noun
female bathhouse attendant (Edo period); bathhouse scrubber and sex worker
Historical term for a woman who washed customers at public baths and also provided sexual services; often associated with 湯女 (ゆな).
See also: 湯女
江戸時代の銭湯では、垢掻きと呼ばれる女性が客の背中を流した。
At public baths in the Edo period, women called akakaki washed customers' backs.
Like yuna, akakaki sometimes also offered sexual services.
湯女 also refers to female bathhouse attendants in the Edo period who often provided sexual services; the terms are closely related, but 垢掻き emphasizes the scrubbing role.
Compound of 垢 (あか, 'dirt, grime') and 掻き (かき, 'scratching, scraping'), from the verb 掻く (かく, 'to scratch'). Literally 'dirt scraper', referring to the job of scrubbing customers.