A is a woman who serves as a

waitress Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attendin ...

at a '' ryokan'' or Japanese inn. Originally written as (meaning "in the house" in Japanese), which meant the anteroom in a mansion of a ''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamak ...

'' (noble man) or ''gomonzeki'' (the princess of

Mikado Mikado may refer to: * Emperor of Japan or Arts and entertainment * '' The Mikado'', an 1885 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan * ''The Mikado'' (1939 film), an adaptation of the opera, directed by Victor Schertzinger * ''The Mikado'' (1967 ...

). Nowadays it refers to work in a

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...

's pantry,

homemaking Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a house ...

sector, or the

managing Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

division and its office staff. At ''Kyuchu'' (the Imperial Court), such women were also named ''osue''. In

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

times, ''nakai'' meant a lady's maid ranking between ''kami-jochu'' (maid of honor) and ''gejo'' (the lowest rank of maid). Now it means women who serve visitors in restaurants or inns. They are usually residential staff and work long hours.

References

はてなキーワード「仲居」
(in Japanese)

by

Ryu Murakami is a Japanese masculine given name and family name meaning "dragon", "noble", "prosperous", or "flow". Ryū, Ryu, or ryu may also refer to: Fiction * ''Ryū'' (manga), a 1986 series by Masao Yajima and Akira Oze * , a 1919 book by Ryūnosuke Aku ...

) (in Japanese) {{coord missing, Japan Ryokan Hospitality occupations Personal care and service occupations

See also

References