Yoshiwara

by Eve Kaan

  She didn't know where to begin. 'Well - yesterday when we were organizing ourselves for the tour. You were the first to drive off in your carriage, while we were still waiting for the driver. Just then - the Mother of that girl came,' she stopped as if she didn't know what words to choose in her explanation. She spoke slowly, carefully selecting even the linker with which she was wrapping everything in unity. After clearing her throat Madam continued, 'you know,' she said, 'the girl you told me to have - how to say, well, I-I mean - booked during the ceremony,' than justified herself, 'I would not have spoken to her at all, but she found me on the road and just started.' I looked at her seriously with a glance and laughed in my thoughts. Her torture with words was amusing, 'She complained that Uta is still innocent and asked for the lady who bought her, then said she was losing her income daily. Her Mother had a whole list of interested ladies. B-but, my answer was very cryptic, and I told her to wait a little longer because I didn't know what you have decided for her girl. S-so - just so you know about the little problem that is being created,' she finished, all humbled.

  'You did well. This problem is no longer your concern. Call upon Uta today and keep our secret as if your existence is depending on it.' I have to intimidate her, only a little bit, so I showed her a small twitch of my lip in the form of a subtle smile. She got up from the futon. 'Of course Respected lady. From these steps I will send a girl to her house, they will come before you finish this tea.'

  She left the room. I laughed sweetly and continued to observe the green scene through the window holding the cigarette I lited. What am I going to do with her? It will be best to find a decent lady with whom her innocence will cease. I have never used Yoshiwaras girls, though it is well known that my aunt Etsu enjoyed them every day. That kind of joy doesn't suit me. Shallow relationships, without more profound devotion, are only a significant loss of energy and time. After all, even if I settle down with a family life filled with peace, how could I lead it with my commitment to Yoshiwara. I love my job. They have been raising me for this all my life, and there is no room for anything other than caring for other people, indulging in their needs. To my joy, in other ladies exist such a necessity, so we live in a house full of gold. Caring for our girls is the most essential branch on which Yoshiwara stands. Satisfied worker - satisfied clientele. What to do with young Uta, where to find her the right lady? With such a skill of hers, we will build another house in Yoshiwara. It's best to station her temporarily in the Great House until I decide to whom her hand will be given to. We'll wait for a new client who wants to afford such a girl. These clients so far have been pleasured by young debutantes, every one of those regulars spending a night with at least three of them over the years. Uta should be unique to her future lady. If her first experience remains as a beautiful experience, she will work with all of her passion.

  ✽✽✽

  Uta

  They did not tell me where I was going, and yet I dressed the best kimono out of the closet. Full of excitement I'm stepping into the Great House.

  Maybe I'll come out as a woman.

  They lead me through the high stairs, it's the same staircase below which I stood in my first encounter with Rin. If she is the owner of everything here, she may be in the house now. They stopped in front of some doors, and one of the girls knocked. Will she be the one to come out? My excitement grows, in our last meet, I was almost speechless in front of her.

  The door opens slowly. My whole body is frozen like it's made of wood, my eyelids not even blinking and with that, I'm only able to breathe air.

  'Come on in, girl, what are you afraid of.' an unknown voice invites me. Madam is at the door. I enter the room filled with gilded shungas. 'So this is how things are, my dear Uta. You were bought by a lady of unknown origin, because of that you have a meeting with the Respected lady. Your kimono is nice, but the hair's a bit messy. Now I'll bring the girls to get you ready before we go to see her.' She said and went out.

  I heard her silently whisper in the corridor beside the door, 'You need to prop her up. Bring the finest kimono we have. Make her hairstyle, and new okobo she needs. We do not know what the Respected lady is planning to do with her - in case she is like Respected Etsu, the girl has to look impeccably.'

  How is it possible they don't know who bought me? Why would they dress me up so much? There were myriad questions in my head, but the awareness that I would stand in front of her very soon stopped all my thoughts. Two girls come into the room and transformation began. I didn't even think that I had to be so dressed up and formal for a meeting with her. At first, they stripped me to the bare skin perfuming me with the finest oil. Than pulled expensive kimono on me, tied my obi as if I was still a debutant. They swirled my hair and arranged a hairstyle I've never seen before. Everything was running so fast, and before I could collect my thoughts, it was already over.

  The girls went out quietly. I waited alone.

  Certainly, Madam will take me to the chambers where Respected lady dwells. My obi is very tight, so I put my hands in it trying to loosen it a little. The doors opened, and I didn't lift my head - just commented, 'Here I am, all prompt, just this obi. Please, can you loosen it a little bit, I can't breathe?'

  'Come closer to me - Uta,' it was her sensual voice, 'of course I'll free you to breathe.'

  She is in the room, right in front of the door panel, wearing a black silk kimono embroidered with a silver ribbon and a pattern of petals along Bordeaux edges. The red cigar she smoked is attached to the black stick. She is approaching me slowly, sensuously, swaying her hips with the way of putting one leg in front of the other and tilting her shoulders in the process. Touching her own lips with a wooden stick, she held her head high and measured me as if she is studying me carefully. When our feet were almost touching, she stopped in front of me. Her breath spread through my shoulders. She looked at my mouth, then traveled with her gaze to my eyes. I was frozen. Removing a wooden stick from her mouth, she came with a smile and returned close to my lips. A tingling sensation spread through my skin like a sharp blade. I'm thrilled with the feeling of her breathing on my skin, soaking the warmth that her body exhaled. She is so close to me that I can feel her with my whole being. Her lips, her breath - it feels like a scent of early cherries. Blood raised to my cheeks making me blush. My lips are craving for the first kiss I could already taste in my mind. Her arm made it's way behind my body with tilting her head toward my neck full of tingles, and at that moment I just closed my eyes letting this sensation overwhelm all the senses I had.

  The only thing I felt is her hand on my back holding the obi.

  'It would be easier if you would've turned around, Uta.' she added with a smile. I opened my eyes. She put off her cigarette on the table behind my back and caught obi once again to loosen it. The cold wave hit me. I turned my back towards her. I'm not sure how to behave, so I stared in some shunga on the wall. It shows two women caressing each other's naked breasts. She finally asked in a cashmere voice, 'Is this better for you, have I loosed it too much?'

  'Thank you, that is fine,' I said quietly.

  Stepping away from me she picked up a new cigarette. Standing by the window now she said, 'Uta, you were bought by a lady who gave up on her intentions. Not because you're not appealing, you are very beautiful, and she is impressed by your skills. It's just, she is a very sensitive person. For the first time, she found herself in such a delicate situation, maybe that's why she decided to withdraw the offer - we can only guess. It's intimate nature. I did not question the reasons...' she further explained. My mind started to fill with thoughts of her, 'I was hoping that you had bought me. I want to share my first experiences with you. I wish you were that woman...' My destiny is to be rejected. How will I, after all, what happened with Utano, tell Mother that we have to return those golden coins she has proudly taken away?

  'What will happen with me and the gold now?' I bowed my head, directing eyes to the floor. My deep eyes filling with sadness.

  'No
body mentioned anything about returning the coins. It was a reward for your effort during the ceremony, the lady even left a tip - I almost forgot that important detail. Are you in a mood for some green tea?' I glanced at her. She raised her chin up, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled the smoke. The cigarette was moved away in a swift move from her mouth and smile formed on her lips while she was looking at me with warm eyes.

  'Thank you. I'm always in a mood for some tea,' I answered politely, rising my head to look at her. Sadness previously visible on my face replaced hidden happiness at that moment.

  Rin put off the cigarette in a bowl serving as an ashtray on the table. She turned and walked to the corridor. The excitement of the opportunity to spend some time in her vicinity overwhelmed me. I was walking behind her. She is moving carefully like a cat who did not look down from the roof. We stopped in front of some large, dark double door entrance. 'Bring green tea, sugared fruit, and nuts,' she said in front of that door while clenching the golden handle and opening it. Her chambers are at least five times larger than the rooms I have been accustomed to in my home. Through the centre of the floor spread a small stream flowing into a waterfall at the bottom. Along the edge of the stream are transparent panels, probably as a cover for the water. Near that panels lies a narrow futon covered in a marble pattern. Floor climbed for one step from the water level. There is a large, black table decorated with strange ornaments. I can see at least ten sitting places beside it, and in the corners of the upper part are porcelain vases full of fragrant flowers. Both sides are offering a magnificent view of the green crowns through the large windows. I've never seen windows that occupy almost the entire surface of the wall.

  Despite the luxury, the room is dominated by four shungas placed above some decorative table on a stone wall. These are the shungas with a unique sensual manuscript. Each presenting two hidden faced girls. On all scenes were the same girls. From the first to the last, it is as if the same thing took place in several stages. One girl was dancing with unbridled hair and casually shrouded kimono obi, loose enough to show her naked shoulders. The other girl stood almost behind her back, secretly watching her while subtly placing her hand on a crotch.

  Rin sat at the table pointing to a free space across. The water is rustling in the background. She opened her silver chest counting the coins. 'This is the tip.' she said, putting them in a bag, 'Uta, I decided to sell your innocence again. We are looking for a decent lady who has enough gold. The first experience is the most important one.'

  She stood up from the table, pulling the small golden box out of her kimono. Reddish cigarettes were inside. Standing beside the window, she looked out and added, 'Young girls are gentle like nature. They should be carefully cared for to turn into beautiful women. Just as we do with these trees that reached their maturity.'

  I turned my head towards her, watching without a blink. She lighted a cigarette with fire sticks. While taking the smoke, she leaned backward stretching the whole neck. Her skin tightened like tense butterfly wings. I nibbled my lower lip that wanted to touch her. She turned to me and after a short silence continued, 'You see Uta, a lot of wealthy women always apply to attend the ceremony. They are willing to pay more than it is required. We do not want for our girls to end up with just any woman, even though we let all the interested clients take part in the ceremony - for the amount they pay in order to compete. In fact, we carefully select the ladies who will be allowed in bed with our debutantes.'

  She stretched out her hand fastening kimono sleeves to the elbows while holding a cigarette. Her movement was to dispel ashes out into the wind. On her feminine hands is dark red nail polish. She twitched a cigarette with her finger - shaking of that amber I felt in the lower part of my belly. As I'm looking at her, warmth comes over me. The cigarette is held gently like a fragrant flower. From the embarrassment of imagining the feeling of her touch, I turned my head away from her. I could hear the slow breath in and the silent smoke release, my whole body shivered. In the same tone, she continued, 'Every woman is liable to our estimates. Gold in these circumstances is not the only thing we are interested in. We set up the bidding from our assessment to let the women we had previously approved as a lady with nice manners win...' 'You are a woman with nice manners,' I thought as she talked. 'It often happens that they offer less gold, but they are almost always generous with tips.'

  She moved away from the window and came back to me. Standing above me, she stopped talking for a moment observing every part of my body while placing an arm under her breast to hold the hand with cigarette up in the air. Unintentionally she squeezed her kimono, straining it around swelling female attributes. She has big breasts, silk is so tense that I can see her whole chest together with aureola around the raised part. 'Oh, just how sensuous this sight is,' was my thoughts. Suddenly starting to feel the place between my legs, the fluid spreads like a rose in the bloom of its soft pink petals. Terribly embarrassed for behaving like a lustful person. I subtly pressed the kimono, hiding my actions from her sight, to compose myself - this is a severe situation.

  She moved to sit on the opposite side of me and spoke again, 'We have a pleasuring entertainment in our facilities every few days. You will take part in those occasions until we evaluate which lady is compatible with our conditions. We will try to conclude the search as soon as possible.' The last sentence struck me. I will be attending parties in the Great House. Only the girls of supreme skills are invited there. How will I be prominent amongst them? She briefly said, 'In three days one of them will occur, with a start when the moon begins to rise up in the sky.'

  'Thank you. Mother will be happy with the news,' I replied when suddenly knock on the door was heard.

  'Come in!' Rin shouted loudly. The girls set up the plates of sugared fruit and nuts in front of us. One of them carefully placed a silvered plate on which the green tea is placed. 'That would be all for now!' She said sharply before the girls could even finish the serving. 'Uta, I want to see how skillful you are in the arts. You will serve me this tea as if I were a client.' She said strictly with a provocative smile. Nervousness permeated me.

  ✽✽✽

  Rin

  'Of course, I will serve you the tea, Respected lady.'

  Uta said in a weak tone of voice. I sat and watched in order to have an experience of it from my own perspective to determine her value in gold coins. She pulled her body off the feet to kneel over the table than stretched her hands to the kettle lid and carefully opened it. She pulled out a net full of tiny leaves, pressing the bottom of the grid with grips, squeezing all the liquid out. Few drops splashed on her lips, she licked them subtly returning the lid as if nothing had happened. I studied every movement of hers very carefully. She lifted the kettle holding it covered so the liquid would not leak. Her hand quivered at that moment. I was pleasantly surprised by the muscles that strained on her shoulders. She started to pour the tea, and the slowly flowing liquid splashed off porcelain walls. The rhythm of my blood pumping accelerated from the area of ​​my chest part. With sneaking a peek at me, she returned the kettle than lowered a teaspoon of sugar through the tensed tea surface, holding it with three fingers while the last two stayed stiffly bent in the air. She swirled the spoon in circulate motions disturbing the soft membrane of liquid. I felt a pulsation in just one point of my body. She pulled away the teaspoon shaking every drop from it. After lowering a spoon on the tray, Uta started to pour my tea from a cup on a plate with a rose petal pattern. She held a silk napkin catching each drop that slipped from the porcelain. I closed my eyes feeling the scent of her skin as she brings the plate filled with tea to my lips. I'm gently closing the space between us, drawing nearer to her. One drop of fluid slid down to my neck. She's following it with a napkin in her hand, but her fingers went down beneath the drop trail. She is shivering like a vexed wave with a gesture of lowering her fingers below the droplet. My pulse is becoming faster along with my breathing. She stopped her, hot like air, fingers. I caught her hand, which
was dank from nervousness. Opening my eyes and looking piercingly at her, I placed her hand on my lips, but without kissing it.

  'Thank you, Uta,' I said, letting go of her hand. She shivered. I looked her significantly and then continued, 'I want to see how you dance with the sound of the stream.'

  She stood up, being completely confident while walking to the middle of the room. I moved to the edge of the table. Now just my upper body stayed in her sight. I didn't remove my eyes, calmly observing her. She is listening to the rhythm of small fell in order to start with the first steps.

  I never saw such a beautiful person. She looks like a spell in that gray tones kimono made of white strands and golden edges. Her hair smelled of violets with an accent of a red rose. I'm not sure, but I think I almost kissed her back then while loosening her obi. My mind was able to make that urge to stop at the right time. Her beauty attracts me in an inexplicable way, but I'm not Etsu, I don't engage with suchlike girls. Yet, It's hard to compose myself completely, especially now, while I'm gazing at her gentle steps.

  She's twisting her body with fast gasping. I'm listening to her breathing mixed with water notes, feeling a slight pressure in the lower part of my stomach. As if all the blood slid down. Tension's becoming comfortable. I know this feeling - my body's shivering in a rhythm of her quick steps. Unconsciously my arm leans toward the groin, she can't see that of course - my lower body is hidden. I want her more than anything, lust consumed every rational thought of mine. But I can't, no..., I'm not like that.

  Still, I squeezed the swollen part over kimono to seize this sensation, but it's actually getting more intense. Uta's head was lifted as her arms stretched, and the kimono squeezed around her tight body. I can't stop watching her, I can't stop wanting her, she is - she's like an opiate for me. For the first time in my life, I'm so feeble, passion has taken me. I started to circulate gently with my fingers around the aroused place. Moist fluid emerged on the surface of the clothing at my crotch. It's so pleasurable to watch how she lifts her chin in moments, showing her elongated neck. I want to put my lips on that tight skin and feel it. My thoughts are under that silk wrapped around her. Craving in me is overwhelming. Although I have to be careful, I don't want her to hear the rubbing sound produced by the silk. My hand slipped over my own bud, changing the direction of movement. I'm responding to each of the intense looks she's directing to me which increases my pulse, and it's now faster than ever before.