The Nightless City Geisha and Courtesan Life in Old Tokyo
by de Becker, J. E.Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2007-09-19
Publisher(s): Dover Publications
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Summary
Written over a century ago, this pioneer study was the first to venture behind the teahouse doors of the Yoshiwara quarter, Tokyo's red-light district. It remains unsurpassed as the definitive survey of geisha and courtesan life, with meticulous descriptions of traditional training, dress, social hierarchy, and erotic practices. 49 black-and-white illustrations; 2 maps.
Table of Contents
| History of the Yoshiwara Yukwaku | p. 1 |
| Nihon-dzutsumi (The Dyke of Japan) | p. 15 |
| Mi-kaeri Yanagi (Gazing back Willow-tree) | p. 16 |
| Yoshiwara Jinja (Yoshiwara Shrine) | p. 17 |
| The "Aisome-zakura" (Cherry-tree of First Meeting) | p. 18 |
| The "Koma-tsunagi-matsu" (Colt tethering Pine-tree) | p. 18 |
| The "Ryojin no Ido" (Traveller's Well) | p. 18 |
| Government Edict-board and Regulations at the Omon (Great Gate) | p. 18 |
| The Present Omon | p. 19 |
| Of the Reasons why going to the Yoshiwara was called "Cho ye Yuku" | p. 21 |
| Classes of Brothels | p. 21 |
| Hikite-jaya ("Introducing Tea-houses") | p. 28 |
| The Ju-hachi-ken-jaya (Eighteen Tea-houses) | p. 41 |
| The "Amigasa-jaya" (Braided Hat Tea-houses) | p. 42 |
| The "Kujaku Nagaya" | p. 42 |
| The "Kembansho" | p. 43 |
| Classes of Prostitutes | p. 44 |
| "Kamuro" (Young Female Pages) | p. 52 |
| Shinzo | p. 55 |
| Yarite (Female Managers) | p. 59 |
| The "Kutsuwa" | p. 62 |
| The "Wakaimono" (Male Servants) | p. 63 |
| Hokan and Geisha | p. 67 |
| The Europeanization of the Yoshiwara and the Introduction of Loo-chooan Courtesans | p. 84 |
| Zegen (Procurers) | p. 85 |
| The Dress of Courtesans | p. 94 |
| Coiffures of the Yujo | p. 99 |
| Rooms of the Yujo | p. 104 |
| Tsumi-yagu no koto | p. 108 |
| Sobana ("All round tips") | p. 112 |
| Shokwai (First Meeting) and Mi-tate (Selection of Women) | p. 112 |
| I-tsuzuke no koto | p. 118 |
| O cha wo hiku to iu koto | p. 118 |
| Shiki-zome no soba-burumai no koto | p. 119 |
| Shashin-mitate-cho (Photograph Albums for Facilitating the Selection of Women) | p. 121 |
| Signs and Cyphers Showing the fees of Courtesans | p. 123 |
| System of Book-keeping in the Yoshiwara | p. 124 |
| Brothel Advertisements | p. 130 |
| Ageya no sashi-gami (Summons to the "Ageya") | p. 134 |
| Yoshiwara Dialect | p. 136 |
| Magic Charms of the Yoshiwara | p. 140 |
| Yoshiwara "Pot-pourri" | p. 156 |
| Dai-ya no koto (Cook-houses of the Yoshiwara) | p. 158 |
| Famous Things of the Yoshiwara | p. 160 |
| Peddlers, Hawkers, and Beggars | p. 160 |
| The Examination of Licensed Women at the Hospital for Venereal Complaints | p. 163 |
| Results of Medical Inspection | p. 166 |
| Mu-sen Yukyo (Going on a "Spree" without having any money to pay for it) | p. 167 |
| Yoshiwara-gayoi no Jinrikisha (The Jinrikisha Traffic of the Yoshiwara) | p. 170 |
| Sanya-uma da-chin-dzuke (The Cost of Hiring Horses to and from the Yoshiwara | p. 174 |
| Byo-chu oyobi In-shoku no koto (Of the Sickness of Prostitutes and of Their Meals) | p. 176 |
| Hike no koto (Closing Hours in the Yoshiwara) | p. 177 |
| Kocho no koto (The Next Morning) | p. 177 |
| Hiru-jimai Yo-jimai no koto (The Day and Night Engagements of Courtesans) | p. 177 |
| Raku-seki no koto (The Removal of Names from the Register of the Yoshiwara) | p. 178 |
| Gwaishutsu oyobi tobo (Exit and Flight from the Yoshiwara) | p. 180 |
| Yujo byo-shi oyobi jo-shi no koto (Of the Death and Double-suicide of Courtesans) | p. 183 |
| Shin-Yoshiwara no Bodaiji (The Cemetery of the Shin-Yoshiwara) | p. 186 |
| Karitaku no koto (The Temporary Prostitute Quarter) | p. 186 |
| Dochu no koto oyobi tsuki-dashi no koto (The Processions of Yujo and the First Appearance of "Recruits" in the Yoshiwara) | p. 191 |
| Yo-mise "Suga-gaki" no koto (The Night Exhibition and the Sugagaki) | p. 201 |
| Daijin-mai no koto (Dancing of Millionaires) | p. 206 |
| Daikoku-mai no koto (Daikoku-mai Dancing) | p. 210 |
| Introductory Songs of the "Daikoku-mai" | p. 211 |
| Dote-bushi no koto oyobi Hayari-uta (Dote-bushi (Songs) and Popular Songs) | p. 214 |
| Annals of a Year | p. 217 |
| Naka-no-cho no Hana-ue (Flower-planting in the Naka-no-cho) | p. 229 |
| Toro no koto (Lanterns) | p. 232 |
| Niwaka Dancing | p. 235 |
| Tori-no-machi | p. 245 |
| Yoshiwara Nana-fushigi (The Seven Mysteries of the Yoshiwara) | p. 246 |
| Yoshiwara no Kyo-ka (Comic Poetry) | p. 247 |
| Yoshiwara Kwai-rok-ki (Chronology of Fire Disasters in the Yoshiwara) | p. 248 |
| Furisode Kwaji (The Great Fire of Meireki) | p. 254 |
| Mei-gi ryaku-den (Brief Sketches of the Lives of Famous Courtesans) | p. 261 |
| Takao | p. 261 |
| Hana-ogi | p. 264 |
| Tamakoto | p. 267 |
| Katsuyama | p. 268 |
| Segawa | p. 270 |
| Usugumo | p. 271 |
| Osumi | p. 274 |
| Ko-murasaki | p. 275 |
| Kaoru | p. 278 |
| Kokonoye | p. 281 |
| Kinokuni-ya Bunzaemon | p. 282 |
| The Laws Relating to the Control of Prostitution | p. 288 |
| Forms of Contracts between Brothels and Courtesans | p. 305 |
| The Medical Aspect | p. 311 |
| Result of Medical Inspection in the Shin-Yoshiwara, 1898 | p. 315 |
| Result of Medical Inspection in the Shin-Yoshiwara. January to April 1899 | p. 315 |
| Statistics re Social Evil in Japan in 1898 | p. 316 |
| Pros and Cons | p. 316 |
| Correspondence from the "Japan Times" | p. 316 |
| Notes on "Jigoku" or Illicit Prostitutes | p. 326 |
| Appendix | |
| The Government of "The Nightless City" | p. 331 |
| Details of "Employees" Books | p. 342 |
| The Medical Inspection of Prostitutes | p. 344 |
| Special Inspection | p. 345 |
| Hospital Regulations | p. 347 |
| Medical Statistics | p. 359 |
| Digest of the Regulations of the Yoshiwara Guild | p. 361 |
| The Validity of Debts | p. 366 |
| "Yaro"-"Peccatum illud horribile, inter Christianos non nominandum" | p. 367 |
| "Golgotha"-The Last Hours, Death, and Burial of a Courtesan | p. 373 |
| Five Curious Legal Documents actually used in the Yoshiwara in 1902 | p. 380 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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