#Kyara Makura

[hopefull-mindset]

Kyara Makura (伽羅枕)

The Kuchi-e (Frontispiece) for Ozaki Kouyou’s novel of the same name; artwork by Takeuchi Keishū. The literal translation of “Kyara Makura” is Agarwood Pillow. It was a wooden pillow with drawers so that incense could be burned inside. It had been mainly used by those in the Red Light District.

Novel Description Translation:

Born in Gion, sold in Shimabara, and became famous in Yoshiwara, this is the story of Sadayū. As it continues to unfold the many brilliant stories surrounding her, the author's brush reaches its full potential, vividly capturing the state of times and the underbelly of humanity in appearance and richness. It’s one of the masterpieces of Meiji Era brothel literature and Kouyou’s first full-length novel.

Wiki Summary Translation:

Osen was the child of a Geiko from Gion and Mizuno Iwami-no-Kami, a Hatamoto on duty in the capital. After the death of her mother, she was taken in by a rice trader named Nishiokaya and raised in luxury. At the age of 12, her adoptive family went bankrupt and was sold to a bald man in Shimabara as a “stepping stone to tamanokoshi**”. At 16 years old, her fee was paid off by a retired man—then after his passing, became the mistress of a samurai in the capital. Wishing to see her father, she begs to come with him into Edo, but shortly after, the samurai dies and all that remains is a child she bares. At a loss, she visits the Iwami-no-Kami residence to find that her father had died 17 years earlier.

Hearing that her half-sister—who‘s the wife of a high-ranking man—missed her, she waits at Ueno Yamashita to meet her. However, the attendants of the Kago her half-sister rode scolded her and didn't let her get close. At the age of 22, in order to survive with resilience and a feeling of rebellion, she sent her baby to another and immersed herself in Yoshiwara, where she became an Oiran. She spent her dramatic, tumultuous years with the spirit and skill of a prostitute in Kofu at 28. Finally, she became a servant of a 67 year old man with leprosy in Kajikazawa. With the heartfelt wish to “extinguish the immeasurable amount of indiscretion that can be created”, she gently nursed him back to recovery.

As she cuts her black hair, she also cuts off the men that come into her life again and again. Till she’s 62 years old and onward, she secluded herself in a home within Dangozaka to enshrine the 34 departed souls of prostitutes.

(**tamanokoshi (玉の輿): I wasn’t entirely comfortable trying to put it into something concise, but it’s an expression that means money and status gained by marrying a rich and powerful man.)