A GEISHA GIRL IN HER ST AND ING F M OR . AUTHOR OF THE NIGHTS ID E OF JAPAN

I llu st at n s i n l ur and tone s ci all x ecut r io co o , pe y e ed

L' OND ON

PREFAC E

The E uropean gen tlemen who visit Japan

nerall wi h - to s ee the ei s ha who are er ge y s g , v y famo us thro ugho ut the wo rld as a special class

o f in in and d an cin irl s g g g g s .

me o f the n ew i ito rs howe er se em to So v s , v , misunderstand thes e girls to be e quivalent to

h in a l w er kin o f he fem le ro f t os e o d t a p essions .

If an b d b elie e them to b e s o he is d e y o y v s ,

cidedl in a re at e rror o n the co ntrar the y g ; y, y are a kind o f ar ti s tes almost in dispen s able in

the s ciet o f a an if not for e er at leas t in o y J p , v ,

r en the p es t age .

Of cour e the re ma be so me exce tion al s , y p

r u s amo n their circle who are o f lo w g o p g s ,

character and in ba e co nduct u t as there s , js i are ex ception s in all classe s o f human b e ngs . m We d o n o t call them the true g eis l girls . As the women in the g ei s ha calling are

enerall ' o un irl the o ften talk o f lo e g y y g g s , y v ,

but there are no o un wo men thro u hout the y g , g V1! PREFACE

do no t e mbrace CONTENTS

PAGE

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF GI ISHA GI RLS

- A. Do w n to the Age of the Kamakura

A . 0 Gove rnment ( . D r3 0) — B . Down to the Age of the Tokugawa

‘ o h ' l ‘ w k v — C . Down to the Pre s ent Time GE N “ 11. TRU E FEATU RES o r GI RLS

- A. Danci ng Girls

- B . Employment of Girls — C Classes of Gi rls

- D . Income of Girls — E Expenses of Girls

- F. Characteri s t ics of Girls — G. Curse s and Conj u rations — H. Spectral Traditions

ACC OMPLI SHM ENTS OF GI RLS

IV. A GI RL ROYALI ST

ix CONTENTS

PERIENC ED AS A GE I S HA GI RL

- A. Men liked by Gei sha Girls

— s B . Men di sliked by Gei s ha Girl — C . Kinds of the Gei s ha Spree .

— ha D . Kinds of Gues ts clas s ifi ed by Gei s Girl s — E. Ar e Men o f What Age mos t like d by Geis ha Gi r ls ?

— - F. The Waiti ng Hou s e (or the As s igna

tion - Hou s e) — G. Lear ni ng of Gei s ha Gi r ls

VII . GE I S HA GI RLS IN GEN ERAL .

Vl l l . GLIM PS ES O F THE GE I S HA CI RCLE AT

PRES ENT : — A. A Kitten and a Dancing Girl — B . S ympathy of the Hos tes s — C . A Faithfu l Girl

- D . A Gi r l an d a Millionai r e

- E . A School for Gei s ha Girls and Waitre s s es ’ - F. The Gei s ha Gi r l s Love obs erved by a Gei s ha Gi r l

I! . S H I N/U OR THE D OU B LE S UICI DE

— APPEN DI ! L S ON GS

! CONTENTS

C R AP . — APPEN DI ! I I GI RL S

x i

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A GE ISHA G IRL IN HER S TAND ING FORM Fr o n ti spi e 03

- A S a G I RL S I N P L EAS URE B O T T0 f ce p . 4 A G I RL PL AYI NG PUPP ETS 8 S HI RAB YGS HI I N A B OAT 1 2 A GARMENT CALL ED S UIKAN AND A HEAD G EAR NAM ED TA TE W ORN B Y S HIRAB YDS H I A GI RL I N KA TS UGI O ERHEAD GARM E T ( V N ),

E- AS A HAT AND S A D A ! CHIM G ( ) , N L S AGARMENT NAM ED K0 UCHI GI AND A TS UZUM I (HAND -D RUM ) US ED B Y S H JR AB YGS HI A SHIRA

MUS ICAL I NS T RUM ENTS PL AYED B Y G I RL S A B W L TE A WAG N HA P I A ( U ) , O ( R ) , A 50 HARP A $11 FL TE AND A F E ( ), 0 ( U ) , U R A (FLUTE), A D UM , KOKYU (THREE I D E A S T RI NGED F D L ) , ND A S AMI S E N T E - S T RI ED G ITAR A ( HR E NG U ) , KAN E (BEL L)

THE S HIMAD A CHIG O A OIFF RE GE E R N N, C U N AL L Y W ORN BY GEI S HA G I RL S T HE BACK VI EW THE S HIMAD A C HIG NON A OIFFURE GENER , C — AL L Y W ORN B Y GE ISHA G I RL s T HE S IDE VI EW A D ANC I NG G I R L D ANC I NG G I R L PL AYI NG A TS (HAN D -D RUM ) A D ANC I NG G I R L L OOKI NG ON A HAND -GL AS S D ANC I NG G I R L S I N KYOT O A D ANC I NG G I RL AND P LUM FL OW E RS A D ANC I N G G I RL W EAR I NG A VE I L S I NG I NG AND D ANCI NG G I R L S BE LO NG I NG T O Y Q ARTE R OF O AS H I K O T H E G A U NI H NB , T O Y GE I S HA G I RL S D I S G U I S ED AS F I REME N

T H E G H OS T OF A P R IE S T

AN UM P I R E OF T H E KE N GAM E A R I NG FOR T HE KE N G AM E

' T H REE FORM S OF T H E TéHACHI M ORA

S I x FO RM S OF T HE H ON -KE N

T HE H ON -KE N I N P LAY I NG

A L OYAL G I R L L OS T I N T HOUG HT FOR A S E RI OUS MAT T E R

T EA- P I CKI NG AT U JI A KAGO OR PALANQ U I N FOR A D AI M YO (FEUD AL L ORD )

A TS Ujl -KAGO O R P I PA A Q I FOR UBL C L N U N “ IT I ZE S C N q A D ANC I NG G I R L W I T H A BAT T LE o ! A S HUT T LE C OCK A S I NG I N G G I R L READ I N G A B OOK A D ANC I N G G I RL I R IS FL OW E RS AR RANG ED I N A VAS E

A FUKAGAW A G I RL W EARI NG ON A HAD (C OAT ) A D ANCI N G G I RL D RES S ED I N A F UR IS OD E (L ONG - S L EEVED G AR M E NT )

A G I RL W EAR I NG ON A GARM E T MAD E OF KAS UR I CLOT H

A PAI R O F AZ UM A-GE TA T H , E CL OG S PUT ON B Y T HE?G I RL S OF YED O (OL D T OKYO) ! IV S I NGING AND D ANC I NG G I RL S ON

A T HEAT RI CAL D ANCI NG B Y GE I S HA G I RL S

A D ANCI NG G I RL T AKI NG A KITT EN I N H E R AR M S L OVERS IN EL OPE M E NT

A ROOM I N A GE I S HA H OUS E GE IS HA G I RL S UND E R CH E R RY FLOW E RS ON BANK OF T HE R IVE R S UM I D A OF A S H R I NE

S I NGI NG G I RL

A S I NG I NG G I RL AGAI N S T A LO OKI N G -G LAS S S TAND

A S ING I NG G I RL TAKI NG OFF H E R H AOR A S I NGI NG G I RL W I T H A BAT T LE D OR E A D ANC I NG G I RL W I T H A BAT T LED ORE A D ANCI NG G I RL AND R OS ES A HUMBL E C OTTAG E I N M OONL I G HT ON T HE B R I NK OF T HE D OUBLE S UI C ID E B Y

CHERRY D ANCE AT KYOT O A C OPY O F A PI CTURE D RAW N B Y M ORO N OB U AC OPY OF A P I CTURE D RAW N B Y S U KE N OB U G I RL S I N T EA CEREM ONY

A COPY OF A P I CTURE D RAW N B Y T OYOKU NI A COPY OF A P I CTURE D RAW N :B Y UTAM ARO

! V

T HE ST O RY O F T HE

C HAPTE R I

ORI GIN AND D EVELOP M ENT O F GE I S H A G I RL S

‘ — Ow n o the A e o th e Kam a hu m Go v ern A. D t g f

. 1 00 m en t (A O . 3 )

IF we are invited by our friends to a restaurant in ” of Japan and take s a ke (national wine of n) and dishes under the flowery electric lights o nicely decorated room , we will find s me

' w ho . tiful young girls attend upon our party “ o ut They fill our cup with golden wine , pouring of 11 white porcelain bottle , and sing or dance , an ied by performance on the s am i s en /

of three strings) . These girl s are called

' a - go to garden party of a merchant prince , we will find a great nu mber of finely dressed young girls guidi n g and helping the ladies and the gentle ' a men who appear i n the g rd e rr . When the guests are to take refreshment these girls wait upon them , serving them with any dainties they prefer . The a re ei s ha a n d girls g , their duty is to help the host a d n the hostess in entertainment of the guests . J i It s a . custom o f the Japanese that a class of I THE STORY OF THE GEISHA

young girls under th e familiar name of makes their appearance wherever people

dinner or open a mee ting in their usual way . popular and indispensable creatures are they 2 the soc ial life of Japan . Then what are the duties to be taken by t girls under the class of g ei s ha ? A — . S inging , dancing , and musical perfor h am mance . These t ree are the fund ental and pro s io n a e a fe s l business of the g i s h girls . The dancing is generally taken by smaller girls ; the singing and O the music are done by rather lder ones . There

a re u k n . Na au ta vario s i ds of songs The g , the To kiw azu Ki om o o m n , and the y t are the most co mo o Utazaw a s ngs sung among them , and the , the I tch/ii Ka ta S o n o ha chi e , the , the , the n , and the Utai are the different poems o ften performed by h e h t m . All t ese songs except the Utai are always accompanied by the correspo nding tunes of the a s mi s en . C ommon musical instruments used by s them are flutes , drum , and larger and smaller ts u zu mi (drums in shape of an hour- glass th e of s am beaten with right hand) , course the being the mo st important arm for them at

. e s time B sides , ome girls are trained in ' ' Gi da i i. B iw au ta y (lyric), the (lute), the violin , o - th e S hi i n C h sw rd dance , or g (singing of the in

po ems) . — B . Reception of guests . Th e duty taining the gue sts is generally taken by

girls . Those who are experienced for their bus iness are very skilful in the ar treat their customers in every different t o h o w amuse them , and to help them

tired in th e meeting of a long time . If are fo nd of music they would play on t or other instruments ; if they like dancing wo uld dance ; s o me play the hen (a game p with th e hands : its explanation will be g iven 2

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

Alth o ugh the origin of the class of girls called g ei s ha in its strict sense is attributed to the age of o the tenth Shogun of the T kugawa family , as above e mention d , yet we can find out girls in the S imilar s ituation if we go back t o the far earlier period in

the history of Japanese manners and customs . I n h consequence , we can say t at the singing and danc ing girls in Japan in their wider meaning already existed at the beginning of the twelfth

century .

A. D . 1 1 1 E I n 5, under the reign of the mperor d Toba , there first appeared a kin of dancing girls

called S hi r a byés hi . I n this age Kyoto the capital o S am u r ai was very prosper us , and both the and the

merchants , who were enjoying the long peace of a the period , gave themselves up to ple sures and

merriments . All the beautiful girls famous in their local provinces gradually assembled into th e central city and competed one another for her l n charms and a céo m p is hm e ts . They were well taught in po ems and dances ; all of them in th is d W a kan o m a é age were of goo descent , and and Shima - no - S enzai were the most renowned among

. W a ka no m aé , w h o others was the daughter , of K O o ku y g , a court noble , was often summoned to a the the Imperial Palace , and s ng and danced in

pre sence of the emperor . ta té- e bo s hi k They put on (a ind of cap , high a i han a nd straight up) and s (a kind of robe), and carried a fan and a sword with a white sheath . As they were dressed in such a male form , they were co mm o nly called the Oto ko - m ai (dancing girls in o male form) , but subsequently when the two n ted a G e be uties , and ijo , made their appearanc , h s a i han they were dressed with w ite only , without be taking the cap and the sword , and began to called the S hi r a byés hi (white dancers) . Among young and nice girls who concentrated Ho to ké in Kyoto from the localities , , favoured by 4

S am u r ai Kiyomori , the head of the Taira clan of , ' i LI came from Kaga , and Jj , cherished by M une

o o ne . o f m ri , of his sons , was the native M ikawa Go jO and R o kujO streets of the ded with these singing and danc

n interesting story about the relatio n i H to ké iO G O o . G between the two girls , and was

the favourite of Kiyomori , and lived in his palace i a at Nis h ihach jO of Kyoto . One d y a girl named Ho tOké visited the palace and requ ested to see the e great lord , telling that she had com from the

remote pro vince of Kaga . Kiyomori was very angry at the sudden and impolite application of a nd the unacquainted girl , ordered his retainers to

drive her out o f the g ate . GiO , who was waiting on her patron by his side , “ advised him , They say the girl is very young ; es it would be mercil s to turn her out at once , who

came from so distant a country . Please be kind to ” f r her to a fo d an interview , my lord . Ho to ké Having been introduced into the room , n performed a dance . The lord was entirely e a m o ure d with the wonderful beauty of the new m o comer , and com anded that she sh uld stay in the i m G O . palace , and that go ho e instantly to e s The latter , bursting t ar , was compelled to recede from the presence of her lord to her o w n

- apartment , and , after leaving on a paper slide of o the r om a poem as follows , returned to her ’ m other s home :

On th e fi el so m e r asse s ar e s r o u ti n an d so m e a i n d g p g f d g, Yet th er e i s n o n e Of the m th at do e s n ot d i e o ut I n ” a t m u u n .

S he led a lonely life together with her old mother he r G and younger sister ijo , and did not accept s any engagement from other nobles . One day she was sent for unexpectedly by Kiyomori , and , 5 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA accompani ed by her sister and two other o i I s h n a . y , attended the presence of her old p tron ” “ Ho to ké s feel solitary , said the lord , make ’ a dance for h er comfort . Being disgraced by such a cruel order in the " Git) presence of her enemy , could not help weep

ing , but at last was compelled to obey the com mand . When she came home s h e decided to kill herself a ff rather th n to live and su er such a great shame , but being arrested by her tender sister , all the three , o the two sisters and their m ther , turned to be o ff at last , cutting their long hair . One night in the next autumn they were prised by the sudden visit Of Ho to ké to their re

S . ment at agano , the suburb of the city young girl ap o lo gi s ed for her crime com

upon her defeated rival . I s aw your

- written on the paper slide , said she , and

heartily moved with it , I took my leave from my

. No w lord this evening I will cut my hair too , a nd ask your permission to live together with ’ yo u . GiO w as satisfied to hear th e repentance of h er h er enemy , and , taking her into room , both wept

through the night , embracing each other . Next H o ké morning o t cut her hair , and the four nuns

lived there together all their lives peacefully . When GiO cut her hair and retired to Sagano - o n e G she was twenty , her sister ijo nineteen , and - l t k their mother forty fi v e years O d . Ho o é was in her youth of only seventeen at the time when she h e th ran into t refuge of the three nuns , after

se rvice of one year in the palace of Kiyomori .

In the age of the Kamakura Go vernment (af

. D In A . M inamoto clan took the tary power over the whole Jap Ta a a a h ir f mily, part of t ose 6

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

kura , together with her mother . Thou s trictly inquired in the court of the Government after the whereabouts and particulars

~ Yo s h i ts u n é h im . of , she did tell nothing about Then Yo r i to m o ordered her to perform dances on t h e veranda of the Hachiman Shrine ; unable to

refuse the order , she consented . The four sides O f the veranda were crowded with the d aim yé and

the retainers of the Shogun , and , by the assistance

of her mother , she performed some three or four e o artful danc s , her beauty and graceful skill r using ” t h 1 e admiration o f all the men of the east . a Again she stood up to try another dance , and s ng the follo wing songs

“ T u r n t u r n ! Th e s o o t ur n ! , p l , An d to t u r n b ack t h e p r e se nt T o th e o ld r o s er It o f r p p y m y lo d .

I ye ar n aft er t h e m an w ho w en t fa r o ff tr ead l n o n t h e t t e s no w o f M o u n Yo I o By g t sh n .

S h e was bold enough to pro nounce her feelings of pining after her late master in front of his e nemy and the Kamakura warriors . In her age of a nineteen she bec me nun and died next year .

fi rO Go rO h The revenge of J and , the two brot ers u kets u n é of the Soga family , on their enemy , S Kud O h , who had assassinated their father , is hig ly

admired by all the Japanese , just equal as they do - R On i ns for that of the Forty Seven , so that these two are called a pair o f the great hon o urable

revenges in the history of Japan .

s A. At thi time ( D . there was a dancing

' II r O girl named Tora , who loved J Soga , and helped h him as a wife did for her husband . S e was a

Kam ak u ra i s s it u ate d i n the e aster n r o vi n ce of th e p ’ co u n t r a n d th e m I II tar m en u n er t h e Yo r I to m O v y , y d s Go er n m ent ar e ca e h e n am e ll d by t . 8 '

hi ra b és hi o k S y at Oiso , a t wn near Kama ura , and e once , before the rev nge was yet carried out , when she was engaged fo r a banquet held by Yoshimori Yo r ito m o - d aim é Wada , a retainer of and a fellow y ’ KudO s h e of her lover s enemy , , refused to go to ’ S o it , in pite of her mother s advice to c mply with

the order . Soga the senior , who was present here s r on thi occasion , persuaded his sweethea t to obey her mother ’s direction and attend Wada ’s enter

- tainment too . There is nothing more sorrowful than the life ” s h e of the g irls in our profession , comp lained ,

\ I weeping . If wish to be true to my lover I must to disobey my mother , and if I shall be obedient her I would be looked down as the fla tte rer to the ’ influence o f the time . I can t know which way I should prefer ; co nfusion o f my mind is like the hairs in entanglement ! In the meantime another messenger came a gain and forced her to follow him to the mansion Of iYos h im o r i .Wada . Though she was compelled to appear in the ’ Ku d O banquet and wait upon Wada , (lover s enemy), and other guests , she did not behave to r o amuse them as did other girls present in the o m , owing to her hostile feeling to Ku dO and other é d aimy s of the Kamakura Government . When Tora heard that the two brothers of Soga had succeeded in their revenge and been killed afterwards by the retainers o f the Shogun Yori l e tomo , she ran to the temp e of Hakon and per formed the Buddhist ma s s for one hundre d days h n for her late lover and his brother . Then S e co to S hOs h O verted herself a nun , and taking , her o - S fell w girl and the lover of oga the junior , to Ze n kO i gether with her , went to j, the famous

Buddhist temple at Shinano province , and stayed x t there for two years ; n they went up to Kyoto , h the capital , and pursued t eir religious studies 9 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

’ - under HOnen S hOn i n (S hb ni n is similar to Rev . or St) for one year . After this they came back to Kamakura and prayed the blessings of th e dead for all their lives .

We are told that the two young nuns , wrapped k a in the blac s cerdotal robes , often visited and ’ Old w ho condoled their lovers mother , had been bereft of her two sons a n d was leading he r so litary life at the village Of S o ga .

' Since the time when the girls S hi ra bybs hi first

. 1 1 1 appeared (A D . 5) down to the age of Kamakura G s overnment organi ed by military clans , the prin cipal places where the singing and dancing girls established their business were as follows

A. D . o ffi At the time about 2 52319 , the cial inns called H o nji n were set up I n all main stages through all the highways of Japan , and the gov e r no rs o f provinces and other officers and officials who came up and down the road were to pass a night in these houses . Gradually these inns em ployed young beautiful girls of the localities and let them wait upon the travellers . Th is was the origin of the girls in local towns .

However , the most prosperous quarters for the girls were the banks along large rivers and the r - harbou s on sea coasts . Eguchi and Kawajiri in Setts u province we re situated along the bank of the River Yodo . The passengers from the western pro vinces and Kyfi s h ii Island were all to leave their ships and take the river - boats here ; thus thes e places having been the ports for these ships it was natural that they were very flourishing in this age . Iw e S are told that Kanzaki in ettsu , too , w as the largest and most busy harbour through o ut the whole country in this period , and that there were o a great number of girls in the professi n here , some of them having been s o noted that the ir fame was k o well n wn by men in Kyoto . I O ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

' As adzuma in Ohmi pro vince was a g o od town

k . on the ban of Biwa , the largest lake in Japan The girls here used to present themse lves in pas senger vessels by rowing their own small boats . Teradomari was a town in Ech ig o provin ce and a port for vessels to the island S ado . Passe ngers — fficials s — o among other were very abundant here , and all of them who were to go over to the island

. e had to stay one , two , or sometim s several days in the hote ls while they were waiting for a favour able wind for sailing vesse ls . o Kashiwazaki was another town near Terad mari , h o T and the girls ere , as well as th se in eradomari , we re welcomed by the passengers who were com pelled to kill time before they could sail out for the i s la nd . Ikeda and Akasa ka were two famous stage s in Oka d Mikawa province on the eastern highway (T i O) . The former is specially noted for the native town i fi M u nemo r i of a girl , Jj , who was the favourite of Nai dai i u Ofli ci a l Taira , the j (the high next to Prime th e Minister), in the age of the supremacy of Taira clan . k t Shimonose i was an excellent port at Naga o ,

“ S ui) as it is at present , and Kaminoseki that at

province . When the Heike clan (Taira) was d es tro yed by the Genji (M inamoto) army at the de o isive battle of D annoura all chambermaids of the Heike families took refuge in these two ports and at length were compelled to carry on their miserable life by attending on the guests who assembled to o r t r the p s f o m various quarters . They are said to have appeared before the customers in their

old uniforms , dressed at the time when they had ’ been the noble s female attendants . Kew a iza ka and Oiso were popular and celebrated ’ among the S am u r ai o f the Genji clan s Govern

ment , as they were situated near Kama kura . The a the more prosperous bec me city of Kam akura, the I I THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL more were the number of the girls in these two

places increased . Ya h a I I n M I kaw a - - Besides them , g , Tomo no tsu

in Bingo , Mikuni in Echizen and Ashigara in Sagami province were famous for girls ; and in a o e w rd , the gaiety circl s in Japan had founded their first basis on the banks of the River ! odo nea r a th e the present commercial centre , Osak and on S northern coast of the inland sea of eto , and then gradually made their development through the country on the mo uths of rivers and ‘near th e of th e harbours , most the customers for girls hav ing been officers and offi cials who had to tra vel U p and down through these parts . ’ Now let us see h o w the girls fashio n of dres s

ing , their dancing and music , and the state of

the banquet hall were in this period . As already

mentioned , at the time when the dancing girls Oto ko - m ai o were called the (male dance) , they w re s a i han k , a thin sil robe , and a high cap named ta té- e bo s hi , carried a sword with the scabbard k wound with white sil thread , hung down the a o o w h ir over the sh ulders , rouged the lips , and p r de ed the face , with the eyebrows painted . E The girls living near the water at guchi , K Asad zum anzaki , and a put on a garm ent called ko - u chi i g , with the long hair h a nging down at the back ; they carried in their hand a drum called h o ts u zu m i , and went to the passenger vessels by o their small b ats . When a noted girl was to pay

s w - a vi it she was follo ed by her two waiting maids ,

one holding up the paper sunshade , and the other c ar handling the . After they ame to be called S hi ra b ds hi GiO . c y , GI O haV I n and J , g been the representatives o f the a o f cl ss girls , they danced by the white s a i han robe only , and on the occasion they were to go out of doors the fi rs t- class girls took carriages and were always accompanied by one or two junior S hi ra b I 2

THE STORY OF TH E GEISHA GIRL pnotracted the camps were generally enlivened by these white visitors . I n the headquarters of Kore G mori Taira , who was defeated by the enj i Fu I in the battle of Fujikawa (near the River j) , a number of girls had been brought for the purpose of of Opening a grea t feast . W hen the two brothers S oga revenged o n their enemy near the camp

of Yo ri to mo at the plain of Mount Fuj i , it was h is a rainy night , given a banquet by him for retainer d aimyos who h ad been summoned together for the purpo se o f a great hunting for several days ; the splendid entertainment was , of course , lected beauti es living in Kamakura

’ of S am ur ai s influence or pre power ; were _taken as 0 natu

h e w as i nse ara circle , t er fore , p i r ' g l “ in the age of th e military g overnment a

' ' — D ow n o he A e o the To ku aw a S hb u n ate B . t t g f g g

. 1 0 (A D . 8 5 )

When Hideyoshi Toyotomi established his

A. D Government in Kyoto the capital ( . he ’ officially recogni sed the girls quarter at Yanagi 1 60 - 1 8 machi , and in the age of Tokugawa ( 3 67)

their circles made a remarkable development . In Kyoto the most famous quarter for singi ng G too and dancing girls was ion , as it is at present , and its origin is wo rthy to be explained D In A. . 869 the Gion S hrine was first built at o f E h the foot Mount Higashi ( ast) , w ich borders e the eastern sid of the capital , and as it was crowded h o f by wors ippers day after day , a number tea 1 4 A GAR M EN T CA L L E D SU I KAN AN D A H EA D G EAR NA M E D

o W O R N BY S H I RA BYO SH I T AT E E BO SH I .

G I R L I N K T U G I OV ERH E D G RM E T A A S ( A A N ),

I C HI M - G H AT AND D L E ASA ( ), SAN A S .

ORIGIN AND D EVEL OP MENT houses were gradually opened near the shrine to meet the requirement of visitors who wished to take a rest and make a refreshment . Although the shrine was burnt down by a fire

. D . 1 2 in A 43 , and destroyed by fires caused by war e o in succe ding ages , yet the more p pular became the shrine , the more prosperous were the streets of the cap ital . After it was repaired by the Toku gawa Go vernment people w ho visited to worship far the shrine we re multiplied greater , and the shops where tea and cake were so ld began to ' Th e - o provide wine and dishes . tea h uses hav turned i o the drink " ' ' “ emplo yed ni ce yo u ng girls to wait upon the guests

' m f k w ho came to t a e tiffin or to drink s ake. This was ” o f G Gi the origin o , b ” at n and y and by they irls “ e-r m s ifi on becam g s gs and perform dances , the ' establishi ne nt Of licensed o e haya (tea - shops or me ma ki n h uses ) having first taken place in rryz w o t first the tea - houses officially r e ” i D nsed r A. . 1 6 1 cog we e only eight , and in 7 were - Ich i r iki increased to thirty three . , the famous tea o hou se where .Y shio Oishi , the chief of the Forty

Seven Ronins , led his extravagant life in order to deceive the enemies who were paying their keen ‘ h is o f attention upon conduct , was one these a cha a h h y , t oug it was not yet the licensed res taura nt i e s at his t m , and the house till exists unde r h t e name of Mantei at present . ; 11 a co mme l tre o f a 1 n S hi r a g e 12 t O i g , ‘ n o s ka the rc 1 1 n, P ‘ a hi o l s a Z d sé t fi f 111 A. D TIBB m c is the etf n ' ' ' W ri é fiégaf fo be another quarter of pleasure ; at first some tea- stalls wer e permitted to Open

their business , and gradually they turned to res taura nts provided with nice maidens . S onezaki

s A. D . 1 08 was first e tablished in 7 , and the prin cipal offi cials who ca me up from their native pro vinces and were staying in the city to take charge of the granaries for their lords and the rich mer 1 5 THE STORY OF THE G

O f w h o chants the town , were to e s é all the n ce sary articles , were the habitu to the

quarter . Koharu Ki no ku n iya and O s hima Tem

the Hachiman Shrine sound o f s ami s en and the voice of singing every

A. D . 2 night . It is said that it was about 1 77 the ei s ha Of g g irls first appeared at this part the city ,

and a girl named Oroku was a noted one , well kno wn b y all citizens at this period . Peo ple who s used to o by a house - boat were to vi it ” g ’ Fuk’agawa calle dT aii e bu n e t e o n tlfi f iifer a nd , h route being

th e water along the s eashore . ’ - w ho Owing to the custom of boat letters wives , 1 always put on ha or i (a Japanese coat) over their

clothes , the girls here imitated to wear it too ; hence the g ei s ha of Fukag awa in this age became to be r called by the nickname ha o i . 3 On the banks of Yanagibashi most of the boat ' t b u ild n s let ers of the city lived in their stylish g , their business being cleverly managed by their ho s tesse s ; house- boats for cu s tomers to Fukagawa ’ and c ho ki - bu n é (light and swift boats) fo r visitors to Yo s h iwara were rowed out by boatsmen e m

- ploye d by these boat letters . Thus Yanagibashi having been the centre which o f- b e men pleasure were pouring in , the quarter came so prosperous that a number of restaurants “ e e s ei s ha s were establish d , a:nd that mo t of the g girl who to meet t he d e mandg gf these res t au ra n ts consi s ted of those removed from the Fuka

A. D 8 0 1 . gawa circle since . 1

It w as an e t i qu et t e f o r g ezsh a g i r l s no t t o u se h aor i i n ‘ re sence of t he u e sts a s i i a o t s t re s ent t o . p g , p ,

' 1 6

THE STOR Y OF THE GEISHA GI

co ncert was more liked by citizens of Kyoto Osa ka than by those of Yedo .

As we already explained , a class of girls g e is ha in i ts strict m eaning app ea re d in the n gawa age . N e ar the end of the sixtee th c i a w m us i ca l i n s tr ument named s a mi s en w a s L o o ch o o a d imported from the Islands , n ado pted among the gi r l s as the most co n v e

. o ne ts u a m i , together with drums , g , flutes , O ld bells , all of which were in use since the times . o t th e ir ls I n Osaka and Ky o \ g who could play on s am i s en e r s Ta i ko - o r é the wer at fi t called j , which were fore r un ne r s Of the g e i s ha girls in the western ( s - a Tai ko - or é cities . The o c lled j made their first “ app ea r anc e i n Kyoto in 1 675 and i n Oisa ka in

8 . A. D 1 6 . 3 I n Yedo the forerunners of th e regular g ei s ha were a class o f girls called Od o ri ko (da ncing girls) ‘ “ ' which al r eady exi s ted b efo ré th e end of the seven t e e nth The girls who first handled the s a m i s en cit o d o ri ho in the v of Yedo were the , and in the flowery peri o d of famous Genroku ( 1 688 1 0 7 3 ) their business was most prosp erous . Since Kasen of Ogiya the first g ei s ha appe

A. O 1 6 2 s in Yoshiwara in . 7 by her di tingu accom pli s hm e nts in so n gs and 5a m n u mbe r of girls O f same profession gra r c eased , and their fixed accoutrements they appeared in the pres ence of their were as follows : They put on an under- garme nt , s with a white tucker , and a suit of plain silk dres es r marked with their family c est , all at once tied up with a broad gi r dle made o f a woven fabric ; the coi u r e s him a d a hair was bound in a fi called , wear ‘ ing on it a kbg ai and two kan zas hi (both are kinds o f s n d hairpin ) a a comb .

A. D 1 In . 778 there were fifty g ei s ha girls in the Yo i Yoshi wara quarter . s h ch o w as one of the most JQ Q f r o d o S r i ko . A flourishing P Q o , little after Kasen M USI CAL I T RU M E T P L Y D I RL S NS N S A E BY G . — ' 1 A B IW A (LU T E) SHO (FL U T E)

- 2. A W AG ON HARP _ ( ) . 5 A FU E (FL U T E) — 3 . A so HARP ( ) ,

M U SI CAL I T RU M T P L Y D I RL S NS EN S A E BY G . — ‘ A D - l RU M . A KOKY - 2. D CI HREE ST RING ED — 3 A SAM I SEN T HR - — , ( EE ST RING ED GU IT AR A KANE B E . , 4 LL ) ( ),

ORIGIN AND D EVEL OP MENT

in Yos hiwara there was a girl n a med t Yo s h ichO; she was admired among the g uests as an ideal girl both on her beauty and a nd e n co ur accomplishments , her high fame gave ag eme nt on the prosperity o f o d o ri ho at vari o us

parts of the city . The girl famous next to Ki kuya was Oroku Mo to ya at Na kach O of Fukag aw a of whom we have

. s already referred In Osaka a girl called , Ko an , who became very famous by the love - affair with

her lover , Kingoro , at this period , was a fore

runner o f the Osaka g ei s ha . As th e r w er e e w some girls who degenerated to \ r s s ei s ha car y on misconduct , the profe ion of g or i i o r ko b s n A. D . 1 2 0 o i . d was Oft en proh ted i ce 7 , and J t o nce thirteen gi r ls at Taka n aw a in Yedo were

A. D 1 0 arrested and severely puni s hed in . 79 ; but circles of girl s again appea r ed and p r os Yo s h ichO Ko kuchO , , Nakacho of Fuka k n h u ke n d a a Ho nchO . J , , and S immei The whe n o d o ri ko ca me to be generally called

a A D 1 8 . was after . . 78 the occas ion when the girls were engaged to their custo mers they went to restaurants esc orted

o A. D . 1 8 1 0 by their m thers , but since about they e - ha ko a were follow d by men servants called y , who - f took the place o f the old women . The get up O g ei s ha in this period was to put on the garment of ’ u r i s o de t long sleeves called f , but af erwards they ’ u sed to wear the wadded silk garment (ko s o d e) f m ei s en made of striped stu f called in winter , and the hemp garment (hata bi r a) with the interwoven has ur i minute marks called in summer . They were

w - al ays bare footed throughout the year , and put on azu m a a pair of clogs called g eta . They never used hao ri (Japanese coa t) in pres

' c s ex ce t th e w i r s en e of the gue ts , p g l of the Fuka ‘ “ ” gaw as c ir c-le wh g l th em se lv eé b iinflat in p h exa ted y g fa h - m of oa étter fs h . ig w l v the queer s the b t fi ostess But I 9 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

- - D . 1 hao co ming down to A. 83 0 40 the s o called ri ei s ha co - g ( at girls) ceased to wear the coat , and as adopted a new f hion to put on a silk garment ,

plain or with printed small figures , the ends of their broad belt hanging down as long as to cover their r r lower back , the face powde ed thinly , and the hai d a bound in s him a a . As the g ei s h in the ro om o r s o t h w re their ga ment long as to trail its skirt , had to pull it up with their left hand when th

r hi d ari - zu m a s we e to walk the street , hence ( kirt

in left hand) a nickname of g ei s ha 1n gene r al . In Kyoto and Osaka the g ei s ha ex ce lle n s d t both in art and beauty , were tho e live at Gi o n in the fo rm e r and at Nan a in the l tter . Those in Kyoto made th e l r first

. D 1 1 appearance at S himabara in A . 75 ; but pre ceding them the r e was a girl named Kawachi in a Kas h iw a a brothel y of Shimabara , and being very ’ o f Na ebu s hi skilful at singing songs g , she became ' ' - tai h0 0 7 5. t the first j Next ano her girl , Yoshi a m m o n i a matsu , of a brothel S jy , was an expert

. 1 1 1 singer in the sa me quarter too (A D . 7 Then e er e so — G ei s ha th y w e follow d by the called ion g , who tur n ed the banks along the River Kamo into s the paradi e of singing and dancing .

. D 1 In A . 8 43 all the g ei s ha of Gion were removed a r b ut s to Shim ba a by order , having been re tored 1 8 1 to their old position in 5 , their prosperity at G o f ion was redoubled . The summer cos tume a r m a i ho o f you ng d ncing gi ls ( ) Gion was" a purple h k gauze garment wit the skirt lined with pin silk ,

or a thin hemp dress of superfine q uality , together with a large belt made of red brocade ; and that of n ei ho si ging girls (g ) generally co n s 1s ted of h emp , s ilk Gra e or d ark thin p , purple gauze , with figures

dyed at the part of skirt , their belt made of greyish — satin they walked with the ski r t pulled high up r near thei breast by the left hand . In Osa ka the g ei s ha girls at the S himmachi

20

THE STORY OF THE G

God e for the of W alth , crying To send out a girl for worshi p to

in such a foolish and extravagant way , her patrons ite generous to spend three or four hundred

r a single palanquin .

K o to _an1d s l t y e ec e“ d the h w w these citi es for the seats

a o f Ye do was Gion of d Ch Osh ' i ri the ‘ ' ’ S ho g u n s lippe d i nt o thes e ’ ' i of a ss as s n at ip g them . n o ted girls who discussed with thes eg éni e s e n the afl a i rs Of

' ' The gi r ls i n this age were generally y ll con ' “ e ' m n ducted . The sanction was very strict a O g c t themselves in Yoshiwara , espe ially agains _any one whos e misconduct h ad been sh e was expelled fro m her circle at o " ' ' s at tli e dre ses which she had worn . mis ' carriage were all hung down a n d ex po s ed to the ’ h e t h e ei s ha s Of public at .t very shop of g guild fice o f r several days .

1 ‘ A r i n hi s a e co st a mo s 1 o oun s er i n at yo t g l t. ne p d t l g p r esent. ORIGIN AND D EVEL OP MENT

— . D w n o C 0 t th e P r es en t Tim e .

After the Grea t Restoration of the M e ija era

. D . e Tokyo , the new name for the old Y do , ’ ai n t d a u i the p pp of gay circles , and a great number o f n e w g ei s ha quarters came to ex is o ld e h tence , while on s made furt er development at

1 era they were rather insignificant in compariso n with the old and prosperous circles at Yoshiwara and

. b e Yanagibashi However , gradually the quarter

‘ tO fl o ur i s h an d gan , at present has become one of the greatest circles in the capital . At first the girls of the district were called the Ko m ar a ei s ha p g , and the situation being near the to bridge Shimbashi , afterwards came receive the name of Shimbashi girls . About the time when G w as the new overnment of Meiji established , most s ffi of cu tomers to the quarters were higher o cials , and lately the members of Parliament are welcomed h among the circle during t e session every year . As the h o u s es in this qua r ter under a general n a me of Ginza were recon s tructed to the brick buildings the G 1 8 2 th e Ko m a ru by overnment in 7 , girls of p were for t unate to live in the new houses o f nice appearance . s ei s ha Aka aka is the largest g quarter , covering all t Ta k the ex ent of Tamachi and m e i é . I n January of 1 869 a girl - house called Iseya was first O pened c of t in a street Shimma hi the dis rict , and then To o kura a Har um o to y y in March , and in M ay , 1 8 2 Ha as h i a 1 8 o 7 , and y y in July , 75, these f ur hou ses only answering the demand for girls at the 23 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

1 8 0 quarter up to 1 8 8 5. In 9 the number were increa sed to one hundred and twenty- fl and in 1 8 95 to two hundred . There are three great and famous g ei s ha- hou ses in Akasaka at present Har umo to S anch Omé , situated at of Tamachi e 1 8 2 S treet , was first stablished in 7 , and keeps over M a n r O forty singing and dancing girls at present , y , K n o ko Ki kur fi u k uzur u a , y , and F being most noted for beauty and accomplishments among them . - Har um o to - Harum o to Ts uta Tama , M itsu , and

Har um o to are its branches . Ha as h i a Nich Omé y y , at of the same street , is an

- old and po pular shop since 1 8 75. About thirty larger and smaller girls of the house are pushing their business in competition with those of Haru

. R i n ko I ne To o ma ru moto , M isao , Kotatsu , , y , b eaut l es and Korin are selections among all the , Ta kab a as hi S h i nb a as h i S h im éb a as hi and y , y , y , Yo n b a as h i h i o a a h é C b s i . y , and y y are the branches Ki o ts uch i T a me iké y , in Street , commenced its 1 8 business in 99 , and at present over thirty girls of the house are attracting the guests who visit restaurants and waiting- houses of the quarte The two circles of S u kiya m ach i and D O in the S h itaya Ward are known by a general ” S h ita a ei s ha of the y g , and were reputable the name of S u kiya m ach i girls among C i

- A. D . 1 80 2 u ka a w a ci rcl since 4 9 , when the F g at its height of prosperity . At the b of the Meiji era , however , there were girls at the S u kiyam ach i quar ally increased they became fifty- two in 1 8 8 5; at present there are one hundred and fifty singing ei s ha and twenty dancing girls , the number of g - fi v houses amounting to sixty e . The D Ob Och O quarter contained only twenty- five s 1 8 0 girl in 9 , and made extension to one hundred s a i n and ixty singing and fourteen d ncing girls , 2 4 AT A H OU SE B O .

A C H O KI OAT B .

ORIGIN AND D EVEL OP MENT

1 9 1 0 . At present we are told that one hundred and sixty- three s 1ng 1ng and fifteen danci ng girls

- ing in seventy four houses . customers to the S h itaya circles comprehend nd it is a speciality o f the quarter that the girls here are often hired to the meetings of artists and scho lars ; hence the S h itaya girls have many more acquaintances among these

kinds of gentlemen than thos e in other quarters . The reason may be ascribed to the existence of F two great establishments , the ine Arts School to th e s the north and Imperial University to the we t , the former on the hill of Park Ueno and the latter

on the upland of Hongo . Yo s h ichO is one of the large gay quarters in

the Nihonbashi Ward . It was about one hundred years a go that g ei s ha girls span their webs at the

quarter , and there were not more than thirty girls before the time of the Meij i Restoration but near the e nd of 1 8 7 1 they were increased to n more than o e hundred . At present the total number of the singing and the dancing girls are said to have amounted to over five hundred ! All the streets surrounding the quarter are the seats o of banks , firms , and big merchants , and m reo ver the Rice and Stock Exchange is standing near it ; naturally enough most o f the customers here

are business men . Ka ras umo r i g ei s ha is a general name given for the girl s in the quarter to the so uth of the bridge s Shimba hi , just on the opposite side to the positi o n s o— S h imb a h 1 1 of the called s C rcle .

Besides those above mentioned , Nihombashi , KOb us h o Ka u raza ka S h i n to m i h , Tenj in , g , c O, k Ko n n a k u im a h Mu oj ima , y j , Fujimic o , Shibaura , Asakus a D O za , Hakusan , and g e n ka are the quarters o ei s ha of g girls in Tokyo , and several interesting stories with regard to the girls in these place s will o w be given in the f llo ing chapters , as well as 2 5 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GI those relating to the beauties in other cities a towns of the country . C hief events and general customs i n this period were as follows ’ . D 1 8 I n A . 73 a girls training schoo l called o kOb a G J was first established at ion of Kyoto , which was at once followed by Osaka and other

. s chief towns I n the chool , girls were trained in music and dancing on one s ide and taught in reading , writing , and even sewing on the other . A few years ago in Osaka there took place a queer examination for girls at the south quarter . The guild offi ce of the quarter was selected the examination hall and t he examiners consisted of a certain number of male members of the guild , together with eight old singing girls u nder mutual o election . C ourses of the examinati n were two kinds of songs called ji u ta and e d o u ta for girls o ver twenty years old , the songs and dancing for those over seventeen , and the drum added for those bel o w seventeen . By the marks given on each cours e by each examiner the result of the examina tion was settled . The system was put in force every o o year , and could attain a g d success for selection of girls .

Their dressing was rather simple , owing to the interferen ce o f the authorities ; they were prohibited to use pattern cl o th or any extravagant way of tailo r ing ; adornment for their head was limited to a comb and a long pin (kég ai) of tortoise- shell and a short silver pin . Even on a ceremonious occasion they could not put on the clothes of figured skirts and the belt embro idered with gold threa d . ta bi They never used the socks ( ), but carried a pair of clo gs called azu m ag eta under their bar e feet ; their hair was generally dres sed in the co i u r e s him a da ff of , and they were proud to be gallant or s tylish themselves by wearing a black 26

AND D EVEL OP MENT

nd ers kirt (ju ban ) directly over their naked

E A. D . 1 8 8 about 5, however , the uropean way Of dressing the hair under the general n a me o hu ha tsu of s came to be in vogue , and then the Gen roku style having begun to prevail since about e were a go od few girls who dared to presence of the guests putting on their ka ts u a m a o r h é o curious cues of y y g ,

A. which were in fashion in the Genroku period ( D . 1 688 f e As to dancing , several di f rent schools had their influence in different societies o f girls : in Tokyo the Ha n aya g i s chool controlled the Yoshiwara u im a o circle , and the F j the Shimbashi ; in Ky to the Katayama w as popular among the Gion girls ; in Osaka the Yamamura trained the Shimmachi g ei ho

(girls) , while the Sato and the Nishikawa taught those in S on ezaki circle ; and girls belonging to the g ay circles in the city of Nagoya were ad h r n s e e ts of the Ni hikawa school .

D . 8 2 In A. 1 7 the Kyoto Ballet or C herry D ance called Miy a ko - o d o r i was first organised by the girls of Gion under the auspices of the go vernor and the councillor of the time . A party of the dance con sisted of thirty - two dancing and eleven singing

- girls accompanied by four for hand drums , two fo r flutes , three for smaller drums and gongs , and

fift - one for a larger drum , y three girls in all . As there were seven parties , each of which was to s perform the dance for a week by turn , total number of g i r ls for the dance amounted to three hun dred

- and seventy one . D 1 8 o On the tenth of ecember , 73 , the g vernor of promulgated the disciplinary rules fo r . Tokyo ei s ha s w as g girl , which the first regulati o n S pecially w 1th s reference to the inging and the dancing girl s . 1 8 8 8 In November , , the Osaka Ballet , named . As hi be- o d o ri , was first formed by girls of the south 2 7

C HAP TER I I

TRU E FEATU RES OF GE IS HA G I RLS

— D r A . anci ng Gi ls

‘ To make a deductive reaso ning from a Japanese saying , There is no foolish business in the world , but there are many foolish customers , we can”) conclude that the existence of g ei s ha girls is to be a scribe d to their customers . The greater part of e these girls are not wis and educated ladies , but on the contrary they are born in poor and ig n o r ing no go od influence to them in o hood . When little girls some f urteen

years old , born among such families , ei s ha come first to be trained as g , they are called dancing girls for one or tw o years ; the term as o s ha ku their fee is one - half of e a s - r that for a mature g i s h or o called singing gi l , hence they are often called ha ngyo ku or half

In the evening when they are engaged to r es ts they appear in presence of guests as a p a ei s ha of g , and in daytime they are strictly n all acco m pli s hm e hts necessary for the

n . On the termination of the hardest severest training for one or two years they are scarcely enlisted as the singing gi r ls . Du r ing the apprenticeship t hey must get up very

early every morning , and , rubbing their sleepy 2 9 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

eyes , dust and sweep all the rooms of the house ; towards the evening again they must clean the

rooms a nd light the lantern s at the door . No sooner have they finished supper than they are

taken by senior girls to bath , and painted in pre

pa rat io n for the engagement to restaurants . Little girls under training by a passionate hostess or elder g ei s ha are said to have their body whipped - r with a long bamboo tobacco pipe almost eve y day . Even in the time when they are engaged by gues ts h o w s ee in a restaurant , pitiful it is to them kneel i n h g down rigidly and casting timid , stealt y g lances at the faces of their seniors and maid servants present in the ro o m rather than to take care of the gue s ts themselves . While the customers are pleased to look at them in dancing , the little dance r s themselves are pleasant in no wise . Yet dancing and drumming , accompanied by singing s am i s en songs and playing of elder girls , are their ‘ o s ha hu duty as , and by this they can earn a certain s u m o f o - m ney , though the fee is only one half of that for their elders .

If , however , any of them are grown up to the girl in the flower of maidenhood , some seventeen or eighteen years old , the little finger of her right hand having been stiffened with callosity as the result of frequent touching with the plectrum of s am i s en and her neck blackened with constant a p — plications of powde r w e would be surprised by her beautiful co mplexion and elegant style ; cer t a i nl a ear a n s h g e al ce . n y her xtern pp i entirely c a ed , h at every inc , so that even her parents themselves doubt whether s h e is their own daughter ! A girl o in full dress , without a bit f defects from the top to the toe , comes striking her charming attitude , — ’ cas ts a glance and smiles on u s wouldn 1 even women be enchanted by her loveliness and beauty at the moment ? And all of these belles to be called the incarnation of Venus were once those poor little 3 0 TRUE FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS

gi r ls who wept bitterly to be separ ated from the parents and were at last bro ught to the g ei s ha

ho uses never seen b efore .

— Em lo m en t o Gi r ls B . p y f

ately the meth o d o f adopting girls in g e i s ha

i n Tokyo made a g r eat change . The ap system of little girl s was almost given

he gay circle , but in lieu of it they employ those girls who have been already taught and trained in some local towns on their prel im

i na ry lesso ns necessa ry for g ei s ha business . Girl a ze en m agents , who are c lled g generally a ong the

circle , visit local provinces , and out of the girls who are found in a rural restaurant o r g ei s ha - hou s e select a i n'umb er o f girls appreciated by them to fit

- adoption in the metropolitan girl shops . We told th at these count r y girl - houses or res taurants are co mplaining for deprivation of their living treasuries which they have hardly made up from their pri mitive state to the situation somewhat o h peful for utilisation in future . The cunning but wise method of picking out the g r s r s i l are , not limited for those in local p ovince , but even the daughters of poor citizens in Tokyo are preparing themselves so as to be able to be ado pted for g ei s ha at any time when money i s

c a is , a fter o ne ess ry for their parents ; that , they c me home from school every day they go to teachers of sami s en n c n and da i g , the fundamental acquire me pts most impo rtant for the capacity as singing gir s .

— C . Clas s es of Gi r ls

ei ha a l The employers of g s girls generally re old n Ja d experienced singing girls , but often we find 3 1 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA

h - ei s ha t ose kinds of hostesses who are ex g , or

- wives of story tellers or actors . To classify g ei s ha girls according to th e terms of employment , there are three kinds M aru a ha e s e m lo ees 1 . g or ab olute p y are those who are agreed to borrow a sum of money in en advance , some one or two thousand y , and to be taken into service for three or five years ; and while expenses for dresses , meals , and pocket of moneys girls are borne by the employers , all the incomes of the fo rmer within th e term are taken into the hand of the latter .

a k o n - hi chi s an h - 2 . W e ( e half) and S (t ree tenths) o r participators in gains are those who borrow en some five hundred or one thousand y , which sh a ll be paid back to the employer by the end of the fixed term of service , and responsibility for s expenses on dre ses , meals , etc . , being properly s agreed between the two side according to the case , money earned by the girls is divided between the two by the rate fixed in the agreement . Mi s e- ari Kam ban - hari - 3 . g , , or title renters are d - in ependent girls employed in no girl houses , but pu r suing their business in the n a me of so me re putab le g ei s ha - s hops ; they pay some ten or twenty en — y per month for the rent of th e house title .

’ - o r ls D . In com e f Gi It is very difficult to know the exact amount ei s ha t income of a g girl , but it is probable tha most popular and noted girls of the first Tokyo can earn one hundred and fifty to th r en d ed y per month on an average , with the s tion of January , in which they eem to make of four or five hundred to over one thousand . exceptional cases , there are some girls who are ce i v i n g monthly allowances of some hundred n from their kind and rich patro s . Anyhow , i 3 2

TRUE FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS true that the income of a girl of the first rank is much more than the salary or earnings got by a G overnment official of the higher rank or a director o f a smaller firm . What a profitable and interest ing business for the females is the profession of g ei s ha girls ! If we wish to hire a g irl of the first rank on a certain day and give an order to a restaurant or waiting- house to call her at a fixed time on an n en O f en appoi ted date , we pay y which y i 60 s en s paid to the girl , to the restaurant or - 0 s en waiting house , and 3 to the manservant who escorts the girl from her house to the restaurant , — ca rrying her s am i s en at the same time it is the

NO . 1 r sum of the fee for a gi l , and such is the rate o f its distribution among the party concerned . If we request her to play some pe r formance ffi s specially di cult or trouble ome , or keep her for s the time unu ually long , we must give her an extra of two or three y en ; a n d a gain if we have to engage her at a place beyo n d the scope o f her circle we should pay six or seven yen for herself a n s en d fifty for her escort . Lately it has beco me a custom that the number of g ei s ha girls is greater than that of the guests o in a big party held by pe ple of the higher rank , so that the payment for the girls is far more than the total amount of expenses for dishes , wine , th e tobacco , tips to restaurant and maidservants , etc . If a girl i s hired temporarily without a previou s notice her fee is not more than two y en and fifty s en or sixty , and if she pays a visit for a short s time , ome ten or twenty minutes , to her acquainted gentlemen who happen to be present in another room of the same restauran t where she was e n gaged by other guests she is bestowed by them on e en with a tip of y , the short visit being called o - ai s a e g i sa (complim nts) of the girl . 33 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIR L

E -Expen s es 0f Gi r ls

Next let us see the expenditure of a girl . Sup o f pose that ‘her family consists her mother , a m a ids er v a nt brother , , and a seamstress , five

persons in all including herself . Unavoidable

- expenses for house rent , telephone charge , busi s e nes tax , petty moneys , social outlays for th atre n o e a d thers , wages for employ es , provision , fuel ,

charcoal , light , and so on amount to over one hund red yen per m o nth at least ; and she must pay another hundred y en for dry goods stores and

- ri ki s ha . men Moreover , it is a habit among the girl circle that she should give presents to res a u ra nts - a n d t , waiting houses , their maidservants D twice a year , in July and ecember , the amount of consumption by a most celebrated girl of the first rank for the semi - annual gifts attaining to a wonderful sum o f over five hundred on each ‘ occasion . In January she should put on a New Year ' s

dress newly made every year , and a suit costs two o r n e three hundred y e . Summing up all thes

current and temporary expenses , how expensive is ei s ha h o w the life of a g girl , and hard is it to earn such a big s um by a young w eak w o m a n l Gei s ha girls are always squeezed by demons of - fli r several kinds . The first demon is the tax o ce who levies o ne hundred y en per annum upon the fi r s t- o f a nd class girls Tokyo , next they are coerced to be members of some public females ’associations

or to contribute for charity bazaars . On the occasion when a great festival of a principal shrine i s in the city to be celebrated , they have to attend the ceremony d r essed in a costly costume specially s e made for the fe tival , and in a certain f te the expense s of a girl for the costume and its appen e en dages amount to over three hundr d y . 34 TRUE FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS

We often hear that some of the g ei s ha girls are p ursuing their business for the purpo s e of earning money necessary for their husbands who are ab r oad to study , or getting educational expenses fo r their brothers .

— F C har a cter i s ti cs of Gi r ls

The following interesting story was given by a an old n d experienced singing girl , and it will give us a goo d knowledge on the true and inner features of g ei s ha girls at the present time “ C ertainly among the girls at present we can r r not trace cleve ness , activity , st ong will , and

courage , which were the characteristics peculiar to ! the girls of the Yedo age . What a pity it is The cause of the degradation of girls at present should be attributed to the downfall of tas te on the

side of guests . For example , look at a girl most

popular in the S himbashi circle . What a co un n l— te na ce she has short , round , of swollen cheeks , M ar u o cha and dull . Such a face is called p (round

b s . and fat) , and generally welcomed y gue ts M aru po cha may signify perfection and obedi s ence in a meaning , just contrast to sharpne s and e i s no t graven ss of the Yedo girls , which liked

by boastful blades of the present day . M ost of the gue s ts in these days are people who come up from local provinces and kn o w no tastes o n true - the merry making of metropolitan inhabitants . What a nonsense to expect absolute obedience and per fection for the professionals like g ei s ha girls ! “ The inexperienced fellows presume the girls

to be liars , or despise them against craftiness in

the art of enchanting men . I n the world there is o s no one who does not use s me tacts in his busine s ,

and yet men are as cruel as to blame us only , as

to be a metamorphosis of lies and deceptions . 3 5 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL Our motto is Neither to deceive guests nor to be ’ de ceived by them , and nothing more in tacts and

tricks . If we treat them all times with sincerity only , we should be ruined by dishonest or inhuman

- reprobates and ridiculed by fellow girls , and on o the contrary , if we dare to make a fo l of them

with cheats and lies only , we would be knocked down by upper hands and conso led with no sym

pathy of our comrades . Men in general are pleased W to trap girls since old times , and it was isely said by a noted girl that A girl does not speak ’ lies so much as her guest doe s . 1m o r tant In treatment of customers , the very p art for us is the clever disposition o f truth and t falsi y , and its most abstruse principles cannot be r easily mastered by us . C onsequently if a gi l does not understand the way how to treat her a guests she cannot be called an accomplished g ei s h . We are women and have passions as equal a s other gi r ls _do ; we may fall in love with men whom we like , but when we are attending upon guests in a restaurant , we are on duty to carry out s our busines , and have no relaxation of mind to s ha think of other matters . Lovers of g ei girls i are not limited to young , handsome men , but it s funny indeed that we are often attracted by the o f ways smoking , speaking , dressing , or such a kind of trifling matters which are a little diff erent from or rather stylish than those done by common people . Girls of our circle detest the men who boast n h themselves of spending mo ey lavishly , or w o ff a ect to be men of the world . Then what kind ’ of men are liked by g ei s ha girls ? Tis a very d ifli cult ! d question Yes , a simple , kin , calm , and tasteful gentleman is the ideal lover of all g irls , I am sure ! " “ In a word , girls of th e gay quarter do not 36 TRUE FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS

l fi ckle nes s es s y or out of , and they have once fallen in love they are glad even

to sacrifice their lives for the lovers . Our busines s being to meet various kinds of men every night

and day , we have best conveniences to select out

lovers coincident with o ur characters . We dare

say the h o liest love is ours , absolutely true and honest at every case and always with the burning o b e affection , more seri us than that of the females

longing to any other classes . Some of the people look down upon us without discrimination to be the faithles s and cold - hearted

creatures living in the dishonourable society . Our o circle is a p or body of unlucky girls , each member of which i s far deeper in love and humanity than s any girls Of other ranks . C ompetition among our fellow- girls are fierce ; even among the hos tess and n girl s in the same house we ca no t be o ff our guard .

.When engaged to a restaurant , constraints for e waitress s or maidservants of the house , cares for

guests , and ostentations and emulations against other g ei s ha gi rls present in the same roo m are

governing our brains at all times .

As we are always troubled in and out , we are e i im o s us d to be vigilant at any time , but as t is p

sible to strain the attention permanently , we seek

some consolers . Almost all girls who have no ! for lovers yet have one or two b o som friends among . their fellow - girls to whom they can open themselves

on all their anguishes and complaints . Thus our troubles and pains could be temporarily tranquil lised by the special affection a nd consolation b e

tween the friends . ei s ha By the way , the features of the g girls in C ’ Yoshiwara or Nightless ity will be told , as

they are the essence of girls in Tokyo . The Yoshi wara g ei s ha are bare- fo oted throughout all the a se sons , and in winter when it is very cold they walk up a nd do wn through a long corridor with

37l THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL, the uppe r part of their feet wrapped round with the skirts o f clothes . They are always too busy . to be concerned in love - affairs ; every morning they ’ a n have to go to the teachers of dancing , songs d a s the s s music , and to kind of song , they mu t know ’ a Na a - b ta l s H au t (short s ongs) , g ( ong song ), Ki o m o to To hi w azu Gi d a u Hahn Ka ta y , , y , , and at least , each of these lessons being taught by different instructo rs respectively . Training of singing in the coldest season is the hardest work do ne by younger girls . Every morning at dawn in the dead of winter , young girls sit down on an o pen platform on the roof and recite so ngs in the highest tone of their voice , so that it i s not rare that blood is shed from their broken throats . The annual performance most important and enj o yable for the Yoshiwara g ei s ha is the Niw a ka D ance held in spring season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom (see The Nightside o f Japan for particulars of Ni w a ka ) . All girls are in fervent competitions among themselves to have the ir own parties e ngaged by customers ; a sign - paper is sent from the guide - houses to the girls as a tally for n each engageme t , the names of each girl engaged and of the g uide - house where her party is to attend r being w itten down upon it . The girls tie up all s - r these pieces of ign paper to thei hairpin , and as popular girls receive engagements of many cus t o m ers - i s s , a bundle of so many sign papers een on the head of each girl like a large white flower which pliantly flutters when she dances on the stage .

- G . Cu r s es a nd C o nju ra ti on s

Tr ifli ng events or phenomena which attract special atte n tion for common people a r e gene r ally taken by the girls of the gay circle as the 38

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA G

to fall down from the high staircase for the folly ! On the morning after three days an old maid ’ servant of the girl s house was comi n g down the s t airs , lost her footing just at the third step , and , s having fallen over the stairca e , lay down sense

less o n the floo r matting downstairs . Startled by

the sudden cries and sound , all the family ran up a d m i n is to the spot , and after a short tumult on tering medicine and water the old woman could

recover her breath . Towards the evening Of the same day s he was s engaged to a re taurant , and when she found her lover waiting for her in a room of the restaurant , how startled she was to witness the miraculous virtue of the conjuration so quickly ! ”— . If 2 . Needle a girl wishes to see her lover s h e - takes his name card , and , concentrating her ardent love upon it , pierces a needle through it ; and next she sticks it very secretly at the inside of ' the entrance door of her house , facing to the north . It is generally believed by girls that the lovers would come to them within five hours after the s r charm was faultles ly perfo med , and that there ‘ is no eff ect if it is tried more than once in a month . ” - 3 . M irror . O n a small piece of paper various abusive languages for the lover are written s down , as many as pos ible , and it is stuck on the back side o f a pocket looking- glass in such a way

- that the written words are read upside down . The t o lover will soon visit his girl , who is yearning see him . Another way with the looking- glass is to write d o w n i o n a small piece of paper his name and address in the most regular script , and then to add the incantatory words He is dead ! below them ; the paper is p asted upside down on the back side of a mirror . He is attracted soon to the girl by this way too . 40 TRUE FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS

- 4 . Razor . A girl wishes to know the real o r intention of her lover for herself , she doubts his kind words given to her in their last

were spoken from his heart . On this she calls him to her house and waits until h asleep in nig t . At the dead of night , ’ a about two or three o clock , she brings a l rge g lass a or porcelain bowl filled with w ter , which a sharp razor is lain on , and puts it near the head of the lover in the bed so stealthily as not to be perceived by him . Then , moving the razor along the brim i of the bowl , she wh spers to him in sound sleep , ” Now tell me your real intentions for me . He o t begins to talk in his sleep , c nfessing every hing he has in his mind .

- - Hair Was hing . A girl is yearning after her lover who is travelling in a distant quarter , or she wants to s peak with him about some important matters which occurred upon her during his s absence . On such a case , if she carrie out a ” o f - m conjuration Hair Washing , he would co e back soon to her . First she unties her hair and washes it in the — water of a pond the water of a well , river , or — water- works being of no use for the charm then she stands by the side of a well near her house , o s o letting down the hair over her sh ulder , and lo k ing down on the surface of the water with her s whole heart , tates everything she has to tell her ’ man for the bottom o f the well . By this the girl s desire is said directly to reach him , who comes back to see her instantly . There is a fearful story in connection with the eff ect o f the conjuration performed by a g ei s h a girl . After washing the hair she stood near the w as s s well , and while she expre sing her de ire a comb on her head slipped out of the hair , and , n s falling i to the well , ank down deep to the bottom of the water , but she did not care of it at the time . 4 1 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA How remarkable was the effect of the Her o param ur , whom she had been on tip came back after a week . Transported with

has tened to the house assigned by him . she entered the room where he was awaiting she was stunned with horror by finding his scarred with a distinct trace of a comb . ” — . A a 6 . Photographs girl intended to veng e upon a man whom she had been cruelly tortured

s . and in ulted by A horrible curse , which she was taught by one of her friends and decided to carry Of out , was a method boiling a photograph of the s hateful chap . Fir t she got his po rtrait and threw it into a bO 1li ng oil pan ; then she continued to boi l the photo on the blazing fire as lo ng as she co uld s he keep . A few days after was satisfied to fin the face o f her enemy blistered up like that of dro wned man . “ — 7 . Vi s ionary Method . There is a mys te method of reading the thought of a man

experienced by g ei s ha girls . A girl is in

at her home , and her soul visits her lover s h e can hear from him what she wants to ac u To try the method , first she must be q s a rra n em e n with particulars of his addres , g o o 0 the r ms of his house , and the position

bed . Then she sits down on her bed in her o r om , all the doors around the room being s h e up , next composes the mind , shuts the s put the hands on the knees , and is absorb m editation as follows : S h e 010 gets out of bed , changes her the door of the room , and gets out of the ho r i ki s ha r - By taking a , ca riage , or motor car , s passes such and such treets , and arrives at ’ gate of her man s house . Now she writes ‘ word fox th rice on her left palm with her ri forefinge r ; and then the gate a n d do

themselves . After pa s si n g through 42

TRUE FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS

th approaches the bed of e lover . S h e sits down

nea r his head , and calls him by a low voice .

Getting his reply in trance , she expresses what a s k she wants to , and is distinctly answered by

him for everything she inquires . After she satis hed herself by having his true intentions confessed s h e in response to her inquiries , comes home by following the course just contrary to that taken on ’ the way to him . F If , however , she thinks any other matters during r opens her eyes even for a 10rme nt , she fails to attain her aim ; and besides , n she meets in vision with any person on t h e way during her journey it is said no effect can be

obtained .

— H S pectra l Tra di ti o n s

Out of many ghost- stories got about among eis ha r g girls , some of the most inte esting or curious ones will be given here : Until all the buildings in the North Gay Qu arter of Osaka were burnt down by the great fire in

- A. D . 1 1 0 n b y 9 , there was a public house well know the name of Ghost Tea - house in a street of the u q arter . The hostess of the house was an old

widow over forty years old , and was often talked among girl s of her love- affairs in connection with m young actors or s am i s en players . It w as r t1 o ur ed among them that when she was angry her ears stood upright and vibrated sharply like those of

a cat . More than the mystery of sticking up of ’ s the hostess s ears , there on . the up tairs of the

house was a dancing stage , upon which a man saw a wonder One dark night near the end of a year he went s up alone to the up tairs on business , and , looking

toward the dancing stage unintentionally , he found 43 THE STORY OF THE o n it a very large head of a

him . He was not frightened but bold enough to jump at it 0 th e head disappeared , and stage

ful as usual .

.Wonders of the house were not limited to ei s ha above mentioned , but all the g girls several s trange events which they met with i 1r l house . A g assuredly said that on the neck of the hostess elongated by five o at least , and another rep rted that a man o w man , both very old and with silvery whit were sitting down and looking at her in the in most detached room after twelve every night , i S pite of the fact that there were no such 0 1 persons among the family of the house . Among some five or six large and fi r s t- rank girl s e house in the Hori Merriment Quarter of Osaka , H a nafu i there was a famous one named j, and the custo mers to it generally were citizens of the ei s ha higher class . Of all the g of the house , the girl called Komatsu was most popular among the customers ; she had a beautiful complexion , and was rather fat and white in her skin . One evening in the spring of a year there hap pened to come in the house a tall and handsome o f young gentleman , some twenty years age , and

Komatsu was appointed to attend him . As she was refined in her acco mplishments and treated him very kindly , he seemed to have been infatuated with her . th e After the first meeting of the two , young dandy visited the girl every second or third day , e S always late in night . He was v ry liberal to pend a big sum of money every time ; for his new sweet u s o n heart he bo ght dre ses , ornaments hair , and everything she wished for . Thus the fame for the good fortune of Komatsu having come to resound th e w e throug hout hole extent of Hori quarter , she 44

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA

often told about the strange young g alla n h ' with Komatsu , and now began to doubt c judging from his actions so far . Being a q s h e with the hoste s , one summer evening Ha nafu i j and ordered wine and dishes ,

some g ei s ha girls at the same time . At 1 he got so heavily drunk that he could not ” up himself , and was compelled to pass the

in the house . Near midnight he rose up from his sham and crept out of h is room . While he was 5 ing at a corner of the yard near the detached specially built for Komatsu , he saw a secretly approaching the room ; by t the summer night he recognised him m tall and handso e fellow , covering the lowe o f his face with a fan . When the young man O pened a low bamboo wicket 1 n the yard and came at the room , the girl , who was waiting for him , o pened the door , took his hand and accompanied u th e him into the room after shutting p door again . Ho w surpri s ed the voluntary investigator was e wh n he saw the girl , once with so fat and healthy body and with so lovely rosy cheeks s w o lle n lower part , but now so wo derfully within less than half a year that she a p a person who h a d gone to that bourne fr no traveller retu r ns ! His suspicion youth became deeper and stronger now . o back to his own ro m , and fell in deep p how to make out the real character of the When the clock on the wall struck three he o st le out into the yard , and , arriving at ’ entrance door of the girl s room , he locked it up

firmly from the outside , so as nobody could come out of the room . Next morning he went round the house to all the family , then he told them the bad S pread throughout the quarter , and next 46 OF GEISHA GIRLS and the arrangement taken by T . e him last night h hostess did not believe him , but being forced to follow him , she went out together with him for the detached room . The door was unlocked by him , and at the instant when they stepped into the room both were

frightened at finding a large , old , and black s spotted badger lying dead , with its eye widely

n e ar the steps of the entrance . By the the corpse of the fearful animal th e poor S o girl Komatsu in all kin and bones lay swo ned , grasping her hands a s if to have falle n after great f writhing . By the ef e ct of medical treatment she r could hardly recove her breath , but , having been

too much frightened , she fell seriously ill , and

at last died at the end of autumn O f the same year .

In the Inari gay quarter of Moj i port , at the K ii s h fi north end of y Island , there was a singing

- - Kim i o r O. girl called y , in a girl house , Asakawa S he was a young , beautiful girl , eighteen years

old , and very obedient to her employer , as well

as kind to her customers . One day at the beginning o f a summer she took e cold , and , as she got wors day by day , she took a le ve from her hostess and returned to her parents . Though she was under medical treatment by some

c . noted doctors , yet her ondition became dangerous One evening in June she asked her parents t o th e come near her bed , and very secretly told following strange dream While I was half- asleep in daytime a golden

serpent appeared in my presence and said to me , ‘ If you will build a new shrine for me , I shall ’ relieve you from your serious illness . n The pare ts , however , took her to be in de li r ium no t as the result of heavy fever , and did

care her saying at all . Next evening again she told them that she had seen the same dream as she had explained last night . As they could not be 47 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA indifferent for their daughter ’s repeated now they built and dedicated a small shrin

serpent in dream at a corner of the yard . same night the large serpent appeared the gi r l and expressed his joy for h establi s hing his shrine Since the

she began to get better , w a s completely recovered . wer e to S ee their daughter rescued fr a great and pompous fes tival was held by for the pre s erver of her life after reconstruct

larger and more splendid s hrine . Kim i o y , the girl revived by the serpent ,

lives in Tokyo a s the wife of a merchant . If Go d visits her , he will find a fine shrine of pent on the miniature hill in the large yard be a n her house , d it is worshipped by her

morning . the Near end of the Tokugawa age , the str

of Yedo city , and especially those within a limits of its g y circles , were haunted by spect C D generally called the Hair uttin g emons , consequence no trace of girls could be seen th r these st eets in nig ht . One dark evening a girl named Han o he r w h (Lucky Flower) was to foll w lover , going home from a restaurant after their meeting ; they were walking side b v their hands clinched to each their honey talks . At the m

to turn a corner of the street , suddenly they a t their necks a cold touch of somethin g , though the two instantly put their hands at spots to find what the matter was , there n i nothing to be noticed . But a s they felt u e as o s mehow by the sudden queer cold touch , did not like to go on farther in such a v er it t k h r estau pitch dark nigh , they came bac to t e again . 48 FEATURES OF GEISHA GIRLS

ng up at the heads of the guest and the hostess and maidservants of the house were

and , making inquiries of them ,

the tw o were told to look in the mirror anyh o w . Ho w surprised they were to find their hairs cut o ff ]l at the roots of the i r co iffu r es ! The hai r being

the second life for girls , the girl Lucky Flower

lost her sen s es on seeing her hair cut o ff so cruelly . Early next morning the crop - haired paramour

. and menservants of the restaurant went out to ex plo r e the spot where he and his mistress lo st the

crowns of their heads , and could discover the two beheaded black masses rolling by one side of the

street .

a. It was in February five years ago . One day funeral was to be performed at a large public - house Oh sa to r O S called , in the himmachi gay quarter Old in the city of Osaka . It was for the late sing M amék ich i ing girl named (Lucky Pea) , over fifty o years old , very popular among her old cust mers , and famous for her excellent accomplishments ; in w as her puberty she very beautiful , and was looked up to as the best flower among the great number

of beauties blooming in the Shimmachi garde n .

She now closed her life of luxury and prosperity , having been awaked from her long dream by a h cold wind of t e early sprin g . From early morning the street where her house was situated was full of the bu n dles of natural and s artificial flowers , wreathes , green branche of s a ka ki (Eurya Japonica) and s hi kimi (false star s r i ki s ha ani e) trees , coolies for carrying them , and o for mourners , and near her h use and surround 1n g these flowers , a multitude of singing and s m a id s e r dancing girls , waitresse and men and vants of neighbouring restaurants were standing

‘ I n t h e fe u d al a g e a m an h ad hi s h ai r t i ed to a q u eu e at th e t o f h p o th e e ad . 49 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

in groups and waiting to see th e showy process ion

of the funeral .

The hour for the departure of the funeral arrived , but no S ign of it ! How stood matters ? After a n about thirty minutes passed , suddenly it was no n e w as u c d that the funeral of the day suspended , and at the same time the entrance of Oh s ato rO was led to great disorder with the crowd of em ployées and acquaintances w ho came in and out of

the house . What was the cause of suspension of

the funeral , a wonderful event never experienced among the people of the quarter ?

According to the report from a reliable source , there was a strange anecdote hidden behind the

gorgeous life of the deceased . More than thirty

years ago when the girl , Lucky Pea , was still an

owner of the blushing cheek and downcast eye , and her influence governed the whole extent of the s Shimmachi quarter , there took place an intere ting - ff a d love a air bout her , just as if to be rea in a

novel . In the spring of a year when the paper lanterns u nder the night cherry flowers in full bloom were a ttracting the customers and spectators into the r s gay qua ter , a young man who happened to vi it O h sato r o was utterly fascinated by the beauty

of the lovely girl , Lucky Pea ; he was a handsome s Al prie t , very famous for his skilful sermon . though it was strictly prohibited by the religiou s h commandments to be interested . wit the female s ex s m ta , yet he could not vanquish the trong te p c tion , and haunted the house to see his lear night and day . At last he ransomed her with a tremendous sum of money , and lived together with her . It was not long before his dream of a temporary pleasure and r s fo r p osperity was broken , and puni hment the violation of precepts came upon him . He took cold , became worse gradually , and died after only 50

C HAPT E R I I I

ACCO M P LI S HMENTS OF G I RL S

IN restaurants and other houses we often se e game pl ayed with hands between girl s and the h n s s . e gue t It is generally called (fist) , which n a kind of mora . The game ke is one of the ac co m pli s h m e n ts necessary to be trained by g ei s ha r s gi l , if guests are weary of singing , dancing , or r talking , gi ls would challenge them to fight the v a i r o f game and enli en the dull the room . C The hand game was transmitted from hina , and most popula r ly played among the Japanese near the D end of the Tokugawa S hogunate (A. . but the whole count r y having soo n fallen into the great confusion of the revolution war , the game , as well a s all other light accomplishments , went R i of fa s hion . After the Great e s to ra t o w a s completed , and people came to be enjoying the peace , the game began again among the C itizens of principal t at last has beco me popular as it is though not so prevailing as it was in o f age Tokugawa . We can note a revolution in the game itself at sa . the me time Before the Restoration ,

H o n - he n (fist proper) , or sometimes called Na a s a ki - ken S ix g , which is played with kinds h the and forms , was in vogue , but in the age e ano the Meiji , as well as in the present tim , 52 ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF GIRLS system called the T5ha chi - he n or Ki ts u n é- hen (fox fi s t) took the place of it ; the latter l s played with h only t ree forms of the hand , particulars of which will be explained hereafter .

. 1 About the period (A D . 8 04 in the Toku o f hen gawa age , the game was welcomed at all banquets and played by bo th men and women mingled each other . On the occasion when it was ceremoniously played , a small arena specially made for the game was prepared , four p illars standing a at its four corners , just as seen in the aren for wrestling matches (see The Nightside of Japan ” for particulars of the Japanese wrestling), and by one S ide of the ring there sat an umpire carrying 1n a commanding fan his hand . Being called forth by the umpire , two fighters took their seats on the Opposite sides of the aren a and bravely fought against each other , waving their hands and beating time by their loud cries . How courteous was their conduct and how grave their attitude on such a regular combating !

The table of combatants was made, the first ,

second champions , etc . , being selected and men i n t o ed in o rder . The game was not limited to be

- a pleasure in the drinking bout , but merchants o t played it at their sh ps , artisans at heir works ,

n s . farmers at their fields , and cooks at their kitche The H o n - hen or fundamental mora was first o C intr duced to Japan by a hinese , who came to Nagasaki and held a great entertainment at a res

tauran A. D t in the gay quarter of Maruyama in . 1 2 Na as a ki - ken 59 ; hence the g another name of it . When the pleas ure of the party attained its high

time , the party was divided into two parts , each of which sat do wn in a regular row facing against the t h e a other , and then members of each party beg n

to try the game against tho se of the oppo s ite s ide . fi h t i n s After fierce g g , those who were defeated had to drink two or three big glasses of wine as 53 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

forfeit . The girls , who were present in the hall

on this occasion , were greatly pleased with the

hand game entirely new to them , and , having thought that it was an art very interes ting and most suitable for a sport in the room of a drinking C party , they were taught by the hinese of the new

d . game , and stu ied it very earnestly Propagation of the new art was so quick that it was alread y

popular among the citizens of Nagasaki , Kyoto ,

A. D 1 600 Osaka , and even Yedo (Tokyo) in . , only eight years after the first importation by the

C hinese . In Japan at present there are many kinds of the f fist game , each of which di fers from the others in the variations of the hand form and in the degrees H o n - k n r . e of inte est They are (fundamental), M u s hi - hen Ya n a i - hen (insects) , g (willow tree), Uta - ken Ts u r u - ts u r u - h en (songs) , (harmonious), Te r a - hen S u ka i - d am a - ken (tiger) , (scooping), M az e- ken Ta i hei - hen Té ha chi (mixed) , (peaceful), hen I s hi—ken , (stone), and many others peculiar to

f . di ferent localities We , however , cannot give par ticular s for all these kinds of the game , but after “ briefly describing fu ndamental first , will ex TOha chi - hen o plain the , which is m st popular at o f ei ha present among the society g s girls . The H o n - ken is played with the fist of th e right hand by changing its form into six kinds ; when o nly the thumb is opened it shows one , the thumb - fi n e r and index g two , the middle , ring , and little

fingers three , the thumb bent and the others opened

four , all the fingers opened five , and if all bent the fist represents naught . In playing the game , one of the eleven numerals , one to ten and zero ,

is to be called out by each of the two fighters , summing up in anticipation the numbers of the fingers to be thrown out by them at the same time . A k h h the ind of lig t accomplis ment as it was , yet 54

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF GIRLS h arena , the umpire , and the elpers were regularly prepared for its cere monious match held in old

a . times , s already explained On the arena there

were erected the four pillars about five feet high ,

each of which was wrapped up with yellow , blue , o w as red , and white cotton cl ths , and its roof

covered with the cotton cloth too , checkered in

white and black . The centre of the ring was a heap

s . o f sand , which was enclo ed with gravels I n a

word , it was a miniature imitation of the wrestling

r mg .

First of all the umpire , who was dressed in the Ka m i - s him o costume , appeared near the arena and called forth a combatant from each of the tw o

ar ties th e . p , _ east and the west Then , after loudly

naming the heroes , he withdrew his commanding fan which had been put between the two hands on the arena ; thi s was th e notification for commence

ment of the match . He must be very attentive to ’ the progress of fighters hands , and give decision

for each game . The beginning and close of each

match was noticed with the clappers . Of TOha chi - hen The way the , which is most

popular at present , is simpler than that of the H on - hen , the former being played with only three f o f di ferent forms of hands , while those the latter consi s t of six ; but the TOha chi is showy in its

appearance , and far deeper in its interest , because

the game is played with both hands at once , instead s H o n - h of a ing le hand in the en . The three forms in the TOha chi game represent

the fox , the gun , and the gentleman , the fox is s n s hown by the two ha d , each with all five fingers ’ quite Opened and raised high up near one s fore s head , the gun by the two fi ts clinched tightly and s tuck out towards the enemy , and the gentleman by ’ O s the pen hands put on one own knees . Now the

fox can bewitch the gentleman , and the gun shoot the fox , but not the gentleman ; thus gain and loss 55 TH E STORY OF TH E GEISHA GIRL between the two fighters being clearly distinguish by these three forms . The three variations in 1 — forms of the two fig hte rs the fox showing the vertical action by O pening the hands high above the head , the gun giving the cross section by stretching out the arms to the front , and the gentle man moulding the plane by haughtily placing the — two hands flat on the knees are very interesting ; lu that is , the positions of the combatants are ces s a n tl y changed in bewitching , shooting , or sitting down proudly , their hands being opened or grasped , raised high up or taken low down . One game of the hen is settled by three succes sive gains got by one of the fighters ; if he is beaten o nce or falls in the s ame form with the enemy in the course of a game , his one or two gains pre v i o us l y got are cancelled , so that the game is to n llifi a i o n be renewed from the moment of u c t . No matter to obtain three gains by either different o r. e same successive forms against the nemy , but if ' 1 one and same form 5 used three times successively , he cannot be victorious unless he gets another fo urth gain in addition to the three former ; and if

defeated in the fourth , unfortunately , of course , the

former three gains are cancelled at once . Experts of the hen avoid to gain by use of the successive s ame forms in a game . In playing the fist game we should first take care

of the style of the body and the make , positions and s progres of the hands , and next make plans on victo ry ; as men are interested in playing it during

the feast in general , they must not forget the beauty an d of their style form at any time , and specially so are lovely girls who try the game mingled

among their guests . The motions of the hands have to be always

accompanied by the calls ; if there is no call for . r a each motion , the g e ter part of the life and interest

of the game is cut o ff . C onsequently the calls are 56

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF GIRLS studied together with the forms of hands and the s tyle of bo dy .

A call should be short and simple , lively cried e o ut at each motion of hands . As a game is settl d by three s uccessive gains , the calls consist of three : e o words one , two , thre ; Tokyo , Kyot , Osaka ;

Berlin , Paris , London ; deaf , dumb , blind ; plum ,

cherry ; junk , boat , steamer ; tiger , lion ,

etc . , etc . If the game is accompanied with t h e s ami s en per fo rma nce it is far more interesting and enlivened , and the girls are as well trained in playing on the musical instrument as to harmo nise with the motions of the combatants . The regular accomplishments necessary for ei s a g h girls are singing , dancing , music , tea cere

. ea a mony , and floral arrangement They l rn e ch

of these arts by its special teacher . As often ex

plained , the musical instrument most commonly s the s am i s en s u ed by singing girls is , the other , - ts u na m i such as a drum , a flute , a hand drum ( ) , s a violin , and other European in truments , being r ra ely u s ed . Hence we can say that singing of ' g ei s ha girls is always followed by playing on a m s a i s en . Now let us see the features of these teachers on s a m i s en ei s ha singing and , in which chickens of g

are generally trained in their very early age , while they are still at their own homes tog eth er with their

parents . Of course we should no t confound thes e teachers for little girls with those for the inde pendent and professional girls ; the latter being

the experts of the art , they make and teach new ’ r songs , or have to t ain and improve the girls accomplishments which they had learnt in their chfldh o o d . We can study i n J a pan the European music at the public o r private mu s ic s ch o ols established in 57 TH E STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRT

tho s i Tokyo or other cities , but we must go to s am i s en tutors or tutores ses if we W l S h to tas te e the interes t , to make a study , or to get a pleasur s ami s en on our national music . Not only for the s mu ic , but also for all other light accomplish m en ments , there is the head for each art , and all and women must first get his per m i s S 1o n to b e tutors and tutoresses on the accomplishment under

his influence . So all of them who are teaching an art independently at their own houses a re

treated as the disciples of its head . In t h e city of Tokyo these tutors and tutoresses on s ami s en and singing are so numerous that the ir n umber can be compared with that of public bath

houses or hairdressers . Moreover , _ the greater part of the

o f m a les . s en l 1y 1ng in a small fashionable house situated in a narrow side - street ; the entrance to the house o Of - is shut with the do rs lattice work , delicately made of slender pieces of wood and cleanly washed

and wiped every morning . At the inside of the latti ce doors there hangs a large round paper

lantern , upon which the name of the tutoress and the crest representing a schoo l of songs are men ti o n e d . The ways o f playing on s am i s en and the

kinds of its songs are divided into many schools , each of which has a fixed crest or badge to distin

guish its own school from others . A little girl some seven or eight years O ld comes ’ to a tutoress s lattice door , accompanied by her O mother , and , pening it , they approach the step

stone inside . The tutoress herself appears and

- receives the new comers with hospitality . Being i s ‘ v er asked to teach the little girl , she y glad to rO o s a l accept the p p , and at once , on the very day of admission , tries to teach a first step of singing

s a - and playing on mi s en . The entrance fee costs s en en fifty to one y , and the monthly fee is one to 58

THE STORY OF THE

we clas sify them by tune , the can be understo o d of itself . The songs common among the g ei s h a girls are H a u ta Na a n ta Ki o m o to To ki songs), g (love songs) , y and w azn e To m im o to S hi n n ai , and then th re come , ,

Ka té O i e Hahn S o n o ha chi . , g y , , and If we wish to know these several kinds of songs we satisfied by hiring elder girls of the e is ha among g circles of Yoshiwara , Ya S (Willow Bridge) , and himbashi (New Next we have to explain other accomplishments ei s ha of g girls , such as dancing , music , tea cere mony , and floral arrangement , but we are afraid that if they are described as much as they can be wholly u nderstood by you , they would take bulk of pages , so they are left here , and the particulars of them will be given in another b o o

60 T H E HO N- KEN IN P L AYI NG .

THE STORY OF I was to be taken to

upset the w h iCh continued its re indeed he w a s loyal much ‘ ’ ’ i n ter es te d m intimacy with these ' My mother w a s not an ordinary coquette u ei s ha sually found among the society of g girls . Na kakich i Ob a n a a Her name was y , well known as one of the mo s t flourishing girls at the M iddle

Street of Fukagawa . Long before she was patron s m i ed by y father , the lacquer merchant , there was an interesting love story regarding herself .

A. D . 1 8 1 8 About , when she was young and cele b ra te d for her beauty and accomplishments as one fi r s t- a s r s of the cl s gi l in Fukagawa , she always betrayed h e r dauntless character peculiar to the natives of Yedo , and was very famou s by the ” n C u G ame of The hivalro s irl of Fuka g awa . The Fukagawa girls of the fi rs t- class in this age y - n were ver high to ed , and generally did not like t o attend on the gues ts in the ran k lower than the d ai m 5 y or feudal nobles . At this time s h e was under th e favour of a

, S a ka kib ara - - patron Awaji no kami , who was a powerful n oble as the regent of the T ku gawa . n —h o G m ; ' ‘ ’ overn ent In the m e a n tim e th er e s pra ng up ” 62 A GIRL ROYALIST a great and difficult question on the succession of the lord cadet ex 1s Ke i zab u r O , in the M ito G house , the Shogunal overnment intended , out o Hito ts ub as h i of their p licy , to adopt a son of the ,

another cadet family , for the new lord of M ito , and there took place a severe strife between the

Hito ts ub a s h i . two parties , M ito and The head He ih ach i r O of the Mito party was Udono , one of h the chief retainers of the M ito family , and t at Hito ts ub as h i S a ka kiba ra of the party , , the patron a k ki h i of the girl N a c . Udo no of M ito had been told of the chiva lrous Na ka kich i fame of , and at the same time her being S a ka kib a r a favoured by his enemy , , but had had N w no occasion to meet her as yet . o he thought that if he co uld utilise her he could crush the plot r w as a of his adversa y , though it not easy to p r p oach her , the favourite of his foe . After great

cares and troubles , and by the help of a purveyor

to the Mito house , he could manage to meet he r n Hi ra no a in a restaura t , y at Ryogo ku . In a clean and stylish room of Hi ra no ya a man and a g ei s ha girl sat Opposite to e ach other ; the man was Udono , the chief of the Mito party , r Na ka kich i s and the gi l , the weetheart of Sakaki r Hito ts ub a s h i ba a , the head of the party . Sile n ce was first bro ken by the firm but suppressed voice of the man a I have _ serious matter , spoke he secretly , which I a s k you r help for ; it was long I wished to see you and tell the matter to you , because I S well know your chivalrous pirit . If you under it an a fl air stand that is important of State , will you help me and ca r ry out your duty for the country even by giving up your dear patron ? 1r ” F st let me know your firm resolution . At first the girl was surprised by an unexpected 63 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

S am u rai requirement of the , but after a moment thought that the question must be a ver tant matter , otherwise the leader of the party wo uld not have applied to a girl like her . At o nce she decided in her mind that she would accept his request if the question could be settled by her weak hand . “ 13 S l r I cannot imagine what the matter , , r o replied the gi l in her comp sed attitude , and being in necess ity to be told to a g ei s h a girl like me by a man of quality as you are , it must be an extraordinary case . If I could serve somehow for the State I would be glad to do my best even by giving up my benefactor and sacrificing myself .

Much obliged for your brave acceptance ,

thanked he with a satisfactory smile .

manliness is far more than your fame . Now will tell you par ticulars of the affair ; and can yo s wear to help me ? ’ I ll swear , sir , if the matter is not beyond my

r e S o h d e d S h e . power , p briskly I will be glad

to hazard my life for it . i s It within your power , continued the loyal S am u r ai and there is nobody but yo u to execute

the great deed . Now listen to me carefully , Naka As kichi . you know already , our lord of M ito Mr Ke iza died and left his testament , appointing b u r O t , his son , to be his successor , but his dishones retainer called Tajima Iwami stole and gave it to

S a ka kib ar a . the regent , your patron The two are now in cont r ivance of appointing a s o n of Hito t

s o f ~ Mi to If suba hi for the new lord t , t t be realised , here would follow a great ‘ w h i ch ' s ho -u ld distu r b the social o rd er i n

‘ ful re 1gn of th e pre s e n t Shogun we ar e troubling ourselves night and day how to A take back the testament of our late lord . s you are in the intimate relation with S ak aki b ar a who e a s k t keeps it in his pock t , we you to s eal it ‘ 0 N ! “ ca W M 64

THE STORY OF acco mplish his object , means how to deprive of the M ito lord ; she thqug

‘

- ~ — ment was a ve ry 1m p6i ta nt ' ' ‘ f o r settlement of the questi would not keep it at . any place — d - covered , a n that whether it was concealed in his ‘ ‘ \ib rary or always ca rr i ed ~ i n h is po cket it was almo st impossible to get it into her hand by any S h e ordinary step . But if breach her oath she s hould have been robbed of her fame as , the Naka kich i chivalrous , and at the same time the

peace of the S tate broken . Now she fell in great

troubles . While she was in a deep rumination the re ’ occurred to her a matter by which she w as r e — v i v e d to her a n 1m at 1o n she recollected that she h ad S a kakib ara been told by her patron , , as follows Ta l m a re He had to invite j Iwami , the chief ta i ne r th e R fi kOte i of M ito , to restaurant y at S Hachiman treet , Fukagawa , this night , and she

should come immediately to entertain the guest , as fo r she would be sent at the appointed time . The two men had a secret to be discussed most e k privat ly , by eeping away all

and waitresses , but she alone would be allowed be present in the room in order to treat the g u

most hospitably . h The deliberation with Tajima , the c ief vas

of Mito , she thought , should have some conn akakib a tion with the testament , and her man , S would bring it there in h ' probably be attained if ’ cate him with s a ke (w i

experienced tricks , or b ut had no other resource to_stab h " “ formidable decision sh e prepared a dagge r in h

bosom . 66

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

1 C lapping hands was heard in the roo m of the e Naka kich i two g ntleman , and hurried immediately S h e for it . C oming into the room , found that the private consultation between the two had been

already finished , and , as she expected , her patron ordered her to bring s a ke and call all the girls he h again . S was glad in erself that she might

be successful in her plan . Then there followed a new revel assisted by Na kakich i ff younger and elder girls , making e orts e to let the two men drink hard , to drive th m into

the state of intoxication and insensibility , of course on o n e S ide stirring them up with noisy

sound of songs and music , or loud talking and

laughter of girls . Late in the night Taj 1ma Iwami at last lay down

- dead drunk , and was sent home by a palanquin . Next the patron of Na k akich i laid his head on her

knee in place of a pillow , and at last fell in sound sleep , snoring loudly . After dismissing all girls , k she tried to wake him , sha ing his body and say ’ ing , My lord , don t take cold ; awake , my lord , ! awake But his snoring was like thunder . Having ascertained that she could do anything

upon him now , she put out all the candle lights in ! the room and tried to say once more , My lord ! ” My dear but no response at all . Out of h is o o h i - bosom sl wly she to k out s pocket book , and no gg onenh ad s h e plucked oue the n o t eh am s h e m e ‘ n o ff : the h h sli ked from room . W engg e goL o ut ‘ of the door Of the restaurant Sh e ran away for the S north at the top of her peed .

On the way she could hire a street palanquin , and it was about dawn when she arrived at the S h ita a W e residence of, Udono at the y ard , the b ll tower of the temple on t he hill Uyeno tolling. fo ur

Cl appi n g han d s was a cu sto m i n Jap a n as a w ay fo r ca i n g a ser ant i n th e lace o f r i n i n a e as i t i s o ften ll v p g g b ll , o un e en f d v at pr esent . 68 A GIRL ROYALIST

f a weak ucces s 1o n w as o nce et d in the M ito family at fl s tle ,“ A friend ' — ki h i e a ctm b etw ee n , Na ka c b of Udono g as, a g , oP came the wife of Heih ach ir o

A Nakakich i fter my mother , , married Udono “ she gave up her gallant habit , and was a very

obed ient and faithful wife to her husband . It was in this period that the American and the European vessels appeared near the co asts of Japan and that the conflicts between the Imperialists and the S hOg u na li sts were raging

thro ugh the country . Udo no being one of the

Imperialists , his house was the resort of chief

loyalists who came up from local provinces , and most of the expenses for the M ito r 5n i n s were sup K O a Yo ko am ach o plied by y y , a rich merchant in y , — .Yedo the patron of my mother afterwards and

. o K O a my father Udon often told his wife , y y

is a chivalrous fellow though he is a merchant . ’ I do n t know when and where I may be killed r die , and after my death you would rely on ” g1 m . My mother appeared in Yoshiwara as a dancing o f girl in her thirteenth year age , and after ten years of her brilliant life as a chivalrous singing s he o girl at Fukagawa , became the wife of Udon 69 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

- h . h w h . S e o at her age of twenty t ree could not , e o f ever , be long to njoy her life the happy home , for her husband died in prison next year . Upon his sudden death she grieved so bitterly that she would have converted herself to a nun if she had not had the heavy burden to sustain her

o . old mother and y unger sister She did not like ,

however , to resume her experienced business as a

singing girl in the city of Yedo , because she was

afraid to disgrace the name of her late husband . A fter pondering in several ways , the three removed o f to Kyoto , the capital of the age and the site the

Imperial Palace , and she again appeared as a g ei ho (g ei s ha) girl of the name Hi s a e i from a girl

Ya m ad a a G o . house . y of the i n quarter n Her excelle t beauty , her refined accomplish

ments , and her being a pure Yedo girl immediately

attracted the attention of the Kyoto fops , and at 1 o nce she acquired the fame of the No . girl in

G . S h e the ion circle . became so famous and pros pero us that there were n o gentlemen who visited a Gion restaurant and did not know the name of Hi sa i e . C i onflicts between the two parties , Imperial sts S h O u na li s ts fi er er o and g , having been c in Ky to S am u r ai than in Yedo , the who came up from their native provinces into the capital increased in their o number more and m re , and almost all meetings ( these loyalists were held in the restaurants of ;1 u 8 o .

S am u r ai Among loyal staying in the capital , there was a young man called Kogoro Katsura ; he was a retainer of the Lord MOr i in C h Os hfi o f province , and was taking charge of the palace o his l rd in Kyoto . Lord Mori having been a most - S hO u n alis t powerful anti g , Katsura was also an ff to enthusiastic loyalist , and made e orts induce the r 6 n i n s of various clans into h is party by util th e G H ising frequent meetings at ion . ence all 70

A GIRL ROYALIST chief res taurants and public- houses in Kyoto were well acquainted with Katsura , and in the enter ta i nm e n ts held by him every day and night H1sa e 1 was always engaged by him . ’ In consequence of Katsura s s pec1al favour for

r . he , at length she fell in love with him Being '' s r o n i n s the chief Imperiali t and the leader of , he w as always tracked by assassins sent out by the oppo s ite party ; in these days there were many loyalists who had been arrested and put to death

o G e n . . spies of the Sh gunal ov r ment The by the ’ danger upon Katsura s life became imminent d ay o after day , and he tr ubled himself where to take refuge safe to escape the strict researches of th e

. Hi s a i enemy At last he resolved to co nsult e , h e fe lt th a jh was _ s hiftles s t . e though w u to r ly on u ' too e o f ei s ha a f male in the Class g girls . ' LEE? i fiW n ig h t Hi s ae i w as u n expectedly visited o by her l ver , and received him with great joy . After he told the particulars of his present situa “ tion , he added , I am in such a dangerous s situation at pre ent , and I shall be much obliged if you will be kind enough to shelter me at your

house for the time being . If you can be generous to bear discomforts to ” stay in such a hut , replied she heartily with no es itatio n ” , I shall be glad to shelter you for my Ea e r t . Thus Katsura in the little h OlLS fi _o f r l w

seemed , however , that the men of the S h O gunal party had not searched long before they ’ s were informed of Katsura new concealment . In daytime he lay do wn and slept on the mattings

spread under the floor , and in night went out to reco nnoitre the c ondition of the enemy or to attend

the secret meetings of his confederates . But lately , as it was very dangerous to go out even in 71 THE STORY OF THE G

he h the night , confined imself i only consolation being to drink an d

with his girl late in night . One night he crept out of th e under - floo r as ’ s a he usual and was tasting cups of , waited upon

by his kind sweetheart . At the time when he a s dr ined two or three cups , suddenly the noi e of

footsteps was heard near the door of the house . At an instant he blew out the light and hid himself

into the closet of the roo m . Though the doo r was so furiously knocked that it was almost to be broken

down , and the loud cries of a number of men were a heard thre tening to break into the house , the girl

was watching the state of the matter in the outside , sitting down near by the closet and making no

sound .

Open the door , cried one of the men outside ; if not we shall break it down and force in ! ” And violent knockings followed again .

.Who are you ? asked H i s ae i in her calm tone

- as usual . This is the dwelling house of a g ei s ha

girl called His ae i . If you have any business for

o - me please c me to morrow morning . I cann ot see ” s any unacquainted man in uch a midnight . n No need of cried o e . If you delay the door shall be broken ! ” At the same

time it was about to be destroyed by some of them , and as soon as she stood up and unlocked the s o latch , saying , Why are you violent ? a bo dy S am u r ai of more than ten pushed in the house .

At once they encircled the girl , all of them carry

ing naked swords in their hands . ’ D ! h on t move , bitch cried one of t em . Where is Katsura ? S how us to him or you ” shall be punished . ’ h He doesn t come to me in t ese days , sir , replied the girl . ’ ” D e ! on t t ll a lie rebuked another S am u r ai . W e h ave come here after having ascertained his 72

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIR Of course we shall !

Are you sure , the head S ure ! ” The chief and others were surprised by the girl who expected to have them beheaded , some of them gazing at her face for a few moments . e Soon they s t about searching again , and her heart throbbed high when one of them opened the door of the closet . I n the closet they found a heap of

Of . beddings , but no trace Katsura They went through every part of the house , up the ceiling and down the floor , but could not discover him after Hi sa i all . e wondered how her lover had escaped from the crisis , and at the same moment thanked ’ for heaven s blessings .

Being disappointed by the miss , the party of S am u r ai was about to withdraw from the house o G when she st pped the chief and said , ive me ”

s i r . your head , D ’ on t joke , replied he , laughing . ” No joke , said she earnestly . You pro m is ed n ow o me to give it , and sh uld not be double ton gued ! He was sil enced and ran away together with his me n . Katsura had slipped out of the closet and slunk away over the roof through the dark , while his enemies outside were disputing with his girl inside and threatening her to break the door . After they went away she felt relieved , but next moment there S prang up in her mind the uneas iness for his wel ; o o of fare s’he w ndered h w he could get rid the enemy s capture , in spite of his having confined himself in the closet . To verify the matter her self , once more she searched all parts of the house , but could not find even his trace . As she began to feel uneasy more and more , she prayed an earnest a prayer for his s fety . ” n Kogoro Katsura , who had escaped by the s ki 74 A GIRL ROYALIST

s o of his teeth from the hands of the assa sins , to k

refuge at various places , disguising himself ; at a time he obscured himself among groups of beggars S a n O under the bridge j , at another night trans

formed into a shampooer , whistling through the o e Street , or s metimes acted a s rvant at a public

- bath house . i a i h 1m The girl H s e endeavoured to search out , and at last could fin d him disguised as a porter at the stage of Aw a d ag uch i on the highway west

. u to the capital Though she took him to her ho se ,

it was very dangerous for him to stay long here , IkuzO S a m u rai and she entrusted him to Ota , a of the Tsushima clan and one of her well - acquainted

customers , to shelter him temporarily . Once when there had taken place a trouble S G e between , the hogunate ov rnment and the

Tsushima clan , it had been peacefully settled f o f down by the e forts Katsura , and now at the s o cri is f their benefactor , Ota , a retainer of the

Tsushima lord , willingly accepted the confidence Hi i of s ae . Katsura was soon taken into the house of Ota late in night , but in a few days , the fact being known to neighbours , the strict precautions were taken by him against the sudden intrusion f rn of the o ficers of the Shogunal Gove ment .

One night , at last , they broke into the conceal and ment , at the moment when they were about r to catch thei victim , he could hardly escape from the peril by the help of his smart girl again .

Having been obstructed again by her , they were ri o us l y enraged , and , after binding her up , took 1 her nto custody to their station at Shijo . There she was cruelly tortured by them to confess the whereabouts of her lover , but as she insisted on 1 no ra nce g of anything regarding him , at last they were overcome with her iron will , and set her free a fter a few days . Af ' ter she was releas ed from the station s he went 75 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

to the mansion of th e Tsushima clan , and was

under protection of O ta . She was anxious of ’ Katsura s fate , and though she had made inquir k no th i through his confederates , she could now

about him . I n the meantime half a year passed an d her old S mother , over ixty years old , and her younger sister having fallen in heavy sickness both together , her living gradually became hard up . One day in the e ighth month after she parted with her lover she unexp ectedly received his letter brought by a a - co urier from Tajim , a province north west to the

city . His address was not given , but only I n a

mountain was mentioned in it . The letter ran as follows I beg your pardon fo r my long negli h gence to write you . I have to lie low for alf a ‘ year more here , as it is very dangerous still for me

to make appearance in the city nowadays . You S hould not co me to Taj ima or I shall be discovered

by the enemy soon . I regret to say that even if I

could succeed in my plan in future , yet it is doubt ful whether we can make a happy home and live

together . C onsequently I advise you that it would be better fo r you to ca rry on your business again " o r rely on another kind gentleman ; my body being S sacrificed to the tate , you should anticipate that

I may die a violent death at any time . Enclosed please find a sum of money as the a w n llo ance for the time being , and I shall se d more a t the next Opportunity .

‘ S h e r o found fifty y wrapped in the letter . Though she was very glad to have heard of her ’ i n r lover s safety , yet she rued on his cruel st uc tions ; in spite of her firm resolution that she would

wait for his return , after he had succee ded in his S plan on behalf of the tate , she was unexpectedly o ff ered by him with the separation of the two . 76

A GIRL ROYALIST

S h e the How bitterly wept , putting her face upon letter when she had rea d it through !

One autumn night , about three months after she he sad communica tion from I n a moun

o f Tajima , she was secretly visited by one 1 friends of Katsura . In the night ra n was

falling in torrents , and , being awakened by the o O knocks on the d or , she pened it and found there a young man named Shunsuke Ito (late Prince Ito) h standing alon g the doorway . Though s e w a s surprised to see him disguised into a mendio cant S o f priest , she could not help to hed tears joy , expecting to have any recent news of her lover from m hi . o She introduced him into her ro m , and u o n served him a f t (cushion) and tea . “ ” I am very glad to see you , said she , wiping her eyes with her sleeve . You are very kind to ‘ S call on me , in pite of the heavy rain . But I ” ar e wonder why you in such a form . “

Yes , yes , you are quite right , replied Ito , smiling . If I go about the city careless I S hall be killed , but I should not yet die until our great has undertaking been attained . While the two were talking on the matters re lating to the disturbance between the Imperialists S hO unalis ts and the g in the city , not touching even ’ a bit of Katsura s subject , she entertained him with wine and dishes . e e her Aft r a time Ito referr d to lover at last , and began to tell her gravely , delivering her a letter from him . “ the Please read letter , said Ito , and yo u his will we”ll understand real intention very kind to you . Hi saei opened the letter and read as follows

h w ich was s ent to you by a messenger the other day . h In order to relieve t e S ta te from the great 77 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA troubles at the present time I should myself and enter a family as an adopted s S O a policy . I am not dishonest as to o u girl like y , but we should separate no is necessary to do so in consideration of Of State ; you would g 1v e up our relation up

date to have been a dream . If I be fortunate o survive and c uld succeed in my plan , I would n

fail to reward you for your kindne ss and fidelity . “ I advise you that hereafter you would rely Ta h e i K O a e a man called y y , who liv s at Yoko He macho , Kyobashi , in Yedo . is a rich merchant with the chivalrous spirit very rare among al men at present . As I have written him re you would be better go to h im and consult him about your future .

' I n the letter one hundred ryo was enclosed . When she read it thro ugh her look ch “ ” . b r suddenly I understand , said she . fell in the deep meditation .

D id you understand ? asked Ito . thanks ; I admire your manly spirit ! Tears h in his eyes when he said so , sympat ising her in her sorrow and disappointment . He says we must part on acco unt of “ s national trouble , replied she ; and I shall so without hesitation . But pleas e tell him 0 that whatever life I shall have to live in future am always praying for his rise in the world . An as I cann o t accept this money you will kindl return this to him . “ D on ’t trouble yourself of the money ! said n Ito , pushing the mo ey near her . This is his fo present to you , but never means a solatium r ’ severing relations ; if yo u don t receive this I shall ” be much troubled . “ h ! ' No , I can never receive t is insisted S he k pushing it bac to him . 78

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GI

K O a S he had y y , whom had often seen when she been the wife of the late Udono in Yedo . “ I beg your pardon for not having recognised “ h . you , replied she , blus ing her face I am much ashamed to meet you in such a situation ” again . h Never mind , miss , said the kind merc ant ;

I have come to Kyoto , having received a letter from Mr Katsura Then he to ld her that he would take charge of her mother and S ister as well as herself . h e k o S was very glad to hear his ind w rds , but reconsidered that it was regretful for her to be S favoured by a man without any pecial reason .

Again she reflected upon her hard situation , and at the same time remembering the personality of K O a s he r y y and the instruction of Katsura , e ' solved to rely o n his kindness . After a few days Ha machO she left Kyoto and settled her home at , e - Nihombashi . Sh was twenty eight years old

h . then , and I was born after t ree years

O

h alf th e e h ri x I have told lif of my mot er , and e t a story of my experiences as a g ei s ha girl will given .

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

in my fourteenth year when I made my first a ppearance as a dancing girl (os ha hu ) by the name

of S akae (prosperity) . S ince the time when I was seven years old I had s in m been taught by my mother on g g , dancing , m s en - and s a i playing , and learned the songs which

. S o even the singing girls at present do not know , young and childish as I was , I was always wel comed by guests as well as by elder girls .

One moonlight ev e m n g in autumn a large house ’ boat (Yan e- bu n é) was rowed out on the stream of the River S umida ; in the boat there were Prince T Baron E the dramatist F the o o f Yao ze n fi rs t poet K and the h st , the class restaurant in Tokyo , attended by thirteen S inging and t wo dancing girls (I was one of the two) . I n this night they were to make merry by giving a genteel sport called Floating Fans ,

f . one of the most . ashionable plays in this period O The banquet was already pened in the boat , o and when the clear , full mo n rose near the centre o f the sky , small fans gilded with silver leaves were given to each of the girls . At a command of one of the guests , all the girls at once threw up the O pen fans again s t the moon ; the silvery faces of the fans , reflecting moonlight , went up and down ,

fluttering in the air , and , falling upon the silvery ripples of the stream , they were seen drifting away , a some flo ting and some sinking . What a beau tiful scene it was ! ? How do you think , Sakae inquired P rince “ T smiling on me ; I thin k you have first ’ seen Floating Fans . Actually it was the first time for me to se e the merry sport , and I cannot forget the beauty and pleasure on the night even at present .

After about one year and a 11 5111 of my life as a 8 2 A STORY OF AN OLD WO MAN

ra the nightless quarter (Yoshiwa ) , unexpectedly I received lucky news from my mother . I was told that my father had fortunately succeeded in his speculations and got five thousand en y , and that I would be taken home by paying my debt to my hostess . While I was very happy to live together with my parents as their dear daughter again , I was sent ’ ’ to a girls school and studie d three R s and o English . But after a year misf rtune caught me — again my parents died o f the epidemic in succes sion . To make matters worse , my father , who had failed in his late speculation , left no property to me . Now I , the young orphan , was compelled to

find the means to lead the life myself . At first I e h made money by s lling furniture , one after anot er , and could hardly continue to go to school . But as it would take three years more to finish th e whole course of the school , I had no prospect of keeping my study for so long time . In the spring of my seventeenth I went to my schoolmaster , and , after frankly telling my prese nt situations , consulted him what course I should take for my future . “ In front of the Imperial University in Ho ngO ” there is a stationer well acquainted with me , told he very kindly , after a short pondering . He

- wants a shop girl , and if you will go to his shop I shall tell him to give you a spare time for two o r three hours every evening . Then you can come to my house and study your lessons , and I shall make a S pecial treatment for you to give you a diploma of my school , just equal to those To be ” conferred on regular graduates . I was very glad for the kindness of my school ’ master , and at once went to the stationer s s h Op to — be employed as a s h Op- girl o r rather as a decoy duck for young customers . The greater part of the customers to the sho p consisted of students of 83 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL the Imperial University in the main and other

co lleges and schools . At first I felt bashful to be

spoken to by these young men , but being accus S O to m e d to business day by day , I became bold

that I could even j o ke at them . It may sound foolish to speak of my own coun t e na nce , but as I had been often spoken of to be

beautiful in the time of my life as a dancing girl , I had a self- reliance that I possessed the power to m charm the other sex . If I cast a si per for young

students they were instantly caught , and came

u n ~ frequently to buy various articles , perhaps

- necessary for them . I often received love letters

from them . If I had not been bound by the chain of education I should have been ruined early in

- this epoch of the shop girl . After about one year ’s service in the stationer ’s shop my sal a ry was unexpectedly increased by the “ s ma ter . I was heartily moved with gratitude for o his kindness , but s on found that he had acted it

from his unworthy motive . After a few days I

determined to leave the shop , and at the same time a s tro ng feeling of hostility and contempt against

men was roused in my mind . My next profession was an editress of a maga

zine , and I had to call on ladies and gentlemen to collect interesting materials for the periodical . At s ! s fir t presumed that all scholar , statesmen , educa t i o n i s ts e r es ec , religionists , and poets were gr at , p table , reliable , honourable , and agreeable persons , but meeting frequently with them by and by , I w a s s urpri s ed to discover some of doubtful person a li t i e s among them . The noble images which I had been dreaming in my mind disappeared in an instant , and the value of learning , the power of religion , and the authority of e d uca t r been enti ely destroyed , there were left no but the hatred for such hypocrites . As I already read their mind and was not tempted by 84

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL tary cottage his affection towards me began to t lessen day by day . My kind protec or changed into a merciless tyrant ; I was knocked and kicked ' h by him at tr ifles every day . I wept nig t and

h im . day , but could not part from I n the mean '

time a baby was born , but died soon , perhaps ’ owing to its father s cruel treatment upon me . On the third day after the funeral of the dead baby ’took place he at last gave me up and con

cea led himself . I cannot describe now how I sank with tears of sorrow and repentance on this occa o f sion . Having fallen into the valley disappoint th e ment , next I went farther to bottom of

desperation . Though I was penitent for my loo se conduct and

made up my mind never to believe men , yet I was much troubled how to find my way of livelihood i n future . As soo n as I recovered my health I ran to a register- offi ce and could find a position of ’ governess in a home . One month .merchant s passed peacefully for me in the house of the o ld merchant , who was very kind to me , and his old wife too treated me so mercifully that peo ple to ok me to be her true daughter , who had been sent a k out to nurse and t en home lately .

It was my duty to attend a boy and two girls , from eight to fourteen years old , after they came home from school , and while I was carefully work ing my part every day there happened an event for my misfortune again . They had a brother and a sister both older than themselves ; the brother , about twenty years old , was the eldest son of the m erchant , and the sister , in her eighteenth , was h is - eldest daughter , who was a warm hearted damsel , and whom I became very intimate with , as if she was my true sister . It was my habit in these days to talk with her in her room after I

finished my business of the day , and her elder brother o ften came in the room and was pleased 86 A STORY OF AN OLD WO MAN

with u s - no remarkable behaviour in

in these occasions . One evening after I finished the reviews for the younger son and daughters I withdrew into th e room allotted for my private use , and sat down by the side of my desk on which I used to read news papers o r novels before I went to bed . When I took down a novel and opened it I unexpectedly

- — found a letter between the leaves a letter addressed to me from the eldest son of the merchant ! I felt my heart beating high ; I open ed and read it , o but t re it to pieces on t h e spot . I gave up o the novel , and so n went to bed , but could not sleep . In the next night I found another letter in a drawer of the desk again , and thus his letters came to me night after night . Now I was very anxio us that the secret might be discovered by somebody if I would leave the matter as it was . One night

I received a new letter again as I anticipated , and after I read it through I determined to meet him and to admonish him of his errors . f As appointed in his letter , I stole out o my room at the dead of night a n d hardly arrived at o his r om , my body trembling with fear . He was not yet in bed , and received me with joy . I r e mo nstr ated with tears against his misdemean o ur , but he never listened to me . To tell the truth I did no t expect his iove for me to have been so ardent and hearty as I was first convinced of this “ ” night . Frailty , thy name is woman ! What was the result of ou r meeting in this night ? About two months after the secret meeting in midnight I was dismissed from my service and at the same time expelled out of the merch, ant ’s house . I co uld have no words to complain about the . . sudden and cruel treatment of the employer o As it was the retributi n for my misconduct , I left S the house in ilence , though the younger son and 8 7 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL daughters were very sorry to part from me . Now again I mu s t find the means to sustain my life . Throwing myself into the depth of extreme o ei s ha desperation , I res lved to be a g girl , which I had experience of in my youth as a dancing girl

- in Yoshiwara . I ran to a girl house of the first rank at Yanagibashi (Willow Bridge), and made my first appearance as a s i n g i n g g i r l by the name of Ko ryfi (Small Willow) . As I had a little know ledge o f light acco mplishments from my child hood , I was not defeated by other girls on this o f part my business , and moreover my poor learn c ing , which I had received in my s hooldays , o having been much talked about , I was so n elevated to be o ne of the fi r s t- rate girls in great s d emi - m o n d e W w reque t in the quarter of . illo

Bridge . I n th o se days a part of the customers to the l .Yanagibashi gir s consisted of students . As I had many cases natur ally to wait upon these young guests , it was not rare that I was fallen into great troubles for their payments to restaurants . Yet I liked the disposition of students , and often emptied s my purse for them , ometimes even by borrowing money from my friends , of course they being neither lovers nor patrons for me . My curio s ity for the students led me to be sur “ ” ” named Student Gi r l or C hivalric Gei s ha by them . But among thos e who gave so much r t ouble to me , there were only a few who gradu ated from their colleges and visited me to express their gratitude for my assistance during their student days . What a fool I was to have been a o benev lent contributor for such ungrateful fellows , though so me of them have afterwards advanced to great positions in the world ! s Having ifted out of these many youths , how a ever , I selected lover , whom I supported through fo ur ‘ out his school life for years . I loved him 8 8

h ’ h heartily , and was so infatuated wit him t at at

last I gave birth to a girl . However beautiful and accomplished a g ei s ha a o girl m y be , she can be no more popular am ng customers if she is known by them to be in the a family way . So was I in the s me condition now , and , having been abandoned by my heartless lover

in addition , now I could not live in Tokyo . o Leaving the capital , I ran far west to Shim noseki , and appeared there again as a g ei s ha girl from S h um an ro p , the greatest restaurant hotel , well known as the meeting- place of the peace committee

. D 1 . between Japan and C hina in A . 8 95

After staying here about two years , I came back

- to Tokyo again . Then I was twenty nine yea rs e old , and , after consulting with som of my old friends on my new life in the capital , I opened a - As a k a tea house near us Park . I e mployed three i or four young girls , and worke d n ost seriously in my new occupation . The endeavour of three years n en havi g made eight hundred y for me , I gave r up the business , and , emoving to the Willow

Bridge quarter again , established an independent ei s ha- k g house named S a aeya (prosperity) . I am still pursuing the business , employing some young , beautiful girls , though I am very old now . Next I shall tell you what I have seen or felt m ei ha during y long life as a g s girl . C HAPTE R VI

TALL TALKS OF AN OL D GEISHA GI R L

— M n L i ked b G h Gi r ls A . e y eis a

G R as A I L well experienced in our profession , I

s m e s for u s . am , takes the customer to be achin e c m ~ u kne w ho wf Being an ecc ntri wo an , as yo r ever , I always take care to g ratify my guests , even if they are the first visitors never met before . Some of them assume their appearance of being very kind to us , and flatter us with these honeyed words : It may b e a great hardship to pursue such a business as you are in , attending men of different characters night and day . Heartily I sympathise with you , etc . etc . Their real object is not to console us , but to entrap us into love by their cunning policy . I think such a kind of men cannot be called the gentlemen experienced ei s ha in the g spree . Fo ols are they that hire g ei s ha girls with the intention of catching them at every chance ; thes e ambitious guests are always despised by us as the disagreeable fellows . Of course I have experiences o o f in l ve , and if you ask me what kind a guest I like , I answer that he must be a man of innocent - f appearance , open hearted , and in a sti f attitude f rather di ficult to humour . On the contrary, if we find a man in the base intention our characteristic S h pirit of insubordination is excited , and we wis to spit on his face . 90

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL C ompare a fat gentleman neatly dressed in a suit of easy Japanese silk dresses with a s le n d ei‘ - u nco m wretch in a p o or frock coat , pocketing its fo r table nes s ! No need to speak which is better in

their appearances . .Yet a greater part of guests E s in these days put on the uropean dre s , and we

canno t understand the reason .

C - Ki n ds of the Geisha S pree

o th e h As I already t ld you , my daughter is ostess a of a restaurant , and the m jority of her customers ar t are gentlemen of the higher class . When a p V s of noted men is to visit the restaurant , they fir t

send telephone on the morning , ordering to engage

such and such girls , and come in the evening ; after s h pending two or three hours in merriment , t ey go

home . On this occasion ten or fifteen girls o f the s first clas are summoned , and the guests are pleased to hear songs or see dancings of these girls accord

ing to the ir tastes respectively . It i s very rare that a gues t of the higher class s comes alone to a re taurant , but generally he invites s s his friend or cu tomers , with a certain aim in his mind to renew the old friendship or negotiate o n the bu s iness . Thos e of the middle class come in a party of three or four , and call four or five girls , the expense being generally paid in shares . A customer belonging to the lower class comes alone and hires a s ingle girl he drinks by on ly one s or two kinds of di hes , and goes back after three

- o r four hours . Simple is the way of merry making with the singing girl taken by such a kind of

A man in love wit h a girl pays the ex . mutual w m e s penses for and di hes , while the girl herself

her - pays own fee . He is called a lover guest 9 2 and generally belongs in the class of

quality . we hope that gues ts who hire g ei s ha ”gi r l s would act for them a lw ays un a genteel manner ; then the girls would receive them w 1th their hearty welcome and serve them with their o best treatment . On the contrary , if they look d wn

upon them as the females of the mean profession , r o they would be coldly t eated and disapp inted , the ’ girl s spi r its of counteraction being stimulated . Remember that the amount of money S pent by

their guests has no concern fo r their hospitality . The s eason most prosperous for g ei s ha girls is

the spring when cherry trees are in full bloom , and h n s t eir excursio s to spas or di tant sights , taken by

their customers , are generally done in spring and

. e summer It is , however , very xpensive to take r gi ls to distant places , and consequently most of the guests who like to try the excursions with girls are those not experienced in the g ei s ha spree or th r own themselves into desperation by some causes . Such a kind o f guests do not continue

long to come , and most of them cease to appear in one or two months .

- D . Ki d n s of Gu es ts Classified by Geisha Gi r ls Men who frequent the gay quarters are classified by the girls into the following three kinds

- I . recaut 1o ne d Men p by the girls . Those w ho belong in this class are

I . Spendthrifts .

Shopmen , clerks , or other employés often fall 1n to the fault of extravagance and the consequence of their , debaucheries is very miserable . The mas ter of a house or the chief of a firm never spends useless money . 93 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GI RL

n h 2 . Guests who run after the fashio too muc Men who are always stylish beyond criticism 1n their dresses and things carried are wo rthless o r h fellows . True gentlemen ric people are not

nervous about their person .

3 . Guests who give too much tips to the girls at

the beginning of their attendance .

4 . Nameless men who visit restaurants by motor r i ki s has cars , carriages , or drawn by two or three

men .

5. Guests who are restless in their S peaking and

actions . Most of them have so mething remorseful

in their mind .

6 . G f uests too a fable to the girls .

. G 7 uests striking the attitude of actors .

- 8 . o Speculators or stock j bbers .

They are most welcomed in the gay circles, but at the same time most warned among the

girls .

. G 9 uests who, leave their seats too often for

telephoning during the feast .

I O . G th e uests who stay too long in restaurant .

— I I Men loathed by the girls .

I . G h uests talking big in presence of t e girls . 2 . S w ells carrying a handkerchief strongly per

fumed and with the hair glittering with cosmetic .

. T oo 3 jestful and too chattering guests .

. G 4 uests of extreme taciturnity and niggards .

. G 5 uests with a gold plugged tooth, a gold . r m , a gold chain , and everything brilliant with g o lgi 6 . Guests boasting of the things carried by themselves .

7 . G s h uest vain of t eir accomplishments .

8 . D isorderly men .

9 . G uests of vulgar character .

1 0 . G h uests aughty by money . 94

TALL TALKS OF A GEISHA GIRL

— . III . Men welcomed by the girls

. 1 . Guests of manly manners ‘ . 2 . Men in quiet G ff ; co mpass mnate 3 . uests kind but not e eminate but no t tedious . G ex er 1enced ei s ha 4 . uests not much p in the g

S pree . 1 G rls . 5. uests sympathising with the g

s . 6 . Guest liberal but not loose

G . 7 . uests in a good humour at any time

f . 8 . Men indi ferent to the personal appearance

9 . Men not awful .

o . I O . Men who spend m ney worthily

— r e Men o Wha t A e M o s t L i ked b G h E . A f g y eis a Gi r ls ?

- The girls so me twenty four or five years old , well experienced in their business , generally prefer men over thirty years old . As women truckle to a stronger power , they cannot heartily rely on men younger than themselves . S uperficial observers may say that young men from twenty to thirty being not so much experienced with the female and retaining something pure and innocent , they are liked by the girls of our circle , but the pre sumption is utterly wrong . Yo ung and childi s h dancing girls dressed in red clothes may fall in love with those lads , bashful on meeting a charm 1n g girl , but mature girls believe that it is

. unworthy for them to love , such green fellows Men below thirty are poor of experiences in con necti o n with women after all , and if they are wel ’ comed by the gi r ls or entertained with their S heep s ‘ eyes , they instantly love th em no matter whatever 1rls g they may be . The girls of our society cannot 95 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL be grateful for the kindness of such a kind l of men , however hearty and earnest their ove

may be . Men over thirty are already buffeted by ’ w o rld s tempest and have some experiences

va r ious kinds of the girls . So if they meet

any kind of the girls they can coolly criticise them , comparing to the other girls ; hence they do not

readily love any girls . If any of these men have

fallen in love with a girl , we may presume that he

reco gnised a certain speciality of the girl , excellent

above the other girls . It is the extreme pleasure and pride of S inging girls to be loved by the men who do not love the

girls easily . Men of the world understand the

n ature o f the females very well , and as they treat them in the way as appropriate as there is not hing o r left f them to be desired , they are loved by them h o w retributively . Moreover , glad is a girl when she thinks that S h e has been selected out by her o new l ver among so many girls , and loved by him fo r her fo r te which she was secretly proud of hers elf

Then are all men over thirty , whatever appear a n ce s ei s ha ? they have , welcomed by g girls Oh , no ! Of cou r se there is a certain type of features Th e and person liked by them . professional girls do not esteem a smooth and beautiful face like

dolls , but they like men with something awe inspiring about the face ; and they prefer the fat

figure better than the slender one . I n a word , a i s man of dignity generally liked by them . Men with big a n d thick eyebrows pressed U pon the eyes or with a loose mouth might no t be pOpu lar with the girls ; and men of long hair or a pale

- face or dark brown skin are not good to o . The

face of light grey colour attracts the girls , for it was the ideal tint o f the male features in the gor eo us g age of Yedo , and on the contrary the light 96

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

old men , the girls cannot get even a bit of pleasure ei s ha from them . Although the women in g pro fes s io n exist in order to give pleasure to men , yet it is unbearable for them to have no conso lation or

recompense for their labours and troubles . I n con - fi v e sequence , men over forty are not liked by the m ; men from thirty to forty- five may be said to be in their flower of life or in the golden age in connection with the kingdom of the g ei s ha girls ,

— F The Wai ti ng - H ou s e (or th e Assig n ati on H ou se)

h the By t e way , I will betray true feature of the so - ca lled waiting - house (m a cki ai ) or assignation

house , which is the most popular haunt of the ’ g ei s ha girls customers . Business of the waiting- house is very diffi cult to be successfully carried on by ordinary people unles s

they are well exp erienced in the gay circle . Origin a h a ally being unste dy profession , of course , they do not expect to earn a big sum of money and lead on e an upright life from the first . On side a dear

tax is not only exacted , but also they must take into account the loss inflicted by bad customers who do not pay the bills , and on the other , they

- should exactly pay to restaurants and wine dealers , from which wine and dishes are supplied for o the guests , no accommodation of co kery being ff provided in the house . If everything goes o o sm othly , however , they can unexpectedly live in

ease , and may possibly save up a certain sum of

money . At present there are more than three hundred waiting- houses in and around the gay S a k quarter of himb shi , and those to be rec oned

as the rich among them are very few . The hostesses of the assignation - houses are gen erally limited to ex - g e is ha or women w ho were 98 TALL TALKS OF A GEISHA GIRL

in other houses , much experienced There are many g 1rls who were 1 ei s ha l1fe eir patrons from the r g , ’ and have opened , by the patrons help , the business

- of the waiting house . 0 The regular inco me of the m a chi ai co ns 1s ts of en the room rent , which costs from two to five y one S evening , the hops being closed at twelve , but the . w a 1tre s s es 1v e n tips to the houses as well as to the , g

by their good customers , amount to a big sum . every month ; hence the waitresses and m a 1d ser vants of these houses receive no wages from their

hostesses , and yet can sustain themselves by the ’ customers tips only , some of them saving a good

round sum , as much as they can be independent

hostesses in future . Business of the waitresses is very imp o rtant in W - the aiting house . The fame of a m a cki ai depends

upon the way of their treatment for guests , and men who V isit the h o use in night being generally

drunken , the reception of them is left to those

- experienced maids . S o in the waiting house waitress es are much more necessary than g ei s ha

girls for treatment of customers .

- G. L earni ng of Geisha Gi r ls I believe that there is no business for the females which requires so great eff orts as that o f the g ei s ha girls . They must learn all kinds of accomplish ments which are necessary to meet the tastes and demands of guests of every rank ; needless to say of the floral arrangement and tea ceremony they

- must sometimes perform even the sword dance . their knowledge for English must be much more “ ” G - than Thank you and ood bye . Being sometimes engaged to appear in presence 99 etiquette in the higher rank . most popular lessons among

- are writing and p o em making . Some o comp se very good poems , and , after corrected by their teacher , they send them to their customers , who are struck with admiration at the chefs ’ d oewvr e . Most of the younger singing girls are fond of o n vels or magazines , reading them in when they are generally unengaged , and it and pitiful at the same time to see some who are shedding tears in sympathy wit o o or her ines in some tragical st ries , while th e i r o b r others , who are boasting themselves of p r literary knowledge , are pleased to c iticise o bo ks from their girlish point of view .

1 00

C HAPTE R VII

GEISHA G I RLS IN GEN ERAL

IN Tokyo , the capital of Japan , we find numerous

‘ ‘ ' ei s ha th efr fi attff al beaut circles of beautiful g girls , y

d by their artificial beauty . Their

aily painted , and though they have a

for themselves , yet their beauty is not The time for their prosperity is very — ike the flowers of morning glor y their

is limited to their youth only , occupying a little part of their whole life . They may be called a kind of artistic product appearing in the ” C a n d cities of the ountry of the Rising Sun , it is natural that the s ight- seers from Europe wish ei s ha first to see these g girls . S They dance and ing well , and are skilled in

a k c . t l ing - tik In Japan of the present day it is not easy to find out in any other classes o f women the beauties so well accomplished in these arts as they are . In old times there were many distinguished s o - Yed o - ei s ha girls , and the called g in the feudal age of the Tokugawa S hogunate were far more respected by citizens than the Tokyo g ei s ha of the present day . The singing girls must be always beautiful as long as they carry on their business , and at the same time must not be occupied by any special s gue ts , or in other words they must be cosmo politan . We have the following proverb fo r the 1 0 1 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL . ’ h girls : D on t pick up the flowers into your and , ” but leave them in the field as they grow . All the girls must be the flowers which can be looked at and admired by all people . We often read in newspapers or magazines that there are some g ei s ha girls who are fond o f litera ture or were educated in a female high school , and that they are esteemed by guests among other g irls who are generally in a lower degree of education . But men do not hire the g ei s ha girls for the pur pose o f being educated by them or listening to their

. h ve h ei s r n ha o n i ls m t ei r lectures literature No , g " i g own functions for making u p d e fi ci e n ci es among o a o m the male society . They sh uld have good cc li s hm e nts n d p , affection , and beauty , a they must be r ea dy _to impart the meets them . We are told that a girl gave a clever treatment to her three guests at once , singing a song for the

first guest , serving the second with wine from the bottle held in her right hand , and leaning her left on the knee of the third . Ladies of respectable families despise g ei s ha girls as the incon s tant women of the ignoble pro~ fes s io n , and yet if they see a beautiful daughter of a friend of theirs , they often use such a phrase to admire her , as What a pretty damsel she is , ” just like a g ei s ha girl ! How funny is the con t ra d icti o n between their ideal and real ! We recommend them that if they find a ny fine points in the custom of g ei s ha girls they would better to adopt it for themselves . It is an undeniable fact that the Japanese women are not well trained in social manners and toilet . When we call on a friend we are often received at h i s his door by maidservant , poorly dressed , her manners of receiving , of course , being disagree at able the same time . It is a bad habit to ig no r e dress ing and toilet by reason of being a maid 1 02

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL we find many beautiful singing and dancing girls

among so numerous gay quarters in the city . I n o a word , if the Eur pean belle is the rose , the C C h Japanese is the hrysanthemum , and the inese

the peony . Gentlemen who were noted for the good co nduct during their schoo ldays are often found to be very a generous fo r the g ei s h S pree . Both the mind and body having been worn out with the hard studies

through their school life , we may admit that it is a way of their comforts to drink and eat together h with beautiful girls as t eir companions , and more over i t is not rare that we see actual examples of young men who had once been unsoc iable but afterwards became experts in s a v o i r a ir e by i i n frequent as so c a t g s with the g ei s ha girls . A man may be accused or sometimes sent to C oventry by his friends against his keepin com ' g ei s ha r pany with the g gi ls , but if he looks back o f o h o . f i s h w upon his course life , how w uld he t ink n knowledge on the secrets of getting on i n th e_WQ r1¢ whether he got it much mo re by his wife educat ed i n the school , or by the girls despised by the friends ? While the daughters grown up in the families of a rich or higher class are rarely found am o ng ei s ha the candidates of the g girls , those born in a back - court tenement hou se flow into the door of a g ei s ha- house if they are of a somewhat hopeful countenance and have a poor knowledge of light accomplishments . The simple reason of the difference is that the fo rmer can buy their fi ner ies at will , but that the latter , being incapable to satisfy their vanity , are always envious o f the others . for to wear fine dresses unless they go to a . life b u s 1nes s e i s ha like g girls . Although there may be k e h several wor s for th m , such as a factory and , a GEISHA GIRLS IN GENERAL

ca n telephone operator , or a needlewoman , yet they earn only a little sum of money by any of these

tasks . Besides , there may be a greater business for the female as an auth o ress or a schoolmistress ff if she makes a great e ort and studies hard, but it cannot be eas ily attainable for ordinary girls ; o r a daughter of a p o or family may apply for

apprenticeship of a midwife or a nurse , but a long study under great d ifli culties is necessary for her

before S h e could sustain herself by the profession . u h Living in a poor home , where there is an thrifty mother or a drunken father and they cannot subsist even a day unless helped by the work of o their daughter , how c uld she expect to put on a fine clothing desired eagerly by all young girls ? ff .What a great di erence of life between the daughters living in a splendid mansion and those moaning under the broken roof of a humble cottage ! There is no shorter cut than to be a ’ g ei s ha girl for a poor family s daughter who hopes

for fine dresses and to associate with gentlemen . When she is employed under the hostess of a ei s ha- S h e g house , could at last attain her aim though S he would be severely trained by her em

ployer and elder girls . Well , she may be satisfied

to wear nice dresses in presence of her customers , o but if we lo k at the other side of her life , what a pity S h e i s ! ’ When S h e is in her employer s house S he never puts on any goo d clothes nor eats any dain ties which she can sometimes taste in restaurants . S h e does not forget her poor life which she led to gether with her parents , and can bear any i n conveniences long experienced i n the back - court e t nement house . Moreover , she has many troubles and pains afflicted by her fellow- girls or waitresses

- of restaurants and waiting houses . C HAPTE R VI I I

GLI M PS ES O F THE GEIS HA CI RCLE AT PRES ENT

- d A . A Ki tten an a D an ci n g Gi r l

I AM a little dancing girl called Hanam aru (Flower

ei s h a - Ball) living in a g house . I n this house there live four S inging girls and a - kitten named Mi ke

- (th r ee coloured fur) which is the pet of all girls . M iss M ike is my good companion always when I

. s S am at home M is Koyuki (Little now) , one of the e o elder girls , obtain d her fr m somebody while I was out under engagement the o ther day . The cat has a round body and a short tail— I like the sho rt tail though it is said among our circle that a cat with a long tail promises a good luck— big eyes and long so ears , a small mouth and a large backside , not

large as to appear ugly . Her round body , just

like a hand ball , is very fat and deep furry ; her white fur is dotted with small black dapples on her o head and left sh ulder , and mixed with brown spots

at her right two paws . Mewing faintly , she goes

upon the knee of anybody . What a lovely little creature she is ! When I asked my hostess to be a kind nurse maid for the kitten she told me that I should be

very careful to treat the pet , and M iss Kotaka - t (Little High) , another elder girl , added hat if I

treat her very kind I would be loved by guests . I ’ o thought , however , that I don t care whether I w uld h S h e be liked by t em or not , but that I ould fondl 1 06

THE GEISHA CIRCLE AT PRESE NT

m n o f her with all y heart , as I am so fo d the little thing . Miss Little - High made for the pet a little red

necktie , attached with a small bell at its end . w as S h e .When it tied round her neck was very glad , and ran about the room , the little bell tink ling at her every motion . That night I went to o bed carrying her in my b som , and gave my arm for her pillow , as I feared that she might feel head ache if her head was lain flat . She lay along at o ease , leaving herself as I did , and so n began to h e sno re in a very weak noise . It seemed that S felt n o fear even 1n the very first night S h e was brought S h e to the unacquainted house , and I thought fell

S h e . asleep so soon , as was tired out I could not , o h wever , understand the reason of her fatigue , because she had worked nothing hard in daytime . me e As for , ther is no leisure time every day ; in the morning I must dust and sweep the rooms , and n S then go to the teachers of danci g and inging , and in the afternoon go on messages for the hostess and elder girls , while busily engaged in reviews of the less ons learnt 1n the morning i n the evening I must take my business , attending the restaurants s and waiting upon the customers . I n pite of such ’ a pressure of busines s every day I don t get tired ? D e so much , and why was my pet so worn out o s she like to sleep as she is a baby yet ? Late that night M iss Little - Snow came home S from a restaurant , and I fell in leep soon , hearing

in a trance her idle talks on amours . Next morning I was awaked by chirping of S parrows in the garden , and next moment my ears s s th e were a ailed , as usual in every morning , by noisy sound of tr amcars and the whistling of auto mobiles r unning in the main street next to th e lane wh ere o u r g ei s ha - houses s tand in two rows facing h each other . Still lying in t e bed and looking ke round I could not find M iss M i , my pet , and , 1 07 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

feeling anxious where she went , I sprang out of b e d a and hastened downstairs to se rch her , but o s on I was relieved by discovering her there , sitting

and eating on the knee of the hostess . After wash o ing the face , I dusted the ro ms and carried a tobacco - tray to the upstairs room where the elder girls were in bed awaiting the fire for smoking .

While I was very busy for my morning tasks , o my kitten was romping about the ro ms , playing W ith the S kirt of the h o stess or rushing out towards o the entrance door , alm st to fall down upon the

- step stone in the porch . After half an hour all the singing girls in the

upstairs came down , and I sat at table together ! with them . What a glutton M iss M ike is Not withstanding S h e had already finished her break S h e fast by the hostess , still was glad to devour a big piece of fi s h - fl es h given by one of the girls . After the breakfa st was over one of the girls tried ’ e s to touch M ik body and cried , What a big sto mach this little kit has ! “ She s hall be surfeited if you give her too ”

o s o . much , warned the h ste s in her own ro m Being anxious of her health I tried timidly to touch her stomach , and was surprised to find that it was hard like stone . Asking one of the girls whether I might give her the peptic which I used to take , I was laughed at by all of them . I went together with one of the girls to the morning visit to the shrine of Inari (the Go d of

Rice) in a back street not far from our house , and , parting from her on the way home , I went to the teacher of Kiy o m o to songs to learn a new lesso n . In the afternoon I was very busy in reviews o f s am i s en and songs and in going on messages for

- the elder gi r ls . At the tea time the hostess gave m e two cup s of m i ts u rn arn e (a favourite sweet for The h young dancing and singing girls , see Nig t 1 08

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL her to get angry . If I had been S h e I would have got angry too . ’ I have done it by my kindness for you . Don t ! ” be angry so long . What a fool you are I dragged her out , and , taking her in my arms ,

h er . h e stroked cheek with mine S mewed , and we were chums soon .

This evening I was engaged three times , each to f a di ferent restaurant . The guests in the last house e w re all heavy drinkers , and I was much troubled by their playing pranks till late in the night .

When I came home it was past twelve , and soon e went to bed , carrying M iss M ik in my arms

o n o . again , as I had done the previ us nig ht

— B . S y1n pa thy of the H os tess

In an upstairs room of a g ei s ha - house there are two girls sitting opposite to each other ; one is the hostess of the house , still carrying on herself as a singing girl though she is now over thirty years old , and the other a young girl employed in the house .

There are no other ways for you now , con ti nue s the hostess , soothing her girl , and this is a matter common in the world . The mind of Mr o M ri , your lover , is never changed , but both you and he have chanced upon such an unlucky event . S There is nothing for you to regret , and you hall leave your fate to heaven . It is wise to listen to my advice and to wait quietly for the better days ? o to come . You see , my dear I kn w very well ’ it is a great hardship for yo u to part with him .

Many thanks for your kindness , replies

D . Kohina (Little oll) , the young girl But I ’ th e e th at s no No but ! interrupts lder girl ; _ o h good for you . Wait for a g od chance and I s all

' I I O THE GEISHA CIRCLE AT PRESE NT

in everything .

Thank you very much . I understand your t kind advice . My dear hos ess , I am

Yes , my dear , go on . Why you weep so like n P ee ! a little child S , crows are laughing at you “ I am very painful to part from him . But a ccording to your advice , I have made up my mind

not to see him until a good luck turns to us again . Oh I am glad to have you understood my

S . words , says the old inging girl Then you s hall have the last meeting with Mr Mori this ” evening . n ei s an No , (hostess or elder girl) , replies the “ young girl , he cannot come out of his house ’ because the manager of his father s S h0 p is strictly ” keeping watch over him . S Then I hall go and see the manager , and by playing a trick get his consent to set his young

master free for this evening . Now go and take bath before the evening comes ; meanwhile I shall ” make arrangements for reception of your lover .

Thank you very much . I shall never forget ” your kindness . o u After bathing , y will do your best for your

toilet , for he cannot see his beautiful love for some

. ! o time after this evening Ha , ha , ha The h stess f cha fs and laughs .

Kohina , the young girl , goes out for the public S bath , and the hostess , itting down alone by the side of a large oblong brazier in the downstairs has room , a smoke and then wets her throat by

taking a cup of tea . The maidservant , who went

out for shopping soon after the lunch , does not yet come back ; perhaps she may be loitering about on

- the way . It is now past two and the girl house

lane is rather quiet about this time . The boiling kettle on the fire in the brazier is breaking the s ilence of the room . THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

The hoste ss begins to ponder over the new event r concerning her gi l , and compares it with the past course of her own life . She is an old g ei s ha girl - fifth now , in her thirty year of age , and still pre serves the temper that never acknowledges a defeat h since her youth . When S e was about twenty a S h e ye rs old had a lover , but is now leading a celibate life for a long time . Ruminating on S h e the past sometimes , may not be without feel i n s a g lone ome , but on such an occ sion she goes early to bed after taking some glass es of hot

W ine . It seems to her that lately s h e could understand s the true state of things , pecially concerning love , and that S h e has now attained the age of mature discernment . She thinks also that when she was fif s t young or in the age of her love , it was pleasant for her to be totally absorbed in the love itself ; that when in the mature age over twenty , it was interesting to be troubled in jealousy ; and that now ' it - f as the old girl , is funny to look at the love a fair h of young girls without getting in the way . S e believes that all gi r ls are go ing on their course of so life in such an order ; nay , if others may not be , she is sure that she is satisfied with it . As S h e has been long to live in the gay circle S ince S h e first became a dancing girl in her very youth , she does not wish now to give up her present to business , but likes simply lead a lively life and h . s e end it prosperously I n a word , does never look for a strict h o usehold . She is very fond of g irls in the flower o f maiden o hood , no matter whether their face may be l ng o r a n round , but if she happens to meet y of them k with the bright and transparent skin , lustrous blac hair , and dressed in the stylish gay clothes , she feels to see that the blood circulating through the veins o f their body is boiling for love at the bottom i S h e h h co ld of the r tender breast , and opes t at they u

THE GEISHA CIRCLE AT PRESE NT enjoy themselves for their holy love without being

same idea for her own young girl , n o e Kohi a . K hi na , who is now sevente n years h as old , fallen in love with the son of a rich mercer in a neighbou r ing street S ince the spring o f the

. h last year Not only the ostess did not blame her , but helped her how to S how her sincerity for the

new lover . But lately , his dissipation having been s r to b e di cove ed by his father , he was compelled o driven away to his relative in the c untry . If the hostess of the you n g girl were an o rdinary woman ei s ha s h e of the g profession , would have railed at

her in foul language , but on the contrary she was kind enough to provide them with the farewell w n meeting in a ro om of her o house . At first whe n Ki o h i n a attained her beautiful prime the hostess prayed that she would change ’ m i ts a m am é o for a lover , and often t ld her that as the palmy days of womanhood pass away s oon she

should have a honey dream as early as possible ,

and enjoy it as long as S h e could . It was in January of the last year when the yo ung lovely

girl like a doll first fell in love with a young , hand h some gentleman . When S e came home late in evening from her service to a New Year ’s dinner r pa ty , held by the chief merchants in vicinity , how glad was the hostess to find by her bas hful face and diff erent attitude that S h e could first understand the sweetness of the pure love !

It is now late in evening , and a faint sound of s ami s en played in a distant restaurant is barel y,

heard .

o ei s ha - a In a r om upstairs of the g house , Kohin S it and her lover down face to face , but both can S peak nothing . An electric lamp on the ceiling is

shining drearily over their heads , and silence of 1 1 3 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRIJgl

the roo m is only disturbed by secret sobbings of

the girl . h o h er To avoid troubles , the stess sent out maid s o s s e - ervant to a y (variety hall , particulars of which “ are explained in The Nightside o f and , after preparing herself the table for the two , carries it to the upstairs . Hi n a - chan h (M iss Hina) , calls the ostess , “ a st nding on the upper step of the stairs , here ” are the table and brazier . n ei s an Thank you , (my hostess) , replies the o ff h er girl , wiping tears and coming to the stair case . “ ” I have some business to go out , continues “ the old girl ; as there is nobody downstairs , h please take care o f it . And S e goes out .

W h o . hen the ostess comes h me after about two h hours , Ko ina asks her permission for visiting a shrine near the house together with he r lover . s rO o s al The hoste s gives her consent to the p p , and , S h k after ending t em out , ta es her seat alone in her own room . The maidservant comes home from the yo s s e ” and serves for the hostess a bottle of hot s a ke h (wine) , which S e is pleased to take leisurely . She f i nishes drink , and then goes to bed furnished with

- a foot warmer . Though she lies in bed she cannot f go to sleep , the a fairs of her girl Kohina weigh ff o ing on her mind . To suddenly cut o the relati n between the two , she thinks , is too cruel for them k in puberty , and though his father does not li e ei s ha women in our profession , yet the g girls are recognised by gentlemen even of the higher rank to be useful for society ; and whatever soc ial stand ings may men or women be in , the people should deal leniently with them if there were any faults in their youth . S h e continues still to think : Now in this very 1 1 4

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

s duty at pre ent to support Mr Miyoshi , who was r your pat on once . Yes , you may have received no e o u little b nefits from him , but even if y will not e trouble yourself about his pr sent situation , I am sure he will not complain to you . M ind that you have a great burden to sustain your old mother and sickly brother ; and if there will arise any troubles by washing your hands of him we would ’ no t fail to settle them for you . Similar advices were given by her fellow - girls too , but as she did not listen to them she was given up by them as well as by the hostess , all of whom now looked unconcerned at her pains which

- she o nly brought upon herself . The fellow girls o in the same h use turned to her backbiters , and those who had paid homage to her in her great prosper ity o nly six months ago treated her very

- cold as i f S h e were an unacquainted ne w comer . o h She th ught , owever , that it was not unreason a ble to receive such a treatment from them , and at s t S h e the ame ime acknowledged herself that she , Mats u ko in these days , was not the girl flourished

half a year ag o . h ad a Lately her beauty , which been very f mous among the girls and customers of the S himbashi o quarter , w nderfully declined , and her engage ments by customers became less and less day by

day . Though she did not attain the age to be ei s ha generally given up by people as an old g , yet they were cool enough to be laughing at her fading

beauty . S he Of course if , according to the advice of

others , had given him up and done her best for h her business only , there would ave been no n troubles for herself , as well as for the livi g of her family ; but she could not be such a heartless

woman . If , however , it was necessary to part from

him for his own benefit , she would not deny to do

so , however hard she felt about the parting . 1 1 6

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL another corner where noisy cries of a little child were heard within a room of the tenement house , unexpectedly she met with C hiyoko (Miss Thou a sand Ages) , dancing girl who lived in the same ouse with her and was very much favoured by

{ler . “ ’ Ain t yo u C hii - chan (a colloquial for Miss ? M C hiyoko) called ats uko to the young girl . n ei s a n Oh , (my elder sister) , glad to see ! C . you cried hiyoko , and ran up to her elder The young girl was dressed in the long - sleeved silk clothes of a showy texture , tied with the o n broad sash of figured satin , and had a pair of M a k lacquered high wooden clogs . ts u o or M i s s Pine was S pecially fond of her among other young r s s S h e dancing gi l in her hou e , and while had been prosperous half a year a g o she had always recommended the girl to her customers , and when at home in daytime was very kind to give her the reviews on dancing and music ; indeed she loved her like her true sister . “ Ka ts You were engaged to g e u (restaurant) , ” “ I think , said the elder girl , and why are you rambling he reabout ? If discovered you wo uld be blamed by the mother o No , my sister , replied the y unger , shaking “ ’ her head , I m not rambling . The guests of Ka ets u o g already went away , and as soon as I to k ” leave I came to bring him a box of dishes . ! C - ! i Indeed Oh , my dear hii chan cried M ss

Pine , and at the same moment her eyes were full of tears ; she was sorry to think that the pre s ent condition of her lover was sympathised even by such a little girl . C hiyoko explained her that all the girls who h ad attended to the restaurant had been gifted by the s guests with ome dishes . After the guests had departed , while the other girls had been taking h h ad the dainties , s e put her own portion in a 1 1 8 THE GEISHA CIRCLE AT PRESE NT

small box to present i t to the man of her kind

- S ister girl , and was just on her way back from his

- My C hii chan , said the elder girl , wiping “ the tears with a handkerchief , I thank you for ” your kindness . D ’ on t mention , my dear sister , interrupted “ the younger ; I shall go home soon . Good ” bye ! “ If you are discovered by any of the other girls Go in our house you may be troubled . home at ’ o nce f “ Yes ; and I shall no t tell anybody that I have ” - G . met you here . ood bye ! k o No , never tell anybody about it If n wn

- S o . G there may be ome tr ubles for me ood bye , my dear ! Miss Pine saw o ff her beloved young sister until

the latter went out of the narrow alley . No sooner she entered the poor h o use of her lover than S h e

threw herself upon the floor and burst to tears . I n

the middle of a small room M iyoshi , her lover , was sitting alone with his head hung down and l o st

in thought . The box which had been brought by

the dancing girl was put , still unopened , on a table , by the side of which a small lamp w as dimly

lighted . Have you met with C hiyoko inquired he in a S piritless voice and without raising his head ; ,

but instead of replying to him she wept bitterly ,

and he melted into tears too . A mosquito flew

away with its weak hum over their heads . The s o hou e being backed with a bamboo gr ve , it was comparatively quiet rather than other houses in

the neighbourhood , and suited for a refuge of a

man in great agony . Though it was old and

almost dilapidated , yet in the cottage the two for saken by the world were prevented by nobody to

weep for their love .

A 1 1 1) THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

The wind passed over the bamboo grove , and birds that could not get roost were chirping faintly .

The man raised his head and saw his girl , who was still in her whimpering . He said nothing and went to the sink to wash his face . After he wa s hed he poured new water into the basin and ’ : ? said to her I say , don t you wash your face

She was moved with his kindness .

Near th e little lamp which was covered with a p iece of old newspaper for a S hade the two were s itting lonely Opposite to e ach other . “ I am very sorry to trouble you so much , uttered the man at last ; there is no promise for

me to be here in such a state , and I thought it would be better to go to O s aka until I find some

- m . To eans for living day I wrote to a friend there , and if his answer is convenient for me I shall go ” to O s aka . On hearing his words s h e stared at his face with a dreadful lo o k . e to I have not xpected trouble you so long , added he gently , avoiding her gaze , but as my failures were so great What then ? interrupted the girl in a sharp

W ? . hat ! ” You will give me up , I know continued

she in her quick and nervous tone . A humble woman like me is to be abandoned by you after

all , but

She threw herself upon his knee and cried . T hough he tried to console her yet he could not

top her from weeping . It was her habit to fall i n a nd such a fit whenever she became irritable , there was n o way for him but to wait for a go od h while until S e got recovered . He thought it was a pity for her that this bad habit o f her lately

became violent more and more . 11 2 0

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

Who was the millionaire in q uestion ? He was G s oro Haya hi of a high reputation , under the nick name o f Patr on C rys tal among the gay circle of e s o s Kob , and the sudden di appearance of the rich patron was a great loss for the g ei s ha girls living

. o in the city ,Where and why did he c nceal him s elf ? All his friends were again astounded by th e finding that . he was chanting Buddhist sacred o b oks in a temple of Kyoto , having his head shaved ’ and wrapping his body with a priest s black robe . Then what was the cause of his unexpected b e haviour by giving up his prosperity and wealth of four millions and entering the priesthood all of a s udden ? Behind his religious awakening there was a Mo m i i beauty named j (Maple) , who had constituted

a strange background for his strange life , and given a wonderful colo uring in his half - life of forty

years . Ten years ago when he came back from London h e became the director of the Hayashi Partner

en . ship , with the capital of one million y Then how was his connection with the g ei s ha girl Maple ? To have Patron C rystal enlisted in the priest

hood and secluded from the world at last , there was something profound in th e relation between

him and the beauty . At the time when he came home fro m England S h e was a young girl in one of the gay quarters of the port and very noted as

a bright belle amo ng the Kobe girls . It was in S h her ixteent year of age when the young girl ,

S hining like a new moon among many stars , was fi r s t engaged by her future patron ; soon he ran ' o m d s e her , and , having built a splendid villa at i mé th e i n M ru in the outskirts of city , took her _it

as his lovely young mistress . We are told that the new villa cost more than one hundred thousand

yen . 1 2 2

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

o f moreover , none the family could utter a word when they saw a photograph enclosed in the letter of his standing figure , with his head shaved , dressed in the black canonicals and carrying beads in his hand .

Besides the family and friends of the new priest , one most surprised by the event was the girl re Maple , who , on hearing the serious matter , mained s tupefi e d for a while and could not take her business for a few days . Lately the priest M ei zui visited one of his old friends at Kobe and said : They may call me an o utcast of the gay quarters or a ruined of the c business circle . It is nothing for me . Sin e I s S ecluded myself my pirit has been cheered . S o m e of my friends believe that I am not a man to remain as a priest to the end , and that I will return to the secular life sooner or later . But you can understand my firm will if you know that I brought o u t my villa at M i r umé for sale . In future , I intend to enter Mongolia and serve for life there in the propagation of Buddhism . I was told that so me people are speaking ill of the girl

Maple , attributing the cause of my retirement to her but I assure that S h e is not a woman of such , ” a kind as misunderstood by them .

— ho o l o r i r ls an d Wai r es s es E . A S c f Geisha G t The following is a letter from a female student ’ ’ o f the Gei s ha Girls and Waitresses School at u nats u F , a small town in the north and mountain ous province Hil da

I am one o f the female students of the Gei s ha ’ ’ r s s h Girls and Wait e se Sc ool at Funatsu , and as I learned only a little in a primary school in

h h o had . c ild o d , I no knowledge to read and write THE GEISHA CIRCLE AT PRESE NT

But s ince I entered the school I am learning lessons by our kind teachers every day , and very glad to have a new knowledge instilled into my br ain week after week ; very glad to find the wi ndow of my dark mind gradually shone up o n o f with sunbeams the events old and new , past an d o present , good and bad , and vari us reasons of all matters in the world . It is not I alone that receive the benefit of the ei s ha school , but all of some seventy g girls and waitresses are equally favoured with the new know ledges . While I am heartily feeling grateful for ’ o o the scho l s kindness , I write you with the h pe that the citizens of the capital will k n ow the existence of such a special and laudable school in a small town at the ravine almost always covered with sno w throughout the year . AS o ur you know , it is duty to sing and dance a n d when we are hired by guests , though we know many kinds of popular songs how to sing , but we did not understand their meanings . Our teachers select some good songs and give us the explana tions of their meanings ; thu s we could find that there are good instructions for us among vulgar s . ongs , which we are singing loud mechanically s The town Funat u is a small town , but being

S o f C o . ituated near the zinc mine the M itsui , the hotels and restaurants in the town are always prosperous by the travellers from the capital and other cities . Th e school was first established in the spring

1 1 - i n of 9 5, and a big hall in the temple Eijo is

used for the schoolro o m . The subjects of study in our schoo l are as follows : Popular lectures on

morals and sanitation ; reading , in the standard of a primary school and speciall y of those books

- important for the home life ; writing , ditto ; arith — metic addition , subtraction , multiplication , and the division , generally calculated with Japanese 1 2 5 THE STORY OF THE GEIS

— abacus ; composition a common letter - writing ; sewing of all kinds of the Japanese clothes ; eti qu ette for females and S pecially necessary for the reception and so on in home cookery necessary in a common household . By the police regulations all the girls livi in the town and carrying on the profession g ei s ha or waitresses must enter the according to the degrees of know etc . , all the students are divided into three cl at present there are twenty- one g ei s ha girls and - S forty eight waitresses in the school , making ixty ” nine in total .

F — ’ d b . The Geisha Gi r l s L ove O bs er v e y a Geisha Gi r l

My observation on the love - aff airs of the g irls belonging to our society ? (said a beautiful young ’ girl with a charming smile upon her face) . That s f o u a very di ficult questi n for me , still yo ng and inexperienced . Of course there must be the love o n o ei s ha questi s am ng g girls , but the love is not their business , though it is generally thought to be an accessory to them . From the first and most noted girls down to the lowest class , those are rare - f that are not a bit spoken of their love a fairs . People censure us by the i easo ns that the love ei s ha of the g girls always absorbs money , that they love money but not the men , and that they live for nothing but money . But they take a

- glance at only the outside of a cake box , without looking into the sweets contained in it . If they o bserve us with the eyes of sympathy they can find out many instances of the very earnest and holy love among the girls o f our profession . It is true that money is always necessary for the ’ i s ha s o g e love , because it always acts as the g 1 26

scharge this

our circle , tell you such matters ,

. I S by the elder girls , and when hall be an old S tager I may be able to make a correct observation o f into the true state the question . I believe , however , that the love must be intense , like a burning flame , taking no notice of all things but the love itself .

1 28

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

h the most civilised epoc in the old Japan , and at t h e same time the most prosperous period for the h double suicide , a social p enomenon peculiar to

Japan . r k h If we read novels , dramatic wo s , and ot er o b oks which were published in this age , we can find how much w as the s hi n jn l o oked with inte rest o f m by the citizens the time , and that at the sa e t ime the young and thoughtless lovers were as m uch influenced with these stories or news as to practise themselves in imitation o f their preceding T h fools . e female s who died in this unnatural s d emi - m on d e s way were mostly the girl in quarter . Let us see an e xample of th e double suicide that too k place in the Genroku age Th e death of the girl Ohatsu and h er lover !Tokubei was o ne o f the most famous double

. Th e suicides event took place at Osaka , and the he roine Ohatsu was a young girl nineteen years O ld k , beautiful li e a new cherry blossom just in i ts o h h T blo ming , w ile the ero okubei was an h k - fiv e e Old S h O onest cler , twenty y ars , in the p of h a merc ant who was his uncle . One day he told hi s girl : My master being me and my real uncle , he is very kind to , I make m e ff orts for h is business . Having recognised y h h i s onesty , he lately told me that a niece of wife

s hall be married to me . But h e did not like to marry any other women H h is but Ohatsu . e owed uncle a sum of money wh ich should be paid back before he refu sed the ’ h e so un u ncle s proposal of marriage , but was e fortunate that he was swindled of the mon y , h hardly raised himself , by a friend w om he mis hi m conceived to be very kind to , and that he was slandered and knocked down as a forger o f the

bond in the presence of all the peop le . o a nd He was a nerv us and passionate youth , h h h h is e a too t oug O atsu , swe theart , was passion te , 1 30 SHINJU OR TH E DOUB LE SU ICIDE

h yet she had a will stronger than e . When he grieved at the parting which might occur to them d if he was expelled from his uncle , she decide ly l : dec ared You are not a thief nor an incendiary ,

eve n if you are driven out by your uncle . Never

mind , my dear , I can find any means to support ” yo n ! And when Tokubei revealed his resolution to d ie S h e , at once consented , or rather encouraged : ! him , by saying Oh , you are quite right It is e a the same , however long we live , and bett r to cle r ourselves from shame by death ! ”

The cause of the death was , on one side , in the S ituation of the man who fell in great troubles for the questions of both love and money ; and th e question of the social morality was include d on

the other . If he had given up his love he would h ave got rid of the troubles on money and morals ,

but his love was his life . The girl was also complaining of things going C er l ontrary to h wishes , and specia ly when she grew pessimistic owing to frequent obstructions by

others for their meetings , she was told by him

about the situations of his g reat troubles . Now a nd a she made her resolution in her mind , g ve “ him a hint for death as follows : If it is impos S e ibl for us to meet freely in this world , we would

go to a better land . On Mount D eath and in the R iver S tyx there would be nobody that interrupts ’ us .

Thus they consented to co mmit a double suicide . They ran to th e woods Of the Tenjin S hrine ; the of h is z man cut the throat girl with a ra or , and h t en killed himse lf with the same weapo n . ’ Many were the instances of the s hi n ji i in th e G enroku age , following the almost equal course of life from their first falling into mutual love to

their tragical end , after struggling long against ffi o l the great di culties of pecuniary , social and m ra 1 3 1 TH E OF TH E C E STORY GEISHA IR .

. h e af n k questions I n t succeeding ages ter _Ge ro u we are told that there were the events regarding the united suicide between young men and women . Even in the present time we often read in news papers the paragraphs reporting the foolish and o f cruel death couples in blind love , though the fe ales are not limited to the profess ion al girls nm o y . Now let us see th e diff erent kinds of th e double suicide in this country . The most s tran g e one w as the joint double suicide of two couples . In the same roo m and at the same hour the two men kille d their respective girls and committed suicide soon after .

' Another marvellous event was the s hi n ji t by ’ th e coercion , and it may be suitable to call it man s

S uicide after murde ring his g irl . We have never heard the suicide of a murderess w h o killed her lover . If we say that there was a double suicide b o s hi n a y a single pers n as a kind of the j , you would wonder what it means . But actually there were no few instances o f a suicide given such a ridiculous appellation . A lover and his girl con sented to com mit a double suicide at a certain th e place , but either of the two broke promise and did no t appear to the appointed place at the ap pointed tim e ; then he or she was compelled to ! die alone . What a great fool Another foo l w a s a man who committed suicide “ He h is . after stabbing a photograph of sweetheart _ lo v ed h er t o k h e r heartily , but could not bear ill ,

S O h e took her photo as th e substitute for h er . Ho w funny is it that the fortunate girl did not k now the dea th of the ki n d and g en er ou s lover ! ff Besides those above mentioned , the di erent

' kinds of strange s hi n jti were The double suicide of two girls (unconcerned in love) .

1The treble suicide of a lover and his two girls . 1 3 2

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

. . h tongues , etc , etc Most of t ose died by dro wn emb ra c ing had the two bodies bound up tightly, ing each other . A superstition for the double suicide was that the two could be together in the future world if they died with their clothes worn by exchanging each other . Now let us say something more from the moral and reli ious points of view abo ut the double s uicide 0ga man a nd a girl in the ardent love like a burning flame . W hat degree of morality is the phenomenon of the double suicide produced at ? We are sure that there is a close connection between the phenom enon and the morality ; no double suicide can be found in the society of human beings who have no reflections upon morality . When the society developed to the age where the violation of morality was accompanied with strong pains and where the self- control practised by r e fl ectio ns and endeavours , we could see the first appearance of the double suicide . It does not take place in th e human s o ciety of the rudimentary,

“ - o n morale , and certainly it is a counter phenomen f O the advanced morality . The inspiration of Buddhism into the mind of th e Japanese people contributed not a little to the ‘ occurrences of the s hi n ji t . The religion can be classified into the two principal sects : one a d vo ~

cates the doctrine for the present world , praying

the present happiness , and the other for the future ,

aiming for entering Nirvana . By suicide every o ff bo dy expects the necessary death , and to cut the connection from the present world ; so he h as no need for the doctrine regarding the present

world . If he has any hope after death it is for

the future , and the double suicide is generally carried out with some expectations for the future

world . ‘ hi n i i a o r The reso lutio n for the s j is lways , at the a nd least mostly , attended with idea of the soul 1 34 future , and we can reasonably conclude that the Buddhistic doctrine of the futurity sect gave a a mental ide , or became one cause, or

resolution , for commitment of the

g we have to Observe that at very rare to have the news of the s hi n u j , but remember that we cannot the unworthy events are extirpated for a in all gay qu rters in the country . I have much of my knowledge of the g ei s ha I now make a work on Home Life in in which I will fully describe the daily

milies together with marriages , funerals , o servants , socials and religi ns , children , women , o k politics , w r , and also ideals of the Japanese .

1 35 APP END I ! I

S ONG S

.W E shall g ive some popular songs sung by the g ei s ha g irls

FLOWE RS

Th ere ar e m any ki nds o f b eaut ifu l fl ower s i n co o u r s l , B ut t h er e i s no fl owers b etter tha n o ne whi ch I am ve r y

fo n d o f .

I left b eh i n d a flower yet i n b u d ; i t w ei gh s o n my mi n d wh eth e i m i th m r t ay blow w o ut e .

A MAI D E N ’ D o n mi n h e nn cen ce sh wi so n a rr i a u ert t d r i o ; e ll o ve t p b y. S ee a h u m bl e cot t a g e shi n e d u po n by m o o n light ; e l ow er s o n t h o r n ro se - sh Or s ee b aut ifu fl a y b u .

On h er w a ho m e ro m th e t r an s ant at i o n of ri ce y f pl , S he i s p u lle d by t h e Sle eve an d Wi n ke d at f or th e me et i n g .

i n th e e ve .

S h e li st ens f or a Kom uro to n e sun g as a si g nal fo r b ecko n m g An d d r dp s o f de w r e m ai ni n g o n th e w ee d s ar e r ea d by h er t o b e sp ell e d My l ove !

A S UMMER EVE NI NG

i awa By wat er i n g t h e ga r d en th e h eat o f d aytim e s me lt ed y, . And a g r e en b am b oo bli n d ha n g in g n ear the wi n dow 1 5 o l ze wavi n g by a co b r ee .

u l o f t h e ar en m o o n i h t i s shi ni n alr ea On a p dd e g d l g g dy , n t h v Th o u gh i t i s not yet d ark i e e e . 1 36

GIRL .

If I (10 11

B ut i f see hi m \ t o o se fi sh I , l S o n o f hi i o f d m am I th at I e nvy h i s love l n ess.

A ME LON WAT CHMAN

A fa r m e r cu ltivat es a m elon B ei n g afrai d o f d er er s h e e e s w at ch 0 , k p B u t a t er se era l n i ht s o n th e w at ch f v g , ni ght th at h e fe ll a sl eep wi th a m elon

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL S hikoku Island and S atsuma province in Kyushu

Island are also the cradles of them . — Under the general denomination of SO called beauties there are differences in the type of coun te nance according to the dissimilitude of local tastes : the typical girls of Tokyo are of light

brownish colour and slender body , those of Nagoya have the face with its lower part plumpe d ’ o ut - , Kyoto beauty s face resembles an over turned s i osceles triangle in its form , Osaka fat, and

Ech igo the fine skin . The ms th etic views are different according to

the human races . The types which gratify us do not please the European s ; we tremble to see the ’ S S ea barbarian s girls in the outh Islands , and do not take the C hinese ladies Of round forehead f as the beautiful . The di ference of taste is not s co m only found on the face , but also on dres ing ,

portment , and everything . I n a race we fin d that the taste on beauty diff ers

in each epoch . In a certain age the Japanese women S haved o ff thei r eyebrows and blackened their teeth ; the girls were glad to apply very thick roug e to their lips so that its surface appeared to f glitter Besides dressing , there were di ferent f tastes on the form of face in di ferent ages , and there may be no Objection if we say that the form popular at the present time is rather round . I n the eleventh century when the court officials of the Fujiwara family exercised their influence , the fat wom en with the eyes narrowly open and lower than usual at the external ca n th us es were loved by men ; the shape of the face was so mewhat round with the swollen cheeks and the do uble chin . I n the Kamakura age (twelfth and thir t ee nth centuries) the S imple warriors Of the mili tary clan in the east seem to have preferred the fine and S lender beauties in contrast to the taste o f tro uble so me court nobles . 1 40 In the Tokugawa age (sixteenth to nineteenth

G - centuries) the enroku epoch (A. D . 1 68 8 1 703) wo uld be proper to be taken as the representative On for the age the points of fashions , tastes , and inclination s ; indeed the Genroku was the period most prosperous , wealthy , and peaceful through out the Shogunate dynasty of Yedo . No w let us refer to the taste on the beauty at this epoch more minutely : The roundish face in a little rosy colour , the eyes not narrowly opened , thick eyebrows , the nose high gradually down e wards , the small mouth , the teeth whit and in w regular ro s , the longish ears with narrow edges , the thick , black hair regularly combed above the a n d forehead and round the long neck , the long pliant fingers with thin nails , the small feet , the k trun longer than usual and the waist not big ,

- dignified in the figure and tender hearted , well trained in all accomplishments neces sary for the

o . female , and no mole all over the b dy If we refer to the pictures drawn by the famous t Mo ro nob u His h ikaw a artists in his epoch , such as S u ke nob u and Nishikawa , we can easily under stand the type o f the beauty at the period . For G the types after the enroku , the pictures by Uta maro or T o yo ku n i would show the reflections of the succeeding periods .

’ ' A - Y0 k0 ham a

The gay quarter i n Yo kohama was first estab li she i n z k A. D . 1 860 d at M ato a i S treet in , a year after th e port was first opened for the foreign ei s ha- trade . At first there were five or six g houses in the street , and most of the girls were to attend the gu ests who visited the brothels o f the quarter . Ga nki r O The largest b rothels at the time were , Iw azato rO Iso s uzuro S h - Gankiro , , and in , and the £1 4 1 TH E STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

Ga n ki ro was very popular among foreigners as a

merriment place for them . A great gate stood at o f th e the entrance quarter , and , passing through Na ka no chO it , there was a long street called the (Middle S treet) ; on both sides Of the street there w e S ix - e Of ei s ha found guide hous s , a guild fice of g ,

and the largest brothels . Turning to the left e o f Mi nato za ki S ther was the first street treet , and h - ere a row of the g ei s ha houses could be found . Afterwards the quarter was removed to S uga S S tami treet , next to Takashima treet , and at last Ei k ra u e S . to and Magan treets , as it is at present T ei sha 1 he g girls are divided into two great circles , the Kan - nai and the Kan - g al ; the former is in th e central part , and the latter in the outer side the of city , the greater part of the girls living in th e central part and amounting to over three thou

sands i h their number . I n th e east suburb called Kanagawa there lives a great body of girls , independent of the two

circles of the city . In the pleasure quarter of the district there was a grand famous bro thel called im ur O t h e p , well known among foreigners as

0 . I! o s A. D . 1 0 . shop , but it cl sed busine s in 9 3 In the girls of Yokohama there are some who can hardly speak and understand Europea n h h languages , and it is very funny to ear t eir Yo ko h am atic G English or erman , chattering boldly

among young Japanese and foreign dandies .

— B Nag oya

o t o f N The licensed pr stitute quar er agoya , the

largest city at the central part of Japan , was first

A. D 1 8 s established in . 74 , and then in tho e streets S h ich ike ncho U o no tan a h C hojamachi , , and , whic were the seats of gay circles under tacit permission th the U p to e above date , the girls in profession of £145

GIRLS IN CITIES AND TOWNS singing a nd dancing appeared publicly in abun ei s ha dance . The g girls living within the licensed e quarter wer not few , too , and as their houses were marked with lanterns hanging at the doors , they were nicknamed Lantern Girls . The brothels keeping a goo d number of singing girls in their own employment , they did not like to hire those lantern - girls for the guests who visited the brothels and wished to engage the g ei s ha . As the result of the long quarrels between the

- brothels and the lantern girls , the latter left the s quarter at last , and opened their busines at Mon zenchO S A. D . 1 8 o treet in 95, organising a new p wer

u - ful circle under the name M ts u mi r en . About the same time there happened feuds amon g the three C hO a m ach i U o no tan a S h ichike n circles of j , , and chO S , and they were compelled to plit into several

S maller parties . At present the following g ei s ha circ les of Nagoya are rivalling one an o ther ‘ Ku ru w a e S ei - ei As a hi S hi n a (licens d quarter), , , ' “ n orn e Mu ts u rni - - Ki n o Azu m a , (ex lantern girls) , j , ,

' f .Ya wata Yan a i S a ka e S en i t . , g , , and y Nagoya girls are very noted for their beauty and accomplishments , and we are told that their skilful dancing of the Nishikawa school cannot be se en at any other cities .

C - Kyol o

Fo r a few years after the capital of Japan was D removed to Tokyo (A. . the gay quarters in

Kyoto were solitary , but they could recover their t Of old prosperi y , together with the establishment D the First National Exhibition in the city in A. . 1 8 2 th ei e { 7 , and at present are eig ht licensed Gio -n quarters for girls : Gion A C lass or Proper , G Z - Mi a aw achO ion B C lass or eze ura , y g , Shima Kam i sh ichi ken S h o-S h Go banchO bara , , ichij hinc i , , and Po ntoc ho. (P43 TH E STORY OF TH E GEISHA C IRL

Gion Proper is th e best spot for singing and

dancing throughout the city , the largest and most celebrated restaurants within its boundary being T o r iim o to T Mantei , Izutsu , , and O

- gano O . If a great party is given in one of these large restaurants it is a custom to have the three succeeding dances of girls performed to enhance the mirth ; the first is the fellow dance of small the a dancing girls , second th t of younger singing

girls , and the last the single dance of an older

girl . Besides the restaurants above mentioned and t many other large and small ones in the vicini y , there are two kinds of public - houses called kas hi zas hi ki s e ki a s hi Ich i r i ki M i no o so and g ; , y , and O no tei are the most famous of the former and t h e fi rs t - ac generally attended by class girls , the co m m o d a ti o ns O no tei of the last , , being most suited for foreign travellers ; and th e latter are a kind of inns and most Of them found in a row in the S tre et Kiya mach i along the River

Takase. After the first of July all these houses are arranged with the o pen floors or platforms con

structed over the stream , and towards the evening guests assemble here to take cool and hire girls

whose chatters , laughters , singing , and playing on s ami s en are so noisy that the sound of currents

of the river are utterly overcome by them . (S ee Kyoto in The Nightside of P o n toc h o is the old and very prosperous quarter

next to Gion . It is situated on the western bank O G of the River Kamo , just pposite to ion on its

east bank , and limited at the Sanjo Bridge to the A north and the S h ijO Bridge to the south . long both sides of the street there stand the public - houses kas hi zas hi ki S in two rows , and on the western ide we find a number of alleys which lead to the S treet h i a e th e k Kiyamac . The River Tak s washes ban s 1 44

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

S h ima no uch i S is sometimes called or hima , and

is the centre of pure Osaka g ei ko .

- - 2 . Kuro emon cho , on the south bank of the River D Oto m b o r i and limited by the Bridges Ebisu

and D aikoku . - h S e o f 3 . Yagura mac i , ituated betw en the south ‘ the Bridge Ebisu and the Bridge Nippon . It is

the most thriving place throughout the city .

- 4 . Namba shinchi , the whole ground reaching hib ai ra fro m S u to the Namba railway station , con S isting of six streets from Ich ib a nchO (first street)

- to Roku bancho (S ixth) .

. S a h e m 5 ak mac i , locat d to the east of Na ba

shinchi . - - S k h Namba shinchi , Yagura machi , and a amac i 1 1 2 n were once ruined by the fire of 9 , but at prese t

- they are completely r e established . ei s ha has Horie, another quarter of g girls , lately made a great development and produced a n umber

of go od girls . The two greates t and most renowned g ei s ha o e To nd a a Ya m ato a h us s in Osaka are y and y , both S O- - chO of which are S ituated in the S treet emon ,

one of th e five gay streets of the south quarter . Each of these houses employs over one hundred

girls , and it is said that there is no great party given by a firm or a bank in Osaka in which g ei s ha Of T o n d aya or Ya m a to ya are not found among the

girls waiting up o n the guests . Every evening , no s matter whether it is rainy or stormy , the ound of s arni s en and drums can be heard fro m the rooms

of these two houses , and there is not even one night in which none of their girls is engage d to

restaurants . Ho w horrible is the influence of the girls of these houses and how wonderful their pro sperity ! Both To ndaya a n d Yam atoya have their build ings for guests and houses fo r girls ; the f ormer are to receive the customers who wish to drin k and 1 46

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

To nd a a . As th e of y result of its bad rumour , a greater part of its customers has lately run to Ya m ato a k Kat s ura a . t y , Ita o , and y Yamato a Taking advantage of the occasion , y encouraged its girls , young , able , accomplished , To nda a and far more beautiful than Yachiyo of y , S to catch the guests to their own ide , and it was wonderful to see that wind began to blow favour Ya mato a h able for y , and t at within a few years it stood aloft abo ve all the hitherto so - ca lled fi rst e class hous s , grasping much greater influence

h e . t an Tond ya , its once formidable rival Much surprised to see the great and sudden pre

f Yam ato a T n da a : dominance O y , o y was compelled to defend itself against the new powerful enemy , “ ” repenting of its tall talk as To nd aya of Jap an . An alliance under the name of Arts S timulating Ass ociation was made among To nd aya and its , - h fellow girl houses , with a view to t reaten and press down Yamato ya . The fierce competitions between the two g reatest girl - houses at the south qu arter of Osaka may be o the s To nd a a c mpared to War of Ro es , y being Ya m ato a — the red and y the white rose Yachiyo , S e Katsu , and hig , generals in the red army , com f Hid e a S manding their younger o ficers , y , atoei , Hito ko to Hide u Hider fi , Koichi , y , Komako , y , — e- a kko M ats uch i o so o n Mam y , y , and Tama and h Tomo , the leaders of the w ite , encouraging to f h achieve great exploits O t eir younger warriors , ' Ko ta ke Ham a ti k S h im e k o h , y , Koto u , , Tsuru a ,

Ko s h im é Ta m a u E SO . Tombo , , j , mika , and on M i o zur u Ko s o m é Ko ach i o the y , , and y y are

- super eminent dancing girls in the red , and Itoha and M its uh a those in the white party . S till more there are Thirteen D aughters w h o form a body of nice young girls from thirteen to fifteen years O ld the , and are esteemed as the jewels of latter party ; they are so well trained in all arts of 1 48 CITIES AND TOWNS

S g , inging , and playing on musical i ns tru that even the older girls of the opposite p arty not help to admire their good accomplish

e ntS .

— ’ E . K6 be

Kobe is the greatest port in the western part of n pan , and as it is in about equal dimensio to

or Nagoya , there should have been the the number equal to those in each of the but we are sad to say that Kobe is much inferior to them on this point at present . It is a new city established and develo ped within e only fifty years , at first having been a s aside quarter like a settlement into which people gather ed from all directions . Men and women who flo cked together into the narrow belt of land bordered by the hills on one S ide and by the sea water on the other were all outcasts or vagrants defeated in the struggle for existence in their native provinces and compelled to find any means of living at a certain unknown district . w ho The wanderers , had settled themselves at this hopeful new p ort , began to work desperately to n earn mo ey , and struggled one another mentally and physically to attain his or her first and greates t success . Taking no care of their bad constitution h and ugly countenance , it is natural t at they could not produce beauties among their descendants . e Kob is not the origin of beauties , but its degree of wealth is much higher than that of Nagoya or

Kyoto . The higher is the degree of wealth and o civilisation at any quarter of a country , the m re beauties are imported into it from all directions . was once the capital of Japan where th e wealth and civilisation of the country were co nce n trat d a w ho e , and the be uties had poured into the I 49 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL city from all provinces were the element lent productions of new be auties in s u ages ; no doubt the improvement of females w as carried out in the old capital by concentration of local beauties . No w we find in Kobe a great number of nice girls brought from various cities and towns . Sing ing and dancing girls belonging to the C entral and C G the New entral uilds , which are called to be the KObé representatives of the beauties , amount to n - s over three hundred at present , and ine tenth of ' fro m Osa ka o them are immigrants , Ky to , Tokyo ,

Nagoya , and other towns . The two great circles of beauties Of Kobe are one gathered in the Streets Ha nag um a and Moto machi to the east , and the other living in the u kuw a ra quarter F to the west ; again , one line from Nu no b iki the I kuta passage to to east , one line from M inato Street of Hyogo , the suburb of the Ya n a w a ra city , to gi to the west , and one line running thro ugh the bluff to the east from Oku hirano to the north are all the regions of beauties , the greater part of them consisting of those im

p o rted fro m o ther cities . To classify the beauties of Kobe according to o f their state distribution above mentioned , the girls who form the C entral and the New C entral Guilds in the S treets Ha n ag uma and Moto Ha n a uma u k are called the g circle , those in F

the Fukuwara circle , those in the Streets no m i a S a n n o m a y , Ikuta , Ninom iya the iy those distributed in Ya nag iw a ra and vicinity th ff t Hyogo circle , and those on the whole blu h f e w ho l Blu f circle , the five circl s existing in the

city and s uh u rb in all . Though the three hundred girls of the and New C entral Guilds are noted as the r a tiv es e t of the Kob beauties , and certainly

comparatively nice in their complexion , yet 1 50

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL w ho dress themselves simple and elegant to attend upon the Japanese customers . Though the number o f girls in the S an no m i ya S et circle is mall , y there we find relatively many beauties comparing to those in th e Fukuwara

- quarter . S adayn and KO yo kko are the first cl ass o Ya kko a and most p pular singing girls , and is young and hopeful dancing girl ; Ta kéyakko is a h tall and c arming girl , and her mouth , whose U r lower lip projects to receive the ppe , is full o f i amiability ; and among other graceful g rls , ' Kiku ti o neh ach i y , Fumiko , Y , and Kinta , we can point out Ri ki - ya kko as a beauty of fine physique her thick black hair and white roundish face are in goo d proportion to her healthy body in best development , her vivid eyes having a magic power to fascinate th e males . As the bluffs in all cities are generally resided G by higher gentlemen , rich merchants , and overn fi ment of cials , so is a line of hillside of Kobe , S i consisting of the treets Ishi , Hirano , Yamamoto

- a Ku m o ch i . dori , Yam te dori , and The daily life o f people living in these higher quarters is much different from that o f those in the mercantile streets Of it in the lower part the city , and is natural that there is a great diff erence in the s tyle of dressing and everything between the g irls in these opposite positions . In the Yamate and Yamamoto S treets of th e f e S blu f , conn cted with the quarter of the anno o f a miya circle , there is a body girls dorned them

- selves i n the S O ca lled dignified bluff style . They E are active in character , and can speak nglish , G French , or erman , though it is broken and vulgar in general . Most of the customers for them are foreigners living in the settlement or on a visit to Nu no b iki the Japan . If we visit , famous large waterfalls hanging down on the hillside of th e same h - th e name situated to the nort east of port , we 1 52 A CO P Y O F A ' P I CTU R E A C O PY O F A PI C T U RE

D R AWN T OYO KU NI D RAW N UTAM AR O BY , BY .

THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL

everywhere throughout the country , and in all these spas young nice girls of a special profession S n live in the pring hotels , restaura ts , or their own houses standing around the S pring . They are a kind of singing and dancing girls . Near Kyoto the famous hot bath resorts are Aras h i am a a y , Kas gi , Uji , and Yawata . Kasag i is a very celebrated one from ancient times ; the bo ttom of rocks along its north bank is washed by the pure water of the River Kizu running fro m e east to west , and to the south it is protect d by

Mount Kasagi , noted for the remains of the tem po r a ry palace of Emperor Go d a ig o in the dark

. D age (A . We find more t han thirt y girls

a - living in the larger restaur nts , such as Kasag i tei - r o - and Matsukawa , as well as in the bath hotels — those who live in restaurants are called by the ei s ha h general name of g , but the others in bat o f u n a h h tels take a dif erent denomination , y , w ich ” - means bath girls , though they wait upon the s ai ni s en s guests , play on , and sing the ongs just l ei s ha as equa as the g do . Most of them are the natives of Osaka and Kyoto . h Uj i is a pretty town , to the north of w ich the S S River Uj i is purling , and the pot of the pring is at the foot of Mount Asahi , towering high above h the upper waters of the river . In t e town there live o ver twenty singing and dancing girls who can be engaged to any of the bath - hotels o r the res i s t au r a n ts . As they have no guild their fee not a r e fixed . Most of them the Kyoto girls refined up with the clean water of the River Kamo , which runs thro ugh the old capital . Uji and its vicinity i s the quarter famous fo r the

- production of tea leaves , and if we visit it at the season of tea - picking we will be much pleased to listen to the interesting popular so ngs sung by tea pickers , who are generally young maidens painted beautifully and dressed neatly , their head being 1 54 GIRLS IN CITIES AND TOWNS

covered with a white Japanese towel . These tea pickers ’ songs are always popular among the Uji ei s ha g , whose shrill voice singing these songs acco mpanied by high to ne of s ami s en can be heard late in night from hotels and saloons standing on ‘ the high banks of the river . The first and largest hot bath place near Osaka

- is Arima , travellers being conveyed by motor cars

from the M ita railway station to the resort . There are two large buildings in which bathroo ms are — fi ne - arranged is called the higher bath hall , and

the other the common one . The former is S ituated

near the Bridge Taiko , and the latter at the centre — o f the town the former is divided into S ix bath a Of i n rooms , e ch which can be occupied by an

dividual or a family , while the latter is provided

- with one large broad bath place . Around the halls there are a great number of hotels in good hospitality and perfect accommoda

- tion to bath takers , and all these hotels employ u n a - y (bath girls) , who accompany their customers

to the halls and take care of them on their dresses ,

ar . footge s , and everything To bre ak the monotonous life and try the local

- taste of merriment in the bath resort , we can hire ei s ha the g girls , who spin the webs to catch the

bathers . Some of them live in the streets of

Arima itself , but the greater part of them are found o in M ita , a stage t wn near the station of the same

name . We will be much pleased to see the Arima dance which is performed by these girls with acco m

pa n ime n t of peculiar so ngs . As the Arima S pa is located on a tableland ,

autumn cool comes earlier , and towards the middle of October wood trees are decorated with the ru s set r o leaves soon . If we get out of bed ea ly m rning

and O pen the windows wide , we can find the top of Mount Arima- Fuji and the woods and houses at its foot all enveloped in the morning mist ; and 1 55 THE STORY OF THE GEISHA GIRL o n the the stream of River Arima , which is noisily flowing over the rocks from the direction of the a D waterfall c lled the rum Fall , the steam of the hot spring is faintly rising . I n the narrow street some young girls dressed in a bath gown and with a towel in one hand are seen goi ng for the bath h all , followed by their guests . I n the town M ita there are over fifty girls w h o

- organise a guild named the M ita ken , and the famous M ita D ance performed by them ca n be s een on the festival days of the tutelary god of the city or during the B o n festival of each summer (the B o n a is the feast in memory of the de d , celebrated f r for three days in July o the lunar calenda ) . Having surveyed the girls in hot spring quarters near Kyoto and Osaka , let us get on an airship and Ech i o fly to g , the north eastern province of the country . We have already told that Ech igo along the S ea of Japan is a district very noted for production of nice girls , and its themselves are reasonably o people proud of their native beauties . If we visit Niigata , S Nagaoka , Takata , hibata , or any other cities in the province , the first things which the citizens ei s ha S how us are the g girls . Though there a re so many circles of girls in these Ech i o h several towns in the province of g , t ose in

- Shibata , which is the northern most town , hold the n pure Ech ig o colour . Here about seventy si g ing and dancing girls live in the streets , and the re s taurants and waiting- houses into which they are h engaged by guests amount to over t irty . Among these girls we can find many beautiful ones , very reasonable to be b o asted by the Ech ig o n i ans for their excellent production of beauties . The girl who is looked up to as the representative of the Shibata belles and widely known to other Yae M ih as h i a - h lo calities , is of the y g irl ouse , and 1 56

G LF F R W ME O O O N .

B GEO RG E D N AN nn r f y U C , Wi e o the New s o f the ” or To u rna m ent 1 1 O en ha m io n o f Fran W ld , 9 3 ; p C p ce . 1 1 O en ha m ion of el iu m 1 1 2 Ho er o f t he 9 3 ; p C p B g , 9 ; ld Br itis h Recor d fo r fo ur con secutive r o und s Illus

t rate d S ecial Photo ra hs . o th . rown 8vo by p g p Cl C .

3s . . 6d net .

This boo k is written a n d illustrated o n entirely new line s by a ’ een a nd inte re ste st u e nt o f w om en s ol b ut m uch o f it wil k d d g f, l rove u il i ns ho correct p e q ally interesting t o m en . T he lustrat o s w a nd incorrect r i s s ta nces sw in s an d S hots o f a ll in s a s w e g p , , g , k d , ll a s the cha r acteristic s tyle s o f L a dy Cha m pion s o f the year an d o th er w e - n m n o rs M an o f th e ho to ra hs ll k ow n w o e g lfe . y p g p h illust rate a ct ua l shots pla ye d in the cha m pionship a nd ot er

m orta nt m eetin s s ho win their r i s sta nces swm s , etc. i p g , g g p , , g , a n d demo nst rating correct st yles and b a d o nes .

T WERNER LAURIE, Ltd .

Lo n do n 8 Es sex Street, Stran d, ’ U n ifo r m Edi i n f Pi e r r e i o o o s w o r k s 73 . 6 . t L t , d not each .

Ne w V o lu me .

M OROC C O .

B P ERRE OT . Trans ate W P B A NE y I L I l d by . . I S . ith m a n ustrations in co ours and ha f-tone W y Ill l l . D m s e y 8vo , 7 . 6d . net .

Pier r e Loti w as a member of a dipl o ma tic mission to th e Sultan of Mor occo at Fez and i n s s u s an x ra r n ar f cm at i n a , thi book he give e t o di ily as g ccoun t of the r n r a a jou y. The d par tu of car v n fr o T a n r n ca p n s n ly e e e the m gi’e , the e m me t , the ight a r r a M na th e cro ssm O —M C a ze n i n fl an a s as an iv l of the ou , g of the ued ood , the f t i d “ o w d cr A a r s n a fi p play of r b o , n c n s a n r y n o Fe z ar e the h eme the m g i e t t te e t i t , cr s i n a s cc ss n Of v 1v id c r s s r an c r . At Fez c arac de ibed u e io pi tu e of mo t b illi t olou , h t e r i st i call e nou L n s Ga n a nd r r s Ar a s a nd i ns m at y h , oti do the fto bu ow of the b u u ' s n the wn 1 b us s s scr n s r a him elf i to the ife of to . be ide de iptio ofthe fo m l r eceptio n. by t h e Sultan a nd other cer emonial fu nction s of th e mission he i s able to give u s un for getta ble i mpr ess mns of the town its elf With i ts str ange hous es an d nar r ow r s r a r to uou s s , of sl v a of fa ous os u f Karao ui n of th e , q o t t eet the e m ket the m m e , ’ a s ar a s n o n r s Ara s N r l die of the h em b ki the oof of the b hou es . eve has Lo tt s n r c r a s ns h a r r o r a r a wo de ful pi to i l e e f ee h ppie pl y . — Other o um es in the S er ies z ND A EGYPT S AM v l I I , , I , JAPAN in a io n ( prepar t ) .

FAI R HAVEN AND FOU L STRAND .

A T TR N ER a a B G S S D G . Tr ns te Fie y U U I B l d by C . ld .

row n 8vo . oth 63 . C Cl .

Si r Alin w or th Wr t a nd M r B lfor t B ax should w lco Str ndber as a igh e ’ e me i g ugh ty a lly i n their pr otes t a a i n st moder n woma n s u nga in ly attempt to scramble o n a s a s of m an L th e a n n S r n b r to pede t l by the ide ike bove two ge tleme , t i d e g a r r W r r fi s r r s r s n a n i r eg ds h e ith te i ed di t ust . Fo the two to ie of marr ied life co t i ed n “ Fa i r Ha ven a n d Foul Str a n d woman i s r epr esen ted as the fema le spider who fi r r s an n d h e r a T s a a r e r r c ars n s s st a llu e d the evours m te . he e t les f ee f om the o e e “ c d i sfi gu re s C n ss n s a Fo a n d t he r c r od s whi h th"e o fe io of ol , mo bid gloom whi h b o r n Th e n t ale i s ia n r a r e co r d m S r n ove the I fer no . s eco d s e pec lly i te es ting s g t i d '

r s r ss n s L n n c n s nc i n 1 8 an d n o t . be g imp e io of o do , whi h he o ly vi ited o e ( 93) did like