Karitaku no Koto. (The temporary prostitute quarter.)

The kari-taku means the establishment of a temporary place for carrying on business when the Yoshiwara is completely destroyed by fire. When such a disaster occurs, the brothel-keepers apply to the authorities for a permit to establish a kari-taku, and their application is said to be granted forthwith, even in case of only partial destruction of the quarter by fire.

The Yoshiwara has been enjoying comparative immunity from fire for quite a long period, but as late as 1862 (May 29th) more than half of the brothels in the quarter were burnt to the ground, and a kari-taku was established in the neighbourhood of Fukagawa. During the time that the business is carried on in a temporary quarter, rules and usages are not adhered to very strictly by the brothels, and sometimes, under the pretext of aiming at simplicity, even tea-houses are allowed to carry on the profession of brothel-keeping. Under these circumstances, more money flows into the pockets of the brothel-keeper than in ordinary times, and the trade usually becomes brisker than previously, owing to a larger number of guests being attracted by the novelty of the altered conditions. When therefore the Yoshiwara is not prosperous, and trade is dull, the brothel-keepers not unnaturally wish for the establishment of a kari-taku. In the 2nd year of Kei-ō (1866), while the kari-taku was established at Monzen-chō, Fukagawa, an application was forwarded to the authorities by a certain brothel keeper, offering the payment of 10,000 ryō per annum if they would give permission to leave the “temporary quarter” there permanently: the application was rejected. The “kari-taku” practice originated in the third year of the Meireki era (1657) when the brothels of Fukiya-chō were swept out of existence by the memorable conflagration of that year, and pending removal to the Yoshiwara, temporary brothels were established at Imado, Sanya, and Yama-no-shiku by means of renting ordinary houses.

After that time, whenever the Yoshiwara was destroyed by a fire, a temporary quarter was established for from two hundred to three hundred days, either at Ryōgoku, Nakadzu, Takanawa, Fukagawa, Asakusa, Namiki, Hanakawado, etc. The temporary brothels established in the second year of Kōkwa (1845) were scattered here and there in twenty different streets, viz:—Yamakawa-chō, Ta-machi, it-chō-me, Ta-machi, ni-chō-me, Sanya-machi, Asakusa-machi, Shin Torikoye-machi, it-chōme, Shin Torikoye-machi, ni-chō-me, Shin Torikoye-machi, san-chō-me, in front of the Hachiman On-yado: (in Honjō district); Rokushaku-yashiki, Kaneyashiki, Nagaoka-chō, jit-chō-me; Hachirobei-yashiki; Matsui-chō, it-chō-me, and Irie-chō; (in Fukagawa district); Eitai-ji-Monzen-chō, Naka-chō, Higashi Naka-chō, Yamamoto-chō, Matsumura-chō, Tsukuda-chō, Tokiwa-chō, ni-chō-me. In Hanakawado-machi and Shōden-chō (Asakusa), Tamaya Sanzaburō, and twenty-one other well-known brothels, were carrying on their business under special charter (tokkyo) received from the authorities.

The official instructions issued at the time of the establishment of temporary brothels were not uniform by any means, as they were drawn up to suit special circumstances, but an idea of such notifications may be gained by perusing the following transcript of one issued in the 6th year of Kwansei (1794):—

Owing to the destruction by fire of the Yoshiwara, the carrying on of the profession in temporary houses is hereby allowed, provided that the Keepers strictly conform to the following conditions:—

(1). The clothes worn by the yūjo shall not be such as to be strikingly attractive.

(2). No yūjo or kamuro is to be allowed outside the houses, and this applies even to being outside the houses to which they may actually belong. Even inside the houses, they shall not be permitted to appear in the front second-storey or in the windows in such a manner as to attract passers-by.

(3). So long as the business is carried on outside of the regular quarter, everything shall be done in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, and no such displays as are allowed in the Yoshiwara shall be attempted nor permitted.

The following description of a Kari-taku is given in the “Yedo Honjō-ki” (江戸繁昌記 Records of the prosperity of Yedo):—

“A temporary brothel has, as a rule, very limited accommodation, its capacity being only about one-tenth of that of the proper permanent building in the Yoshiwara, while the influx of guests is ten times larger than usual. Under such circumstances the beds of several guests are packed into one room, and simply divided off by means of screens: this kind of sleeping accommodation is called wari-doko (a divided bed). The beds are so arranged that sometimes one’s feet are in juxtaposition with another person’s head and vice versa. Inside the screens may be heard the voice of a yūjo chattering to her guest and flattering him with complimentary speeches such as:—‘Ever since our first meeting my love for you has become an ardent passion, and my whole soul yearns for your presence. There may be days when the raven will cease its cawing, but never a night when I fail to dream of you, my prince!’ * * *

“Within the fortification of screens to the left you can faintly hear a guest whispering to his yūjo that if she loves him he is willing to redeem her and take her away. * * * In front, the guest would appear to be a student, as he is reciting some Chinese poems from the Tōshisen. By and by his yūjo begins to wonder what he is talking about, and asks him: ‘What magical words are you uttering, and what is that chōmen (account-book) you carry with you?’ ‘Alas! what an ignorant woman you are!’ the guest retorts, ‘these are famous Chinese poems which you would do well to remember.’ * * * At the back is a guest who has been deserted by his yūjo and who, finding it impossible to remain passive, is having frequent recourse to yawning and stretching. * * * Somewhere in the room is a gentleman who has been carousing too freely, and although he is so top-heavy that he cannot stand up, he objects to lying down and going to sleep. He is apparently so beautifully boosy that when he struggles hard to arise from his couch his legs give way under him and he sinks back huddled up in a heap. Disappointed, but not discouraged, at his inability to get up, the groggy veteran begins to express his maudlin sentiments in a loud grumbling voice, venting his indignation one moment and laughing at imaginary objects the next. Shortly afterwards he will endeavour to relieve the monotony of existence by starting to sing Kiyari (firemen’s songs) in a shrill falsetto tone with all the force his lungs are capable of, but every now and then breaking down and finishing off with an inarticulate mutter or drunken gurgle.

“All of a sudden the lovely noise ceases, as his companion yūjo, fearing that his continued bawling may disturb other guests, tries to gag the singing inebriate, persuades him to lie down quietly and go to sleep, covers him over with the bed clothes, and thus extinguishes him for the balance of the night. * * * Now, one guest, who has been sound asleep under the influence of liquor, suddenly wakes up and starts off to obey the calls of nature, but in the semi-darkness he comes into contact with the wall of screens surrounding him. Then he gropes around in order to find an outlet, but failing, owing to his muddled condition, to discover his geographical position, he commences to angrily demand the reason of his supposed imprisonment and to threaten that if he be not instantly released he will smash everything in the house. No reply being forthcoming, the pot-valiant young man kicks out savagely at the screens around him, knocking them down on the top of those sleeping beauties within and rudely dispersing their pleasant dreams; and then, giving way to a paroxysm of maniacal rage, he makes a furious attack on the remaining screens, throwing them round and down in every direction, thus disclosing some very interesting sights in various parts of the room. This proves too much for the nerves of the other guests, and a general stampede ensues, the whole position being accentuated by the hysterical cries of yūjo and shouts of ‘fire,’ etc.”

From this description it is evident that ordinary houses temporarily transformed into brothels must have been interesting places to visit, especially when crowded with guests, and that many comical and amusing scenes must have been enacted within their walls. It is just because the kari-taku presented so many novel and funny features that persons were tempted to go crowding into them.