Voices in the sitting room where prostitutes and customers face each other - Yoshiwara Hatsukai Customs and Breathtaking - Yoshiwara
Around the early 1800s
The first meeting in Yoshiwara was a ritualistic occasion when guests and prostitutes faced each other for the first time, and it was the moment when the manners and tensions of the tatami room were most deeply expressed. The master of the house and the mistress of the house were always present, and the order of seating, manners, and language were adjusted so that the guests would feel at ease with the Yoshiwara's manners. During the Bunka-Bunsei period, the culture of the townspeople had matured, and Yoshiwara was the crossroads of Edo culture, where samurai, merchants, and intellectuals interacted across social boundaries.
The brief exchange of greetings, in which the usher introduces the identity of the guest and the prostitute returns the greeting in a gentle manner, was formal, but it was an occasion in which the culture and conversational skills of the prostitute could be most clearly seen. The oiran and tayu, in particular, needed to be able to instantly read the temperament of their guests, and to be skillful in releasing tension or arousing interest with a single word. In Yoshiwara, it was said that the art of speech could even determine a prostitute's status, and the greeting at the first meeting was the first step in measuring her ability.
In the background of the tatami room, the sounds of life, such as the shamisen playing behind the shoji screens, the faint sound of tokkuri (rice wine jugs) touching each other, and the footsteps of the masseurs, all of which were not recorded, overlapped and formed the unique atmosphere of Yoshiwara. The first meeting was not just a formal event, but a time of pomp and modesty, bargaining and civility, and a time that had the weight of an entry point for people to connect with each other.
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