Shear

In the Ryukyu Islands, this refers to prostitutes and prostitutes. The spelling "Orui" is a phonetic spelling. In the Naha dialect, it is pronounced "Juri". In official documents from the Shuri Royal Court, it appears as "Keisei". There were brothels in three areas of Naha, Tsuji, Nakashima, and Watanji, but in 1908 (Meiji 41), they were merged into one in Tsuji. The origins of brothels in Naha date back quite a long time, and it seems that brothels were formed in these three areas around 1700. The owners of the brothels were also women who had risen up the ranks, and the brothel in Tsuji was divided into two districts, and each district had a village official called "Muimee" who was selected by mutual vote between the owners, and had an autonomous organization for administration and rituals run by women. Originally, brothels were an undifferentiated form of okiya, waiting room, and restaurant, where the brothel owner rented a room to live and welcome guests, who were then treated to their own home cooking. They had the atmosphere of an independent home, and were like "another woman's house." There was a very strong respect for formality, and the selection of guests was strict, yet it was considered the ethos of the brothel's master to be sincere and kind to regular customers. They often had a specific client, in which case their relationship with the client's household was conducted openly, and it was not uncommon for the brothel's children to be raised as legitimate children.

The Zhongshan Journal by Zhang Xueli, a Chinese who visited the island in 1663 (Kanbun 3), describes how unmarried girls would live away from their parents and entertain guests from outside, while their parents and siblings would interact with the guests as relatives, a description that well conveys the characteristics of zuri. A notice from the Shuri royal court in 1667 states that it was forbidden to bring courtesans into one's home, but this was not strictly enforced either in Shuri or in the countryside. It seems that only zuri who settled in brothels were officially recognized. There may have originally been some zuri who were traveling. On Amami Oshima, prostitutes who traveled from village to village were called mari (traveling) zore, and prostitutes who settled in villages were called wiri (resident) zore.

[Yo Kojima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

琉球(りゅうきゅう)諸島で、娼妓(しょうぎ)、遊女のこと。「尾類」と書くのは当て字。那覇方言ではジュリと発音する。首里王府の公用文には「傾城(けいせい)」とみえる。那覇の辻(つじ)、中島(なかしま)、渡地(わたんじ)の三地に遊廓(ゆうかく)があったが、1908年（明治41）に辻の一か所に統合された。那覇の町の妓楼の発生はかなり古く、1700年前後にはこれら三地に遊廓が形成されていたらしい。楼主もずり上がりの女で、辻の遊廓は二つの字(あざ)に分かれ、字ごとに、楼主の互選で選ばれた盛前(もりまえ)（ムイメー）と称する村役が置かれ、女手による行政、祭祀(さいし)にわたる自治組織があった。妓楼は、本来、置屋、待合、料亭が未分化の形態で、楼主のもと、ずりが部屋を借りて住み、そこに客を迎え、ずりの手料理でもてなすことになっていた。独立した家庭の雰囲気を備え、「もう一つの女の家」の性質を帯びている。格式を重んじる気風がきわめて強く、客選びも厳しく、しかも、なじみ客には誠実に人情を尽くすのが、ずりの仁義とされた。特定の客をもつことも多く、その場合は、客の家との交際は公然と行われ、ずりの産んだ子が嫡子として育てられることも珍しくなかった。

　1663年（寛文3）に来島した中国の張学礼の『中山紀略』に、嫁(とつ)がない女子が親から離れて住まいをもち、よそからの客と接し、親兄弟は客と親戚(しんせき)づきあいをするとあるのは、ずりの特性をよく伝えている。1667年の首里王府の通達には、傾城を自宅に引き入れることは禁止されているが、首里も田舎(いなか)もそれが徹底していないとある。遊廓に定住するずりだけが公認されていたらしい。もとは旅渡らいのずりもいたのであろう。奄美(あまみ)大島では、村を回る娼妓をマリ（回り）ゾレ、村に住み着いた娼妓をウィリ（居り）ゾレと呼び分けた。

［小島瓔］

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