[Biographies of Famous Women of Past and Present] Hakidame no Omatsu

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Hakidame no Omatsu was a woman who lived during the mid-Edo period.

She was a prostitute in Shiba Mita and was called both Hakidame no Omatsu and Chirizuka no Omatsu. Despite her lowly status, she had a pure heart, a gentle demeanor, and was also very skilled at poetry.

Although details such as her birth and death dates are unknown, according to the "Buko Nenpyo" (authored by Saito Gesshin, who published the "Edo Meisho Zue"), the aforementioned poem was composed during the Horeki era (1751–1764).

It is said that the nicknames Chirizuka no Omatsu and Hakidame no Omatsu came from the fact that the establishment where she worked was located near a "chirizuka" (a place for disposing of trash) in Mita.

As for the name Omatsu, according to "Bunya Zokudan," it is said that "among the trash heap prostitutes, she was considered to be of the rank of Tayu, so she took the 'Matsu' from the 'Matsu rank' as her name," originating from the "Matsu rank," which signifies the highest rank of prostitute, the Tayu.

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Let us take a look at Shiba Mita, where Omatsu lived.

Omatsu was at an "okabasho" (an unlicensed red-light district) called "Mita no Sankaku."

Regarding the location, it is often considered to be around the bottom of the current Hijirizaka slope (the three-way intersection in Mita 3-chome, Minato Ward). It is the area circled in light blue in the map below. To compare it with a current map, it is easy to use "San-no-hashi" bridge and "Hijirizaka" slope as landmarks.

Also, according to the "Sanju-san-ban Mudasho" published in the ninth year of An'ei, the location of Sankaku is recorded as "Shiba-ku Mita Dobo-cho," so if Dobo-cho is a typo for Domei-cho, it might be "Mita Domei-cho," which is just to the upper right of the light blue circle.

There is also a theory that "Yokoshin-machi," located just to the lower right of the light blue circle, is the location of Sankaku.

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Omatsu had a regular patron named Eijiro Miura. Eijiro was a retainer from Awa Tokushima who loved elegance and was skilled in haikai poetry. Perhaps that is why he took a liking to Omatsu, who was also good at composing poems.

It is said that he quoted the lines from 'Tsurezuregusa'—'Even a terrifying wild boar becomes gentle when called a "boar's bed"' and 'Things that are numerous and not unsightly are the books in a book cart and the dust in a dust heap'—and called Sweeping-Ground Omatsu 'Dust-Heap Omatsu'.

He also provided various forms of support, such as paying a large sum of money for Omatsu's 'sodetome' (coming-of-age) ceremony, and it is said that although Sankaku in Mita was a small red-light district, Omatsu boasted a glorious peak of popularity there.

As an aside, when I looked for the Awa domain residence on the aforementioned map, I was surprised to find that the mansion of Matsudaira, Lord of Awa, was right next to Sankaku. It is the area enclosed by the green line, just above the light blue circle.

I was surprised at how close it was.

The pine cricket mingling with the dust of the dust heap
　　Does it not know that it is a cool thing to be called?

References: National Diet Library Digital Collection 'Enseki Jusshu Vol. 2', 'Bukō Nenpyō Revised and Enlarged', 'Senryū Yoshiwara-shi: Edo Research', 'Kisho Fukuseikai Published Rare Book Commentary Part 7, Part 2 'Thirty-Three Mudasho'', 'Suntetsu Tanka Collection', 'Woman's Tobacco' Website: Mita 3-chome Neighborhood Association, Minato Ward - Mita Keinan Neighborhood Association - '
History of the Neighborhood Association』

Author's Note: I will update this as appropriate when I can decipher new characters or notice typos/misreadings. For details, please read 'Self-Introduction/Disclaimer'.📖