Bargaining at Hikite Chaya - The art of language at the entrance to Yoshiwara (Edo period)

Bargaining at Hikite Chaya - The art of language at the entrance to Yoshiwara (Edo period)

The Hikite teahouse in Yoshiwara was a relay point for customers before they passed directly to the brothel, and was an important place where customers, prostitutes, and intermediaries exchanged their first words. The scene in which the puller lifts his hand to a guest he has just met, saying, "This is a good customer," and the prostitute responds with a laugh, "Well, you say that so often," is a unique Yoshiwara verbal game. The art of responding to the other party in a manner that made him or her feel good while maintaining courtesy was a linguistic art that maintained a delicate balance between banter and dignity, and embodied the spirit of Edo's "iki" (stylishness). By the late Edo period, such exchanges had become a kind of social ritual, and the role of Hikitechaya as a place to test the "class" of its customers was strengthened. Some teahouses favored their regular customers, while others invited geisha to entertain their customers in the tatami room, where the skill o
f the conversation was evaluated. Conversation at Hikite teahouses was not mere business negotiations or seduction, but a sophisticated social technique, a cultural stage symbolizing the human condition in Edo, where laughter and tension, pride and bargaining intersected.