ABSTRACT
The"YedoKwagai-Enkwaku-Shi"(iip1Etij7~1$i~) says:-Whenayounggirlwasbroughttoabrothelasa Karnw·o,itwasusualforthekeeperofthehousetoseeandname her.Intheselectionofthesenameshigh-flowncognomenssuch aswerebestowedoncourtesanswerecarefullyavoided,and prettyinnocentnameswerechosen.Thesenamesrarelyexceeded threesyllables,andneverfourinanycase.Intheeventof twoKarnurobeingattachedtoonecourtesan,namesweregiven themtomatch:e.g.onebeingcalled"Namiji"(waves)the otherwouldbenamed"Chidori"(plover),orifonewascalled Kureha(~tilwasoneoftheweaverswhocamefromGo-a kingdomofChina-inancienttimes)theotherwouldreceive thenameofAyaha(aweaverfromanotherkingdominChina.) ThecourtesantowhomtheKamurobelongedwascalledher "ane-joro,"andthisa,ne-jOrofoundtheKarnuroinclothesand paidaU.otherexpensesinconnectionwiththechild.The keeperofthebrothelwatchedthebehaviouranddispositionof alltheKarnu'f'Oinhishouses,andifanypromisedtobecome famouscourtesanshehadtheminstructedineverybranch
of deportment, and taught the banjo (sarnisen), harp (koto), floral arrangement (ikebana), incense-burning (.r;enko ~W), tea ceremonial (cha-no-yu), and other accomplishments which were considered necessary in aspirants for the " profession." The behaviour of Kamuro towards their ane:joro was generally gentle and submissive, and they waited on her most assiduously. They attended to all her wants, waited on her at meals, lit her pipe when she desired to smoke, accompanied her when she promenaded in the Naka-no-cho, and ran all her errands in the neighbourhood. The Karnu1·o would also perform trifling services for the guests of her ane:joro such as bringing water for washing their hands, etc. It was the custom originally that no Karnuro should assist at a wine party, as she was expected to remain sitting by the side of her mistress in the same manner as the page of a feudal lord sat behind his master, but later no this custom was changed and now theKarnuro wait on guests and pour out the sake. When there was no available ane:ji51'o the Karnu1'o used to wait on the master of the house, and if the latter found her smart, beautiful, and likely to become a popular courtesan, he took her himself as a sort of adopted daughter, and had her educated at his own expense so as to fit her for the calling. On the other hand, girls who gave no promise of turning out well in the business were left without any education whatever, became household drudges pure and sim pie, and ended their days in dismal ignorance : under the most favourable circumstances, this latter class of Kmnu1'o would not be able to attain to reading characters other than hira,qana (an easy form of native script) and to a slight smattering of samisen playing. When a Kamuro attached to a courtesan was sick, her place was taken by one of the girls
