英語訳
## [A Courtesan's Letter (Comic/Satirical Piece)]
Again and again, to the honorable Mr. Kajirō of the company, to Mr. Gorō, Mr. Kuwahara, Mr. Tobino — warmest regards to all.
---
I write to you with these humble words of inquiry. What an ordeal it has been.
Your honorable household and storehouse, having been so thoroughly shaken, naturally tossed and tumbled, disturbed and damaged — on the night of the second, you had been thinking of me, and at just the right moment of our acquaintance, as ill luck would have it, a certain Shinano man's earthquake-seeking guest came along, shaking things together, and without time even for the pleasantries of celebration, we parted. Since that parting, I have thought of nothing but you, the master of the underworld [i.e., my patron], wondering day after day whether the earth would shake again today or tomorrow, and this worry has been like an illness.
For some fifty-seven days, through rainy nights, through the hours of the ox and the dog [i.e., early morning hours], each time the wind blows, I wait for the one who does not come — not a husband at the shores of Matsuo, but abandoned like a smoldering fire in the burned-out fields, my chest full of smoke, my heart smoldering in those thoughts, my very soul unable to settle within me, trembling and trembling, I have passed my days.
All these months, I have relied on you as my staff and pillar.
I can no longer bring myself to speak cleverly before you, and with no face to show before the ridgepole [i.e., my establishment], with neither pride nor dignity left intact, I resolved to throw aside this letter — to throw aside myself entirely. That was my determination.
Yet, wretched as it is, even a foolish mortal clings to life as the seed of all things, and I thought: if only I can survive, perhaps in this unchanging age there may yet come a moment of meeting. In life and death alike, nothing goes as one wishes, and it is only your mercy that saves this anguished soul of mine. I swear by the gods of Kashima that I have meant every word of this account of my suffering and yearning.
[The letter ends here.]
Respectfully (kashiku)
On an auspicious day of the month of the gods' arrival
To the one whose [home] was broken,
Dear Honored One — Burned-out Edo-chō
From within the fire's reach,
from one who has also suffered
---
## [Advertisement for a Temporary Establishment (Satirical Broadside)]
《Northern Province's Famous》 Zashiki-mochi ~ Chin-chin duck zōni
Fried assortment, night-time shiruko
Thousand guests, ten thousand visitors
Flourishing temporary residence
Grand Opening
First gathering of the numbered month, no formal parlor
Announcement
To our esteemed customers, I am delighted to learn that you are in good health and spirits. I humbly inform you that following the fire that destroyed my establishment last winter, I have set up a temporary branch location, and offer herewith our famous zashiki-mochi [lit. "parlor rice cakes" / also a pun on "floor hostess"], tsukidashi-heya-mochi [lit. "appetizer-room rice cakes" / pun on "entry-level room girl"], plump habutae-manjū [lit. "silk-wrapped buns" / pun on "well-fed courtesans"], of exceptionally fine flavor, as well as za-mochi and taiko-mochi [jesters and flatterers / more "mochi" puns], all at a great discount — I earnestly request your patronage day and night, forever and always.
However, I must caution that if you consume too great a quantity, it may cause a burning sensation in the chest [heartburn / also metaphorical passion], and no matter how wealthy a "kane-mochi" [rich person / literally "money-holder" / mochi pun] you may be, overindulgence will ruin your "mi-mochi" [dignity / "body-mochi"], and your wife — a "nyōbō-mochi" [wife / "wife-mochi"] — will raise a "yaki-mochi" [jealousy / "roasted mochi"] fuss, and you will find your fortune ground up into mochi. Please enjoy in moderation and visit us for many years to come. Respectfully.
Fukagawa Seven Establishments
Branch: Karitatsu-ya Uritarō
Asakusa Yama-no-juku, Hanakawado
Main House: Rōranya Shinzō
□ Tsukidashi-room mochi (entry-level girl) Three bu, day and night
□ Habutae-manjū (plump courtesan) As you wish
□ Za-mochi and Taiko-mochi (entertainers) 100 hiki per bow
Hanjō-tei (Flourishing Establishment)
---
## [Calendar Annotations Reworked for Earthquake Humor]
**Kōshin Day (Day of the Metal Monkey)**
Even amid this chaos, there were those who saved their parents and saved themselves — truly a "kōshin" (worthy of praise).
**Kinoe-ne Day (Day of the Wood Rat)**
The price of lumber at the timber yard has been driven up — extremely expensive now.
**Tsuchinoto-mi Day (Day of the Earth Snake)**
The courtesans at the temporary houses have three things to wait for: a patron's visit, being ransomed, and the end of their contract — a waiting game indeed.
**Tenshā Day (Day of Heavenly Pardon)**
Distributing relief rice individually to residents of each ward is truly an act of "tenshā" (heavenly grace).
**Jippō-kurashi (Ten-Direction Gloom)**
The earth shakes, and before one knows it, houses collapse, dust rises, people are left at a complete loss — this is what is meant by "jippō-kurashi."
**Hassen (Eight Specialists)**
Sixteen-mon medicine sellers are thriving; Hassen-day bathhouses close early. Most stock up heavily on old timber.
**Ten'ichi Ten'jō (Heavenly One Ascends to Heaven)**
Everywhere houses tilt, walls crack, tiles fall, and there are no roofs — so one takes the sky itself as one's ceiling: "Ten'ichi as skylight."
**Kami-uma (Divine Horse Day)**
Things tumble out from one's sleeves.
**Higan (Equinox)**
Sake is warmed in the flask as it is.
**Shānichi (Harvest Festival Day)**
No fair; merchants suffer.
**Chōchū Shichiya (Seven Nights in the Block)**
Suspended for the time being.
**Nyūbai (Rainy Season Entry)**
Storerooms collapse.
**Hangesshō (Half-Summer Bloom)**
Face powder peels off.
**Nihyaku-tōka (210th Day from Spring)**
More frightening than ever.
**At present:**
Many sleeping outdoors.
**Shōkan (Minor Cold):**
Unrefined sake.
**Daikan (Major Cold):**
Gold reaches its peak [prices soar].
**Doyō (Midsummer / Earth Season):**
Collapsed earthen storehouses — mud is re-kneaded.
Temple gravediggers find profitable work.
Earthen embankments crack open greatly.
Silver-edge [decorative tilework] and road repairs made using burnt earth.
---
## [Record of the Earthquake]
**The 2nd day of the 10th month [October 2, 1855]: Shaking began from the Hour of the Pig [around 10 PM], fires broke out, [it was] as bright as moonlight — thirty-seven locations burned. The following morning of the 3rd, the fires finally subsided.**
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## [Map of Burned Areas by Direction]
(Center) East, West, South, North
Senju, Kozukahara
Kameido, Ōgibashi, Fukagawa, Shiba Shibai-chō
Ikenohata, Kayachō
(Clockwise from bottom):
Sakamoto, Teramachi, Yoshiwara, Saruwaka-chō, Komagata, Imado/Hashiba, Ishihara, Hōonji Bridge,
Tatekawa, Hakkenbori, Isezaki-chō, Nakachō-dōri, Reiganjima, Teppōzu, Nakabashi,
Koishikawa Gomon-gai, Ogawa-chō, Marunouchi, Hiroko-ji, Chōja-machi
---
## [Record of November 2nd]
**The 2nd day of the 11th month: From the Hour of the Hare [around 6 AM], memorial services (segaki) began at temples throughout the city; at the Hour of the Sheep [around 2 PM], attendance was at its peak; by evening at the Hour of the Dog [around 10 PM], it concluded.**
---
## [List of Temples by Sect]
Tendai: Sensōji (Asakusa)
Jōdo: Ekōin; [also] Tōkaiji
Shingon: Kōyasan Temple, same at Shirogané, same at Kuramae Hachiman
Zen: Seishōji, Tōkaiji
Nichiren: Tanbo Keiunji, Honjo Nichirinji, Shitaya Sōenji
Jōdo Shinshū (Montu): Higashi Honganji, Nishi Honganji
Yūgyō-shū (Ji-shū / wandering sect)