Random Japanese History

No.1

(*warning, this chapter will contain mentions of blood.)

[How prostitutes in the Edo period grabbed the heart of their customers.]

Prostitutes back then used all kinds of methods when it came to luring their customers.

They were constantly thinking how they could express their feelings about 'I treasure our time together this much'.
Whether that was true or not, well, the customers never had to know, right?

Expressing through nails and blood seals and more.

One particular way of expressing their feelings was by writing a vow to the gods.(*1)
Kumano Shrine would issue these papers back then, all the prostitutes had to do was cut the tip of their finger and make a blood seal.

The problem was, that during that era prostitutes were allowed to issue up to 75 papers if they asked.
Another problem was that the customers rarely knew this.

There was another method called 'Houzou', which literally translates to 'Releasing the nail'.

As many of you probably understand, this was a method that had the prostitutes peel off a nail from their fingers and give it to the customer.

But they wouldn't be able to work anymore if they actually did that, would they?
Which is why they would give a nail from their 'younger sisters', pretending as if it were their own.(*2)

There were also some customers that would ask for the prostitute's hair. This usually meant the customer would cut off a length of the prostitute's hair by themselves, as this was the main rule, but some prostitutes would cut off their sister's hair beforehand and give that instead.

Would you like my pinky?

An even more extreme method would be cutting off fingers.(*3)
This was a method where the prostitute would cut off the first joint of their pinky and give it to the customer. The man who received it would keep it a secret, and carry the piece around him in a small bag or box, never letting it out of his sight.
Some prostitutes would prepare fake fingers for this.

When it comes to love with pain, tattoos were an option too.
During the Edo period, tattoos were something you received as a punishment for crimes, but the tip of your thumb (which could be seen when you linked hands) was a place where the prostitutes would get a tattoo mole.
There were also some prostitutes who would get the same number of their customer's age of tattoo moles inked into the inner side of their arm. This escalated into the woman getting a tattoo of the customer's name on their arm.

If they didn't want anyone else's name tattooed on their arm, they would first burn off the former name on their arm and wait until a new layer of skin grew back.
Bonus fact. The most appreciated way was to have the customer write their name in ink on the prostitute's arm, and have a tattoo artist make a tattoo just like that.

But, like any other method the women found a way to fake it.
They would merely write the name in ink on their arm and let it peek through her clothing, which would rarely be caught because the room was always rather dark.

Back then, people who would fall for these methods were usually the uneducated samurais or farmers and merchants from small towns as they didn't have much experience with these type of women.

*1...起請文;Kishoumonn...vow to the gods

*2...妹女郎;Imoutojorou...usually called a 禿 (Kamuro), which translates to 'Bald'. This was because the Kamuro's were around 9 to 10 years old, and their hair was yet to be perfect. The prostitutes were able to become a 'Grown Woman' when they were around 15 to 16. Until then, the older ones took care of them.

*3...切指;Sesshi...Cutting fingers

*4...入墨;Irezumi...translates to 'putting in ink'. Tattoos are something the Japanese society comprehends as 'Bad person', so if any of you are planning to come to Japan and have tattoos, cover it. You will also be denied entrance to most hot springs if you don't.

-Noise