Between 11:30 and midnight, the Ginza's 16,000 hostesses head home in droves. The best go by cab...the second-rate take the train...and the worst go off with their customers.
It had been a bleak ordeal, like a harsh winter. But the trees that line the streets can sprout new buds no matter how cold the wind. I too must be just as strong as the winds that gust around me.
A woman shouldn't be loose. That's one rule I've followed. I'm not a prude, but if I let go once, it'd be too hard to stop. Maybe I'm just a coward.
Women working in the Ginza fought desperately for survival. It was a battle I couldn't afford to lose.
Customers come to the Ginza for a taste of luxury. Satisfying that craving is what we're paid for. Apartments beyond our means, taxis, expensive perfumes - it all serves that purpose. Men wouldn't be interested if they knew I lived in a place like this. Somehow it would show, no matter what I did.
Looking good means good customers. In the Ginza, appearance is everything.
When my husband died,I placed my picture and a letter in with his ashes. I vowed I'd never love another man. I wrote that down and asked the priest to put it in with him. I'm a strange woman, aren't I?
- Aging's hard on a woman.
- I'd better save up for the old folks' home.
- Aren't you lonely sometimes?
- Sure. But I have a brandy and go to sleep. That kind of fever soon passes. You really have some self-control! I clench my teeth so hard they hurt.
