Ageya no sashi-gami. (Summons to the “Ageya.”)

In ancient times a guest was unable to visit a brothel direct, but had to negotiate for the services of courtesans through the “Age-ya.” The “Age-ya” then issued a written request or “summons” (sashi-gami) to the brothel, nominating the woman desired. The bearer of these sashi-gami accompanied the courtesans both going and coming between brothels and “Age-ya,” and as soon as guests had finished their “spree” and left, the yūjo were sent back to their respective houses. In the “Kwagai Manroku” (花街漫錄) a specimen copy of the summons is given: the size is about 11″ x 5″ (actually 9 sun 6 bu x 4 sun 3 bu) and wording as follows:—

Specimen of “Sashigami.”

To Shōzaburō Esq.

As we have a guest to-day, we desire to engage the services of a courtesan belonging to your house named Tsumasaki during the day-time. I guarantee that my guest is not one of those persons who are “wanted” by the authorities, but a respectable party, and should anyone be found to allege anything to the contrary I am prepared to offer an explanation of the matter at any time or place. The above is written for future reference.

5th day of the 5th month.

(Signed.) Kyūyemon. (Proprietor.)

(Countersigned.) Chōbei. (Monthly Manager.)

The above was issued in the “year of the dog”—the second year of Tenna (1682)—and at that time Shōzaemon was the keeper of the “Kadomanji-ya” in Sumi-chō. Again, in the same book, (Kwagai Manroku) are given the following rules, relating to age-ya, which were in force in the Tenna era:—

1.—Yūjo shall not be detained after the departure of a guest.

2.—A man-servant shall be provided by the ageya for the purpose of escorting yūjo to and from the tea-house: such servant to be barefooted (su-ashi.)

3.—Should a courtesan be unwilling to attend any particular guest, the yarite (female manager of a brothel) shall endeavour to prevail upon her to reconsider her decision, and, if the negotiation be successful, a summons shall be sent to her and the fee paid at the time of settling accounts. [In practice, the yarite had the option of deciding whether or not the guest should be accepted.]

4.—When a yūjo who had a previous engagement has been induced to attend to a later guest, the latter shall pay shurai-gin (an extra fee) to the tea-house which first engaged her. In case, however, of a substitute yūjo being chosen, no shurai-gin shall be paid, and if the original guest who had made special arrangements beforehand fails to appear, no room-rent (zashiki-dai) shall be charged.

Thus, when one wished to engage a courtesan in those times, he had to make a special arrangement in advance, fixing the date so as to avoid inconvenience, this agreement was termed a ken-yaku (兼約 = a previous convenant). The act of inducing a woman to cancel a previous engagement in favour of a later guest was called “morai” (貰ひ = something received, (a gift)), and when this was insisted upon, the successful bidder had to pay, besides the regular fee, an extra sum as compensation to the age-ya which was party to such previous engagement. This extra fee was the “shurai-gin” referred to in the above rules. The origin of the “age-ya” dates back to the Moto-Yoshiwara, and by the eras of Tenna (1681–1683) and Teikyō (1684–1687) these establishments had reached the zenith of their popularity. Since the sancha-jōro appeared, the age-ya gradually declined until the 10th year of Hōreki, when they completely disappeared, leaving hikita-jaya in their place.