Footnotes.

Footnotes.

1YÅ«kwakuis a segregated town provided with brothels and assignation houses.

2Keisei-machi:—A courtesan quarter.Keiseimeans a castle falling into ruins, the idea being that such women lead to the destruction and ruin of the State.

3Yūjo-machi:—A courtesan quarter.

4The decisive battle between Ieyasu and Hideyori, son of the great Hideyoshi (“Taik� Sama�) was fought at Seki-ga-hara, Mino Province, in the year 1600.

5Masterless swashbucklers.

6These “bath-houses� were in reality houses of assignation and unlicensed brothels. Carrying on their business under this innocent title they engaged women called “Kami-arai-onna,� or (for want of a better word) “shampooers,� but these females were really “jigoku� (“Hell women�) and were selected for their beauty in order to attract persons to “take baths.� The “bath-house� women were not only as beautiful and accomplished as the regular courtesans, but they were cheaper and would accommodate guests either day or night, whereas, the regular girls were only permitted to exercise their calling in the day time. These unlicensed prostitutes were so numerous that they seriously interfered with the business of the realYoshiwara, and it was to the interest of regular brothel-keepers that they should be suppressed.

7It is interesting to note that even in those times the Government recognized the principle of granting compensation when the right of eminent domain was exercised.

8Videchapter entitled “TheFurisode Kwaji.�

9Ageya(�屋) were houses of assignation where, in accordance with the customs of the time, a visitor could stay and to which he could invite any prostitute with whom he had, or wished to have, aliaison. Theage-yamade all arrangements for procuring the attendance of courtesans when required.

10“Named after their native place in order to perpetuate the memory of their ancestors.�

11The Japanese pronunciation of the character西(sai) in the name “Sainen� is “Nishi� (West); hence the name ofNishi(West) +gashi(river bank). It is a very common custom in Japan to compose names in this manner.

12The story ofWatanabe no Tsuna’sadventures has been published in theK�bunsha“Fairy Tale Series� under the head of “The Ogre’s Arm.�

13Tenjinis the name under whichSagawara-no-Michizaneis apotheosized. He was a great minister and scholar, but falling a victim to calumny was banished and finally died in exile. He is worshipped as the God of Calligraphy.

14Trees planted in this manner by the authorities were called “goy�-boku,� or “government trees.� Lacquer trees are poisonous, and the sap produces a severe rash on the skin if handled.

15It should not be forgotten that nosamurai(feudal warrior class) was allowed to enter the brothels wearing his swords. The swords were taken charge of by attendants at the doors before thesamuraiguest went into the house. Mr. A. B. Mitford says in his “Tales of Old Japan�—“When a Japanese enters a house of ill-fame he is forced to leave his sword and dirk at the door for two reasons—first, to prevent brawling; secondly because it is known that some of the women inside so loathe their existence that they would put an end to it, could they get hold of a weapon.�

16Chi Hwan-ti (始皇�), builder of “Great Wall.�

17“Leading-by-the-hand tea-houses.�

18Literally a “sign-board lantern� so called because the lantern bears the name of thehikite-jaya. It is the custom for the maid to carry a lighted lantern (even inside the brothel) as far as the door of the room of the courtesan to whom the visitor is introduced. This lantern serves as a token to identify thehikite-jayato which the maid belongs. On arriving before the door of the room the lantern is extinguished by shaking it, and not by blowing out the light in the usual way. A superstition exists against blowing out the light with one’s lips:—it is supposed to be unlucky.

19Thehaku-ch�or white porcelainsakébottles used on these occasions hold about 1sh�, or say about 3 pints.

20As these places depend upon the custom of persons entering them, it is considered as unlucky to speak about blowing anything out. Thehozukiis bitter or acid, and as a pregnant woman is supposed to like sour or acid things courtesans think that to blow the winter cherry is most ominous as it may presage pregnancy and injure their profession. The ordinarygeisha(dancing girl) in Japan delights to sit making a squeaking noise by means of blowing and squeezing between her lower lip and teeth the dried and salted berry of the winter-cherry, from which the pulp has been deftly extracted at the stem. This practice seems as pleasant to thegeishaas that of chewing gum does to some foreigners.

21In ancient Rome, until the lowest age of Roman degradation, no man of any character entered a houses of ill-fame without hiding his face with the skirt of his dress.

22The best women in a brothel were always placed in the middle of themisé(shop) and those of inferior beauty or attainments were placed at the sides. Whence the namehashi-j�ro(“end� courtesan.)

23Tsubone-j�rowere generally quartered in the second story.Tsubone,—the “women’s apartments� in the courts of princes and daimy�—was added toj�roto find an appellation for a daughter of Ichinomiya, a noble. She set out on a journey, so the story runs, to Hatake in Tosa, but was driven by stress of weather to Hiroshima, where poverty presently forced her to become a prostitute.The country folk of that district possessed no word in their vocabulary, applicable to aj�roof such high social status, so they coined one and handed down to future generations in the Yoshiwara the nametsubone-j�ro.

The country folk of that district possessed no word in their vocabulary, applicable to aj�roof such high social status, so they coined one and handed down to future generations in the Yoshiwara the nametsubone-j�ro.

24Ohaguro is a dye made by immersing heated iron scrapes in water and then adding to it a small quantity ofsaké. It is used (mixed with powdered gall-nuts) by married women, and formerly by court nobles, to blacken their teeth. The custom is dying out fast.

25Ashi-odoriis shown in the wood-cut,Sutetekois a vulgar pantomimic dance, andHadaka-odoria dance inpuris naturalibus.

26The following explanations of the origin of the word “oiran� are given:—The “Kinsei jibutsu-K�� (近世事物考Reflections about modern things) says:—the higher priced women of the Shin Yoshiwara are now called “oiran� The reason for giving them this name is that in the era of Genroku (1688–1703) the courtesans of the Yoshiwara all planted a large number of trees in theNaka-no ch�(central street). About this time aKamuro(female page) attached to a certain house called the “Kishida-ya� wrote a stanza of poetry which ran:—“Oiran ga itchi yoku saku sakura kana!� which means in ordinary language “Oira no ane-j�ro no ueshi sakura ga ichi-ban yoku sakitari� (The cherry-tree planted by myane-j�roblossomed more luxuriantly than the others).This poem, which the littleKamuroso proudly wrote, is a proof that the wordoira(“I,� or in connection withnoorga“my� or “mine�) had been corrupted tooiranin the Yoshiwara. It would therefore appear that the present wordoiran, which is universally used, arose from the fact that the attendants of courtesans anciently spoke of them as “oiran� (oira no ane= my elder sister).�TheD�b�-Go-yen-ho洞房語園補says:—“Oiranmeans “ane-j�r�� (elder-sister, or “senior,� courtesan) or “my elder sister� in the vocabulary of the Yoshiwara. The wordoiranis applied to a mild and gentle courtesan.�Another explanation is that theoiranwere so beautiful that even when an old person (Oi-taru mono) met them he was apt to be excited, agitated, and half crazy (亂=ran) for the love of their pretty faces. Thus the wordoi+ran(an aged person + excited half crazy with agitation). The word “oiran� is written花�(hana-no sakigake) and means “the leader of flowers� (i.e.—the most beautiful of all flowers) because a beautiful woman may be compared to a flower, andoiranoccupy the same position among other courtesans as the cherry does among other flowers.Theoiranis also compared in a poem by Senryū to the “renge-s�� (Astragalus lotoides? a small wild flower of a whitish pink colour closely resembling a lotus blossom in shape) when he says:—“Te ni toru na! Yahari no ni oké, Renge-s�.�“Gather not the blossom of theRenge-s�. Better leave the flower blooming in the meadows.�This poem conveys a warning to young men not to choose wives from among the denizens of the Yoshiwara.The wordoiranappears in a famous satirical poem, as follows:—“Oiran no Namida de Kura no Yane ga mori�“The tears of anoirancause the roof of one’s house to leak.�

The “Kinsei jibutsu-K�� (近世事物考Reflections about modern things) says:—the higher priced women of the Shin Yoshiwara are now called “oiran� The reason for giving them this name is that in the era of Genroku (1688–1703) the courtesans of the Yoshiwara all planted a large number of trees in theNaka-no ch�(central street). About this time aKamuro(female page) attached to a certain house called the “Kishida-ya� wrote a stanza of poetry which ran:—

“Oiran ga itchi yoku saku sakura kana!� which means in ordinary language “Oira no ane-j�ro no ueshi sakura ga ichi-ban yoku sakitari� (The cherry-tree planted by myane-j�roblossomed more luxuriantly than the others).

This poem, which the littleKamuroso proudly wrote, is a proof that the wordoira(“I,� or in connection withnoorga“my� or “mine�) had been corrupted tooiranin the Yoshiwara. It would therefore appear that the present wordoiran, which is universally used, arose from the fact that the attendants of courtesans anciently spoke of them as “oiran� (oira no ane= my elder sister).�

TheD�b�-Go-yen-ho洞房語園補says:—

“Oiranmeans “ane-j�r�� (elder-sister, or “senior,� courtesan) or “my elder sister� in the vocabulary of the Yoshiwara. The wordoiranis applied to a mild and gentle courtesan.�

Another explanation is that theoiranwere so beautiful that even when an old person (Oi-taru mono) met them he was apt to be excited, agitated, and half crazy (亂=ran) for the love of their pretty faces. Thus the wordoi+ran(an aged person + excited half crazy with agitation). The word “oiran� is written花�(hana-no sakigake) and means “the leader of flowers� (i.e.—the most beautiful of all flowers) because a beautiful woman may be compared to a flower, andoiranoccupy the same position among other courtesans as the cherry does among other flowers.

Theoiranis also compared in a poem by Senryū to the “renge-s�� (Astragalus lotoides? a small wild flower of a whitish pink colour closely resembling a lotus blossom in shape) when he says:—

“Te ni toru na! Yahari no ni oké, Renge-s�.�

“Gather not the blossom of theRenge-s�. Better leave the flower blooming in the meadows.�

This poem conveys a warning to young men not to choose wives from among the denizens of the Yoshiwara.

The wordoiranappears in a famous satirical poem, as follows:—

“Oiran no Namida de Kura no Yane ga mori�

“The tears of anoirancause the roof of one’s house to leak.�

27Mr. Henry Norman says in the “The Real Japan�:—“There is nearly always a large written and framed scroll in a conspicuous position, exhibiting some scrap of appropriate poetry tersely told in the complicated Chinese characters. One I was shown had the four charactersmatsu kiku nao sonsu, literally, “Pine chrysanthemum still are,�i.e., the pine and the chrysanthemum always preserve their charm, even in winter when other flowers die, and by implication, “My charms are everlasting, like the pine and the chrysanthemum.�

28Goddess of Love.

29Mawashi-beya廻�房is a kind of spare room in which a guest is accommodated when theyūjohe hires has another visitor in her own apartments.

30The Yoshiwara Office publishes these guide-books at intervals. The books contain the names and fees of inmates of the various brothels.

31Said by a courtesans to a guest detained in a brothel owing to rainy weather.

32For the derivation of this phrase see page118.

33God of wealth and guardian of markets

34This will not bear translation. The idea conveyed as explained by a poet-friend.

35Videfurther statistics inappendix.

36Shimaiis changed intojimaiafter “hiru� and “yo� for the sake of euphony.

37Also seeappendix.

38During the Genroku (1688–1703) and Sh�toku (1711–1715) eras, “shinjū� or double suicides of guests and “j�ro� became so common that the j�roya were forced for the sake of self-preservation to expose the bodies of both the man and the woman on the Nihombashi for three days. Theetaor “outcasts� then buried them, and writing their story, read it about the streets of Yedo. The burial of those who committed “shinjū� was the burial of dogs. Their hands and legs were tied together, and the bodies were wrapt up in straw matting and thrown into a common grave. The people of the j�roya believed that this would prevent the ghosts of the dead haunting the house where they died, the superstition being that animals had no ghosts.

39Now called the “Ko-gwan-zan Saih�ji� situated at No. 36, Sh�den-ch�, Asakusa district.

40Formerly this was the case, but now theobiis tied in front merely out of deference to old custom. The ancient sumptuary regulations have been abolished long ago.

41This involves a pun on the wordsj�ro(女郎“a harlot�) andj�ro(上臈“a lady in waiting attached to the court.�)

42Movement in favour of the abolition of licensed prostitution.

43Millionaires.

44Toshi-koshi. The ceremony of scattering parched peas about in an occupied house to drive out evil spirits, crying aloud the while “fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto,� (good fortune is within, and devils outside). This ceremony is also known as “mame-maki� (bean throwing) and “oni-yarai� (casting out devils.)

45A fête in honour of the god of trade and industry.

46Saruhiki. One who goes about getting money by leading a monkey who performs tricks.Dai-kagura. A kind of dance performed in the streets by boys wearing wooden lion-head masks. Also called “Shishi-mai.�

Dai-kagura. A kind of dance performed in the streets by boys wearing wooden lion-head masks. Also called “Shishi-mai.�

47Inari. Goddess of rice (written with the two characters 稲� = “rice bearing�).Inariis sometimes spoken of as the “fox-deity,� but the foxes appear to be mere guards to the temples dedicated to the Goddess. There is more or less confusion as to the sex of Inari as sometimes “she� (sic) is represented as a bearded man!

48Kagura. An old Japanese dance which may yet be seen in the grounds of certain temples. The performers wear masks and quaint gowns of real or imitation damask. Thekaguramentioned above was probably a profane invention of a comic nature.

49Third month. It must be remembered that this was April according to the present calendar.

50Shime-nawa. A rope with tufts of straw or of cut paper at fixed intervals, hung before shrines in order to sanctify the place within. It is a relic of the straw-rope whichFutodama-no-mikotostretched behind the Sun-goddess to prevent her returning to the cave afterTajikarao-no-mikotohad pulled her out and thus re-illuminated the universe which had been plunged into darkness.

51Seespecial chapteron this subject.

52Ch�y� no sekku. The 9th day of the 9th month (o.s.); a festival day of the chrysanthemum.

53This is a pun on the name of Mino province and the Japanese word for straw rain-coat (mino).

54Or “Nightless City,� the title of this book.

55This paragraph of course refers to the inmates of the Yoshiwara.

56The monastery ofIshi-yamawas founded in 749 by the monk Ri�-ben Sūj�, at the command of Sh�mu Tenn�. It was destroyed by fire in 1078 and rebuilt a century later by Yoritomo. The presenthon-d�(main hall) was built by Yodo-Gimi, the mother of Hideyori, towards the end of the 16th century. The little room to the right of thehon-d�, known asGenji-n� ma, is said to have been occupied by the famous authoress Murasaki Shikibu during the composition of her great romance, the “Genji Monogatari.�Ishiyama-derais famous for the beauty of its maple-trees in autumn. (Murray’s Hand-Book of Japan.)

57Wife of an ancient Chinese King who was held by the enemy as a hostage in a foreign country.

58A family badge in the form of a tuft of five overlapping bamboo leaves with their apexes spreading downwards, and surmounted by three little flowers.

59For latest regulations, seeappendix.

60i.e.—Written in a very easy style so that even illiterate women can read the same.

61Brothel-keeping; prostitution; introducing houses.

62See Appendix under the head of “Hospital Regulations.�

63Illicit prostitutionhasactually increased in Gumma and Wakayama since the abolition of licensed brothels.

64A great many of these womenare by no means virtuous. These statistics are very incomplete, inasmuch as they fail to take into account the vast number ofsecret prostitutesin Japan. Even in the case of courtesans andgeisha, it is almost certain that the numbers are understated.

65It used to be the custom for lower class houses to air all their showy bedding on the balconies facing the road.

66The actual word used is “Ki-yaku� (�約) “an agreement� or “covenant,� but, in the sense in which it is used here the term “Constitution� seems most appropriate.

67The wards are divided of follows:—(1)Forsyphilis.(2)“gonorrhœa.(3)“chancres.(4)“skin diseases.(5)“miscellaneous diseases.(6)“cases of serious illness.(7)“isolated rooms for infectious diseases.

68Yoshi-ch�, Hatch�-bori, Shimmei, and Yushima.

69Copies of these works are rare and the Japanese Government will not allow them to be reprinted for sale. The language of these books is not in any way disgusting, and the style is florid and pleasing. It is the subject only which is “off colour.�

70“The most beautiful of flowers.� Complimentary name for a superior harlot in the T�ky� Yoshiwara.

Back cover.

Back cover.

Transcriber’s NoteThe original scan for this book is available from the Internet Archive.Obvious errors and omissions in punctuation, hyphenation, and capitalisation have been fixed. Otherwise word hyphenation has not been standardized.Except in the case of most Japanese transliterations, if multiple spellings are used, the most common is adopted. But note that the table of contents and chapter titles spellings are adjusted to match.The use of italicisation has not been standardised.Numbers with fractions are presented as number-numerator/denominator rather than using Unicode versions of the fraction without the hyphen.Missing chapter titles added to text as needed.If an illustration has a readable Japanese title in the image, that title is prepended to the caption.Footnotes have been renumbered and moved to the end of the book.Illustrations within a paragraph have been move to either before or after the paragraph. The page number in the “List of Illustrations� may not match the new location.Blocks of text that had leading double quotes on each line have been replaced by a single double quote at the start of each paragraph.The Japanese language legal contract starting on page303has been changed from vertical text read right to left into horizontal text read left to rightThe Japanese publication data located before the footnotes is translated as:First edition published Meiji year 32 June 30 (i.e. June 30, 1899)Second edition printed Meiji year 38 Dec 1 (i.e. Dec. 1, 1905)Second edition published Meiji year 38 Dec 5 (i.e. Dec. 5, 1905)Copyright owned by authorAuthor and publisher: Kobayashi BeikaPrinter: Charles J. BranhamPrinting House: Box of Curios Printing HouseNote:Kobayashi Beika was De Becker’s Japanese name. J. E. De Becker is listed as a Yokohama solicitor on page 884 of the directory referred to in the next paragraph.Charles J. Branham is listed in a 1906 directory as the manager of the printing house. V. Thorn & Son were listed as proprietors. See:“The Directory & Chronicle of China, Japan, Straits Settlements, Malaya, Borneo, Siam, the Philippines, Korea, Indo-China, Netherlands Indies, Etc.� (1906) page 45.The addresses given are all for the Yamashitacho area in Yokohama.The 4th edition gives Jan 30, 1906 as the publication date for the 3rd edition.Other specific changes:pg 11“loathesome� changed to “loathsome�pg 12‘“Go-jik-ken-machi� (fifty house street)’ changed to ‘“Go-jik-ken-michi� (fifty house street)’ (i.e. 五�間町 changed to 五�間�)pg 15“cut in off in� changed to “cutitoff in�pg 17“prostitude quarter� changed to “prostitutequarter�pg 20“artifical� changed to “artificial�pg 28“those in Naganaga-ya� changed to “those inNaka-naga-ya�pg 30“columed� changed to “columned�pg 33“keepeers� changed to “keepers�pg 33“years� changed to “year�pg 38footnoteon marking moved to below table title for clarity.pg 54“but later no this custom was� changed to “but lateronthis custom was�pg 57“similary� changed to “similarly�pg 58“enagement� changed to “engagement�pg 66“transfered� changed to “transferred�pg 71“favorites� changed to “favourites�pg 83“the new new year� changed to “thenewyear�pg 86“memoradums� changed to “memorandums�pg 90“joroya� changed to “j�roya�pg 91“supersition� changed to “superstition�pg 105“caligraphy� changed to “calligraphy�pg 111“enhacing� changed to “enhancing�pg 119“throught� changed to “throughout�pg 121“the the convenience� changed to “theconvenience�“photopraphs� changed to “photographs�pgs 141, 145, 149, 150, others“efficaceous� changed to “efficacious�pg 144“in the the bosom of� changed to “inthebosom of�pg 167“gab� changed to “garb�pg 168“foosteps� changed to “footsteps�pg 178“throught� changed to “through�pg 192“reminisence� changed to “reminiscence�pg 195“proceded� changed to “proceeded�pg 200“weathly� changed to “wealthy�pg 207two adjacent instances of footnote 43 combined into onepg 224“acheing� changed to “aching�pg 236“the nick-name of of� changed to “the nick-nameof�pg 239“like that of of� a changed to “like thatofa�pg 261“ratainer� changed to “retainer�pg 266“acccomplished� changed to “accomplished�pg 269“that a woman of of� changed to “that a womanof�pg 274“symptons� changed to “symptoms�pg 275“aasist� changed to “assist�pg 282“be brought� changed to “hebrought�pg 304Compatibility variant � (U+6210) used in item 3 rather than the less common Unicode (U+2F8B2) which may not be available in some font sets.pg 324“determing� changed to “determining�pg 341“oppear� changed to “appear�

Transcriber’s Note

The original scan for this book is available from the Internet Archive.

Obvious errors and omissions in punctuation, hyphenation, and capitalisation have been fixed. Otherwise word hyphenation has not been standardized.

Except in the case of most Japanese transliterations, if multiple spellings are used, the most common is adopted. But note that the table of contents and chapter titles spellings are adjusted to match.

The use of italicisation has not been standardised.

Numbers with fractions are presented as number-numerator/denominator rather than using Unicode versions of the fraction without the hyphen.

Missing chapter titles added to text as needed.

If an illustration has a readable Japanese title in the image, that title is prepended to the caption.

Footnotes have been renumbered and moved to the end of the book.

Illustrations within a paragraph have been move to either before or after the paragraph. The page number in the “List of Illustrations� may not match the new location.

Blocks of text that had leading double quotes on each line have been replaced by a single double quote at the start of each paragraph.

The Japanese language legal contract starting on page303has been changed from vertical text read right to left into horizontal text read left to right

The Japanese publication data located before the footnotes is translated as:

First edition published Meiji year 32 June 30 (i.e. June 30, 1899)Second edition printed Meiji year 38 Dec 1 (i.e. Dec. 1, 1905)Second edition published Meiji year 38 Dec 5 (i.e. Dec. 5, 1905)

Copyright owned by author

Author and publisher: Kobayashi BeikaPrinter: Charles J. BranhamPrinting House: Box of Curios Printing House

Note:

Kobayashi Beika was De Becker’s Japanese name. J. E. De Becker is listed as a Yokohama solicitor on page 884 of the directory referred to in the next paragraph.

Charles J. Branham is listed in a 1906 directory as the manager of the printing house. V. Thorn & Son were listed as proprietors. See:

“The Directory & Chronicle of China, Japan, Straits Settlements, Malaya, Borneo, Siam, the Philippines, Korea, Indo-China, Netherlands Indies, Etc.� (1906) page 45.

The addresses given are all for the Yamashitacho area in Yokohama.

The 4th edition gives Jan 30, 1906 as the publication date for the 3rd edition.

Other specific changes:

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