Water seller - Mizuuri

Japanese: 水売 - みずうり

This refers to the business of selling drinking water by carrying buckets of water on a pole or loading them onto a cart.
[Japan]
In Japan, they were also called mizuya. Before running water became widespread, people had no choice but to rely on wells for water, but in areas with poor water quality or homes far from wells, people bought water from water sellers at a certain price per load. During the Meiji period, it seems that many homes in Tokyo's downtown area bought water twice a day, in the morning and evening, for about one sen per load. Even in homes with convenient wells, water became cloudy when the well dried up, so they kept water strainers in the kitchen and treated water with care, using water after washing their face as sprinkling water on the ground.

Mizuuri [water seller]

The title of a Kabuki dance piece. Tokiwazu. First performed at the Edo Moritaza Theater in June 1813 (Bunka 10). Lyrics by Sakurada Jisuke II, music by Kishizawa Koshikibu III (Kishizawa Shikisa II). Choreography by Fujima Kanjuro I. One of the Eight Scenes of Omi, Eight Transformations, by Ichikawa Danjuro VII, "Mata Koko ni Sugaru no wa Tsukei (Here We Are Again)." In the summer during the Edo period, when drought continued and water became scarce, water merchants who had contracts with specific wells would sell water for around 100 mon per load, or sell cold water with sugar, shiratama (rice flour dumplings), and tokoroten (jellyfish). This dance is based on this custom.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

水を入れた桶をてんびん棒などで担いだり荷車に積んで飲料用の水を売り歩く商売をいう。
［日本］
　日本では水屋ともいった。水道が普及する以前は，水はもっぱら井戸に頼るしかなかったが，水質の悪い所や井戸に遠い家では水を1荷いくらで水売から買った。明治のころ，東京の下町あたりではだいたい1荷1銭くらいで朝夕2回定期的に買う家が多かったようである。井戸の便のよい家でも，涸水時には水が濁るので水こし用の甕を台所において使ったし，またふだんでも洗顔後の水をまき水に使うなど水をたいせつに扱っていた。

みずうり【水売】

歌舞伎舞踊の曲名。常磐津。1813年(文化10)6月江戸森田座初演。作詞2世桜田治助，作曲3世岸沢古式部(2世岸沢式佐)。振付初世藤間勘十郎。7世市川団十郎の近江八景八変化所作事《茲姿八景（またここにすがたのはつけい）》の一。江戸時代の夏，日照りが続いて水が乏しくなると，特定の井戸と契約している水屋が，1荷100文ぐらいで売りさばいたり，あるいは砂糖を入れた冷水や，白玉やところてん(心太)も売る風俗を舞踊化したもの。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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