Japan and the Japanese illustrated . -Yosiwara nine distinct quarters exist,each in the form of a parallelogram stretching from cast to west. On the left of thegreat gate there are five; on tlic right there are four. The former are separated from thelatter l)y a long and spacious avenue of trees, whicli forms a beautiful promenade. Atone end is a watch-tower; and where three angles of the city meet is a chapel, built s s 3U LIFE IX JAPAN. out from the wall of the enclosure. A wide cross avenue in the centre of the quarterou the right also looks like a public promenade ; but it is reserved for
Japan and the Japanese illustrated . -Yosiwara nine distinct quarters exist,each in the form of a parallelogram stretching from cast to west. On the left of thegreat gate there are five; on tlic right there are four. The former are separated from thelatter l)y a long and spacious avenue of trees, whicli forms a beautiful promenade. Atone end is a watch-tower; and where three angles of the city meet is a chapel, built s s 3U LIFE IX JAPAN. out from the wall of the enclosure. A wide cross avenue in the centre of the quarterou the right also looks like a public promenade ; but it is reserved for the inhabitantsand visitors of the first-class houses by which it is surrounded. There, either-by dayor by night, according to the seasons, the feminine notabilities of the Gankiro are tobe found walking up and down, all dressed in the invariable kirimon, loaded withembroidery, .and in a marvellous head attire of tortoise-shell combs and pins. Eachof these women is accompanied by two or three pupils attached to her personal These young followers wear the colours of their mistress, and an elegant head-dress ofartificial flowers. The great ladies of Sin-Yosiwara have their apartments and their witli extreme elegance. Some of them are under the protection of youngmen of high family, who pay a stated sum to the chief of the Gankiro. The secrecyof such relations, more easily hidden than others from parental vigilance, gives them apeculiarly dangerous character. The women take advantage of this secrecy to gratify THE OANKIRO. 315 to tlie full extent their taste for luxury and ornament. More than one patrimony isswallowed up in the satisfoction of their- caprices and the ridiculous vanity of theiradorers. The Gankiro properly so called is the casino of the fashionables of Sin-Yosiwara ; payment is made to the door-keeper on entering, and the visitor is introducedto the conversation room. Admirable order is preserved. Pipes and refreshments, suchas a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidjapanjapanes, bookyear1874
