Yoshiwara

by Eve Kaan

  Uta

  'Uta...' My name came out of her mouth in a way more gentler than ever. I moved my head. She's in a tough situation, and I'm trying to use it. I behave like one of those worst clients. She only needs consolation and support. At this point, I can't even think about her feelings towards me. This isn't such a situation. Although, in one I'm sure - I have a place in her heart, just don't know in which way, but time will tell.

  'Uta, surely I have exhausted you?' Her smile showed melancholy.

  'You didn't. Dance is unusual. I really enjoyed it.' We got back on the path and found ourselves in front of the door in a heartbeat. 'I would like to have this dance again in some other occasion.' my hopes escaped my mouth.

  'You can show it to somebody to have a practice partner so you would be ready if you ever find yourself in Europe to demonstrate there how you mastered it.'

  'I want to dance only with you Rin.' I thought in return. Maybe she only likes me as a sweet girl without a deeper emotional meaning. 'You danced well.' It was the last thing she said to me when she escorted me to the room. Her scent laid on my skin. I breathed it with my full lungs.

  Each moment I am more and more in love with Rin. I know there is a possibility that I'm just a regular night lady for her. That thought always cuts me like a blade of passionate samurai. They raised me to be strong. It's as if no other moment is important while I'm with her, not even the one that follows like a consequence if I have just imagined it all.

  ✽✽✽

  Rin

  Uta sleeps carelessly in my room. I hope I didn't hurt her, that's the last thing I would do. With her sentence of how she enjoyed dancing, this situation became even more difficult for me. Actually, I'm worried that I showed her how weak on her I really am - almost letting myself to her completely. I can't do it without the courage to wake up drowned into her. It's no longer about the gold - if she's doing it all for the coins. She would be sure of my feelings - they would all know she seduced me, Yoshiwara would laugh at me behind my back. How would I keep managing the business if everyone were to think I wasn't strong enough. The built authority should be credible. Rational and cold Respected lady, that's me. If she is honest, she will understand my position, and wait for me to be ready.

  I have to find a way, she's the only one I want - the only one I need.

  ✽✽✽

  Uta

  Utano borrowed me too many kimonos. I can't decide which is the most suitable for breakfast time. I'm sure everyone is waiting for me downstairs since I can hear hushed murmurs of voices coming through the window. Yesterday Nori suggested that we could spend our morning meal and tea time chatting and hanging out together. The odd smell started to spread throughout the corridor. I can't recognize it. Perhaps they prepared some food that doesn't have a serving tradition in my house. The scent becomes more intense with each step I make. It's so strange that none of its layers can be compared to any known scents, but it's incredibly alluring. Whatever that is, it will end up in my mouth.

  Everyone was already sitting at the table, only Nori was missing. She forgot today's schedule in her room - passing me on the corridor, she told me. I was still standing at the door looking for a vacant seat where I wouldn't be isolated. Rin was at the centre of the table. On both sides of her are empty futons. She gestured to me with a subtle smile pointing to the futons between which she's settled.

  Nori just came back and walked past me to sit beside Rin. I wasn't sure if I understood her signal correctly, so I hesitated a bit, but then I went to her and sat down. In her vicinity I am always excited with a small amount of nervousness, I hope my state is unrideable. The strange smell became extremely intense now. I looked at the table searching for food of an unknown appearance. Nori started with a little talk of our last rehearsal and details of tonight's event. I noticed that Rin only briefly listened to her. She stretched her hand to the small pot, which I thought contained the milk. My beautiful lady turned to me and whispered with a smile, 'Would you like to have some coffee, Uta?'

  My enthusiasm became visible to everyone. I couldn't contain the smile, and my head moved as I was nodding for approval. She served two cups in front of us, then poured the liquid. It really looks like the black tea, but denser. Coffee has the scent of unknown origin. Her smile showed me that she's enjoying my excitement. After a while, she placed a teaspoon of sugar into my coffee and poured a little milk into hers. 'Try it while it's still warm,' she whispered impatiently, ignoring the girls who couldn't take their eyes of off us. They must be shocked thinking she served me tea. Rin studied me as the cup was nearing my lips. A torrent of various notes on my taste buds started to arise with the first taste I tried, closing my eyes in the process to fully experience this new sensation. She was right. Woody taste dominates, with a full taste much stronger than the tea. Coffee delighted me. 'You can try mine as well, I like it mixed with a bit of milk.' She added noticing that the coffee had won me. Everyone is watching us, how can I take a sip from her cup, they would spread the gossip. Nori finished and wished us all to have a pleasurable breakfast.

  'Everyone is watching me, I'm not sure.' I looked at her wondering if I should take the cup she intended for herself.

  'My decisions shouldn't be questioned.' Rin whispered in a teasing manner, repeating the words I told her last night. She lifted her head, turned to the girls with an authoritative voice. 'I'm glad we didn't make a mistake with choosing you all to be here. Last night you were excellent in choreography. Nori is extremely proud, and that means your homes are the houses with girls of best skills. I wanted to treat you with an exotic drink from faraway lands. Please be free to take a coffee, it's in front of you. Drink it in small sips with the addition of sugar and milk, if the bitterness is too intense for you.' The girls were delighted. They fidgeted in their places and started mixing coffee with smiles, engaging in chatting amongst themselves. No one's looking at us anymore. I quickly picked up her cup, taking a little sip of a warm drink with milk - I couldn't decide which one's better.

  'Thank you for this exotic experience, I will never forget it.' I happily thanked her. 'I can't decide which one is better.' Again, I took a sip from my cup. 'It may still be black with little sugar. Milk somehow softens the intensity of the taste. I thought tea had no comparison in drinks, but I was wrong. Coffee is really exquisite.'

  'I must admit Uta, coffee is the first drink for me. I got used to it in Europe.' Secretly she confessed. 'I drink tea only on rare occasions, it's still our tradition.' She wasn't sensual only in motions but also in life habits like this exotic called coffee. I've never known anyone could be so attractive with a cup leaned on the lips. I caught myself looking at her longer than I should. Quickly everting my eyes, I started saying the words, but the tone is consistent with my previous thoughts.

  'I smelled the scent at the top of the stairs.' I made a brief pause, then continued in ecstasy, 'I thought it was food, the scent pulled me like the finest aromatized oil.'

  'It's the smell of roasted bean.' She took the black cigarette. 'The bean is small like cherry kernels in an oblong shape. It's baked at high temperature, heat releases the scent that you felt, it's very appealing to me as well.' She lighted a cigarette, and with pleasure, she took a sip. 'Then bean needs to be ground ina soft powder, preparation is similar to tea leaves soaking.' She shook off the ashes in a small ashtray bowl. 'Let the water boil, then add a teaspoon of ground coffee. A brown foam will form on the surface.' She is carefully explaining to me how to prepare this magical drink. 'Then remove the pot from the fire and wait for a few moments to get the coffee level decrease. The pot should be quickly returned over the fire two more times so that the coffee level is raised and lowered, only than the coffee is well cooked.' Rin took the smoke pouring her cup again. 'The sediment can be drained the same way ​​as we do it with tea, or can be left at the bottom, and it would not enter your mouth. Taste of sediment is unpleasant. I like drained coffee, then I don't have to wait for the black powder to settle down - I
can start enjoying it right away.' I was trying to remember every step she described, maybe one day I will make coffee instead of tea - I would really like it. Well, hopefully, my wishes will come true without a long wait. I would prepare her coffee exactly the way she's used to. Rin looked at me with a smile waiting for the reaction to the described procedure.

  'This process is a bit more complexed than tea preparation, but I think I'd be great in it. I'm always praised for my tea.' With supposedly visible embarrassment on my expression, I quickly took a sip as if I hadn't said anything. She chuckled to reduce my blushing.

  'And coffee preparation is a special skill that needs to be learned.' Rin smiled, pretending not to notice what my last sentence was indicating. That relieved me, I almost ruined this experience. Really, I have to learn some self-control. Oh, that fast tongue of mine...

  The breakfast is over, and time for final preparations came starting with trying of kimonos. I spent a wonderful day. Rin was with us all the time, we didn't have a moment for ourselves, but we have been exchanging attention with the hidden smiles all the time. At least I was giving attention to her, and she might have just been polite in return, but it's alright either way - every smile brought some hope in me, that I could be special in her heart. She praised my dancing by saying that I would be great tonight. We spent an entire afternoon doing the makeup and dressing, and for that, each of us had five girls attending to our preparations in the finest way possible. When the prearrangements finished with us looking almost like debutants.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Before the sunlight could completely desert the sky, we were placed in three carriages. Five girls, Rin and I are going to the party. Rin's traveling alone, and we are placed in two black boxes decorated with flowers and ribbons. The girls with whom I'm sharing transportation are sitting in silence like a dead sleep. Only the squeeze of the seat here and there could be heard.

  After a while, I became embarrassed for constant adjusting - my rustle breaking the cemetery silence. The tension spread inside with the air as we watched through the windows, each on the closest side. I am totally stiffened now.

  We stopped in front of the house, twice the size of the one I spent my past few days in. It's built in traditional Eastern style. I can't even estimate the direction of its surfaces placement from the outside. It rises to at least three floors in hight. Along with the sky, several rooftops are spread, all at different levels. I think there is a garden inside, but it's not closed with a wall on the back. Behind it is a high waterfall from which the noise is heard despite the loud music spreading from the inside. In front of the facade is a large porch, leading to a wide but low wooden staircase. Above the porch are placed lighted lanterns, connected with flowers.

  Men and women are all around us, it's really crowded here. I was amazed by the vastness of this estate that is placed in front of us. Tall trees by the porch occupied my attention at first, diagonally stretching across the facade, and flowers beside it are making this sight even more magnificent than the ones I listened so much about.

  Rin took the lead by starting to walk first. Upon coming into the enormous foyer, I'm not sure where the inner space ends so the outdoors could begin, it's hard to distinguish the confinement of the built form. This just doesn't seem like reality. I might be dreaming. There is an intact rock in the middle of the corridor covered with moss, over which the water is falling into a lake with blue water lilies - I think it's coloured from the light of the lamps. I approached the rock, realizing that it was a real waterfall. There is no fence around it, just floor on the same level as the lake surface. Standing near it, my mind is trying to believe my own eyes while the water splashes me slightly with slapping on a rock of purple-gray tones. The walls are surrounding this incredible nature by three sides only, and in the depths begins the garden that continues through the forest. Both sides of the staircase are leading to the first floor with a view which takes my breath away. In the middle of the first floor is a big gap, like a hole through which the visitors can enjoy this magnificent view of foyer from above. It's good to at least have a fence installed there, it would be dangerous to walk on that edge after consuming large amounts of sake.

  It's all covered in lanterns and flowers in green, white and red tones. I have never seen such a sight, not even in my dreams. Rin doesn't seem fascinated - she's extremely wealthy, maybe her real house looks like this property. For this occasion, she wore silken black kimono with silver patterns. A man in kimono approached her and spoke in a deep voice. Although I'm close, I can't discern their words because of loud music and the sound of falls.

  I'm excited, I've never seen anything like this. We are climbing the stairs placed on the left side, going to the room connected with the other wing of this magnificent structure.

  Our climbing continued to the next floor, this time stairs are narrow. Above us high walls are placed, somewhat intimidating because the stairs are quite uphill, and tightened kimono is not the most comfortable clothing for the efforts I'm forced to take right now.

  Suddenly a scene appeared in front of my eyes which made me think that this can't be the reality. I closed my eyes and pinched myself thinking, 'When I open my eyes I will find myself home, in bed ' - I'm sure. So I opened them, but the sight did not perish.

  The girls were already in the room, Rin stood beside me at the entrance. 'Are you afraid?' With a smile, she asked me. I lost the gift of speech from the impressions of what I see right now. She took me by the hand - in some other situation I would focus on her act, but this wasn't from this world. We stepped together on the see-through floor of the spacious room with three wide tables all in white. I'm not sure how the floor surface could take all that weight, looking at it, I actually see the ground on which the house is built. It's made of large transparent panels, supported by thin wooden beams. Rapids surrounded by grass and shrubs are visible below us. Thick trees which extend from the ground, through the floor to the height above the entire room could be mistaken for the walls.

  I can't believe my eyes - the trees are coming out of the floor. There's no roof above us, only branches with green leaves adorned with bright lanterns as if I was in the woods dusted with ice cubes. There are no side walls other than that one inside which the staircase is placed, but it also gives the impression of a natural form like a crawler plant on the branches. Alongside the edges of the floor are long bamboo poles, and a small interlocking fence. But that floor again, I'm amazed - despite the transparency, it rises in several levels. Entire auditory looks like as if it couldn't have been built by human hands – pure nature penetrates through this structure. Everything is in organic form. However, there is still a manifestly dominating narrow elevation that extends from the middle to the edges of a stone, or a rock - I'm not sure how to call it, and together with the black sky which creates a dark background, that is creating a performing stage.

  We settled at one table beside the girls. Rin arranged our seats, and her position is at the head of the table. The most dominating sound in this room is the sound of percussion, played by some girls of our profession. My excitement is so high at this moment that I can't even think of taking a bite from the platters full of food placed in front of us. I took out Nori's schedule, our show is coming soon, we are the fourth group. After that we will move to other tables, Nori told us that we have to entertain the guests as a group, not as an individual, and the groups with men can't be avoided, but that's just a chat with tea. For something more they should know the girls' orientations – regarding the gossip about the intimate service, but it doesn't concern me, I'm here only to do my primary job. After formal dinner serving, we should circulate attending every table and each guest in here, staying longer in a group of people only when we notice that they would like to spend a little more time with us. It's not something I haven't done before, but sometimes there are serious topics, so I need to be focused on conversations.

  The evening's passing smoothly. Our choreography was noticed. Rin seemed ple
ased with the prolonged applause. After the show, I went to the other table on Nori's instructions, but occasionally my eyes met with Rin's. She is smoking some dark cigarettes on a silver stick - I think she matched the stick with her kimono on purpose. We were dressed up and arranged with the help of five girls each, and Rin did it by herself, yet she is still the most stunning woman in this room, in the whole world I would say - her beauty attracting the attention of all the visitors. It's not all in excellent physical features. She is born with natural sensuality in front of which no one can remain indifferent. Most of the eyes here are directed towards her, although it seems to me that she is not aware of it at all. I'm sure they would spend an endless amount of gold for her if she was one of us. Various people are trying to get her attention, imposingly touching and caressing her hands or shoulders pretending like their touch is subconscious, rather unintentional, just out of politeness. She is an astonishing lady, of course, they want her attention. I understand she is the Respected lady but she isn't the only important person here, yet they all dwell around her, man and women both, despite their orientation they all have that look. Everyone wants to spend the night with her, it's obvious. Some strange side of me started to awake, I want to get her away from that dirty Yoshiwara's touches. She shouldn't be a subject of lust, she is a person - with thoughts, desires, emotions...

  I'm provoked by all those people surrounding her, it's - how should I put it, not envy - that's not the word... A better term would be - territoriality. They should get away from her, I want to sit beside her, I wont to touch her...

  I think I'm getting angry, it's time to look away. I should focus on my assignment here.

  Stories at the table are superficial. I would say the most tiring I've attended so far. I pretended, more the usual, to have a great time at the moment when it was really hard to participate in this boring discussions. From their conversation, I noticed that there are different groups of guests. Rin, as one of the two owners, sat at the head of the main table, while the other owner sat across from her, the man with whom she spoke at the entrance of the house. At the same table are settled some very important guests, wealthy patrons, and matrons of girls, along with a few estate managers outside of Yoshiwara. The rest of this auditorium envied them on closeness from which they could absorb her scent of jasmine with a note of green tea with their own senses. Oh, I looked again. 'That's her job,' I repeatedly reminded myself silently.