Bagua wind rustling in Yoshiwara during the daytime, the afternoon when the prostitutes' true faces sway (Late Edo period)

Bagua wind rustling in Yoshiwara during the daytime, the afternoon when the prostitutes' true faces sway (Late Edo period)
The daytime in Yoshiwara was a time of tranquility, quite different from the splendor of the night. There were few customers, the three-stringed Japanese banjo was silent, and the sound of rustling robes and the voices of peddlers could be heard from afar in the rooms. This "idle time" was a precious moment for the prostitutes to regain some semblance of humanity. While they are busy with such chores as changing their makeup, inspecting their costumes, and sorting out their writings, the time passes slowly, and moments of relaxation arise. At such moments, people would stop a fortune teller walking down the street and ask him to perform a bagua reading, a scene that symbolized Yoshiwara in the daytime.
The fortune teller would spread out a mat of bamboo and deftly handle a bagua board and a piece of wood to divine the fortunes of the prostitutes' love lives, the movements of their favorite customers, and their future fortunes. The handkerchiefs given to the fortune tellers as gratuities were a reminder of the culture of the common people and a hint of the reality of life in the city. Unlike the glamour of the night, the daytime prostitutes showed their true colors, and their interactions with the fortune tellers were soft and friendly. The anxieties and expectations of these women were slightly lightened through fortune-telling, providing them with emotional support.
Fortune-telling was widely practiced in the culture of the common people in Edo, and Yoshiwara was no exception. Baguami in the daytime was a precious act for prostitutes to feel a brief moment of freedom and touch the future in a quiet moment. This scene calmly conveys another image of Yoshiwara hidden behind the splendor of the night.