ABSTRACT
The Y oshiwara inhabitants are all peculiarly superstitious people and great believers in omens, consequently they carefully avoid anything which may be construed as fore-shadowing ill-luck. The word cha (tea) is supposed to be unlucky because it occurs in the phrase o cha wo hiku (literally "to pu.hJerize ten," but idiomatically it is applied to women of illfame who are unpopular and means "to be out ~l employ-·ment ") therefore it is carefully eschewed not only by courtesans but by ge·isha. also.* The courtesans call "tea" "agaribana" ("going-up-flower": meaning a guest who is going up the stairs) or "yamabuki" ("yellow rose") or [Jji (the name of a place) because the liquor of the infused tea is the colour of the yamabuki flower, and because Uji (near Kyoto) is a noted tea-district. Ge·isha speak of tea as " o-de-bana " ("august-going-out-flower") because this expression conveys the sense of their "going out" and gathering presents (hana) from guests. Sitting on the staircase is looked upon with aversion, as this is supposed to decrease the number of
* For the derivation of this ph raRe see page 118.
