, superabundance. |
IV
In the first part of this paper I suggested that the custom of giving very poetical names to geisha and to jorō might partly account for the unpopularity of purely æsthetic yobina. And in the hope of correcting certain foreign misapprehensions, I shall now venture a few remarks about the names of geisha.
Geisha-names,—like other classes of names,—although full of curious interest, and often in themselves really beautiful, have become hopelessly vulgarized by association with a calling the reverse of respectable. Strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with the subject of the present study,—inasmuch as they are not real personal names, but professional appellations only,—not yobina, but geimyō.