Please visit Mr Osada Steve’s website to read the original article in English at

TokyoBound on this link. Enjoy!

Moon

There is a delta sandbank of the Sumida River at its midstream called Mitsumata. A governor of Sendai, Lord Date Yorikane bought Takao Dayu* from Miuraya and made advances to her. However, she did not reciprocate, and thus, was beheaded on a boat. This is the so called “suspension slash of Takao.” Meanwhile, another story tells that Takao arrived in Sendai with the lord and lived there well into her 80s. Perhaps, Takao’s stories are mixed with a case of Usugumo Dayu** from Yoshiwara***, who had refused a lord so-and-so, and as a result, was murdered after having her fingers cut off one by one over a period of ten days.

*Takao Dayu is the name of a legendary tayu (the highest-ranking courtesan) in the Edo period. There were many generations of tayu with the same name.

**Usugumo Dayu is the name of another legendary tayu, or of many generations of them.

***Yoshiwara was a famous pleasure district in Edo (present-day Tokyo), which was licensed by the government.

月 (tsuki)

隅田川の中流中洲のデルタを三ツ股と称す。仙台の太守伊達賴兼公、三浦屋の高尾太夫を購ひ、之を挑めも應ぜず、船中にて之を殺す。世に言ふ『高尾の吊るし切り』はこれなり。或いは言ふ、高尾仙台公に伴われて仙台に到り八十余歳の壽を保つと。思ふに当時吉原の遊女薄雲太夫が大名某候を嫌悪して、十日に十指切りて慘殺されたる事蹟を混同したるものか。