The Shadow of Bagua Lurking in Yoshiwara in the Afternoon: A Quiet Afternoon as the Lovers Look Into the Future (Late Edo Period)

The Shadow of Bagua Lurking in Yoshiwara in the Afternoon: A Quiet Afternoon as the Lovers Look Into the Future (Late Edo Period)
Yoshiwara in the late afternoon was a completely different world from the glittering world of the night. There is no sound of shamisen music on the street, and the traffic is sparse, with only the distant echoes of peddlers' voices in Nakanomachi. At this time of the day, when there are few customers, the prostitutes are busy with their daily tasks, such as fixing their makeup, answering letters, and taking care of their costumes, but the atmosphere is still somewhat languid. In such a quiet atmosphere, the prostitutes suddenly called out to a fortune teller who walked in front of them and asked him to do bagua reading, reflecting the true faces of the prostitutes, which cannot be seen in the splendor of the night.
In the city, there were many fortune tellers carrying mats called matsutake. Spreading the mats on the ground created a place for divination, and fortune-telling was performed using a bagua board and a piece of wood for arithmetic. The small gratuities given by prostitutes in the form of small coins wrapped in paper are an indication of the lifestyle of the time. Ekisha often walked around Yoshiwara, and Nakano-cho was a busy street where both customers and prostitutes came and went, making it an ideal place for fortune tellers to do business. Ukiyoe and writings depicting Yoshiwara, such as Morisada Manuscripts and Yoshiwara Hosomi, record the appearance of these fortune tellers.
For prostitutes, fortune-telling was more than just a pastime. Living in a world where fortunes could change abruptly and their lives depended on the moods of their customers, they were often tempted to cling to the slightest sign of the future. Will their regular customers return, will they have a good customer tonight, will they make it through the new year? These were serious questions that directly affected their very lives. The act of calling up a fortune teller during the daytime was a wish to lighten their hearts, even if only a little, in the midst of the harsh reality of their lives.
At night in Yoshiwara, prostitutes became residents of the world of the arts, clad in skill and splendor. By day, however, their masks are loosened and their innermost fears and hopes are suddenly revealed. The bagua-viewing scene is a rare opportunity to capture the true nature of these women. The eyes of the prostitutes gazing at the bagua board placed on a mat of bamboo are much warmer and more human than those of the spectacular costumes, and they tell us of the quiet life that flowed in the world of Yoshiwara.
This moment when the shadow of the fortune teller crosses the daytime Yoshiwara is the very time when people live behind the scenes of the brothels. The fluctuations in the hearts of the prostitutes, which are often hidden by the glamorous night, are gently reflected on the bagua board.