ABSTRACT
Informerdaysthepresent"Dai-ya"(cook-houses)were called"Ki-no-ji-ya"owingtothefactthatamannamed Oda-wara-yaKi-uefirstestablishedsuchhouses.Originally onlythesmallerbrothelsweresuppliedwithfoodfromthese dai-ya,butnow-a-daysallthebrothels,irrespectiveofsizeor grade,drawtheirfoodsupplyfromthecook-houses.These dai-yasupplyeveryconceivablekindoffood,beitsushi(afish andriceroll,kwashi(cakes),soha(buck-wheatmacaroni), midztt-gwashi(fruit),orwhatnot;andaccordingtothe quantityoffood,dishesaredividedintothreeclasses,viz:- Nami-dai(ordinarydish),Dai-sho(medium-sizeddish),and 0-dai(alarge-sizeddish).Thesesizesarechargedoutat 25sen,37tsen,and50senrespectively,butthedai-yaare saidtosupplybrothelsatonethirdoftheaboveprices,andif thatbesothenthelatterearnaprofitoftwo-thirdsofthe sellingpricetoguestslThe'ruleistomakeapromptcash paymentondeliveryoffood,butasamatteroffactawooden ticket,bearingthesignofeachbrothel,isgiveninexchangefor dai-no-mono(foodbroughtin)everytimeitisbroughtin,and paymentismadethefollowingday.Itisstatedby"those whoknow"thattherearesomebrothelswhichhaveadebt ofseveralhundr~dYentothedai-ya.Thereareagreat manydai-yaintheYoshiwara,butthosewhichusuallysupply first-classbrothelsare"Koi-matsu"ofAgeya-choNi-cho-me; "Yao-kyu"ofthesamestreet;and"Matsu-no"ofSumicho.Incountingthenumberofdai-no-mono,theauxiliary numeral"mai"isused:thus"nami-sammai"tordinarythree
