prostitute in a brothel disguised as an archery range
Historical term for a woman working in an Edo-period establishment that presented itself as an archery range but functioned as a brothel. The word is archaic and not used in modern Japanese.
See also: 矢場 (やば)
In the Edo period, women called yaba-onna worked in brothels that went by the name of yaba (archery ranges).
Compound of 矢場 (yaba, 'archery range' or 'brothel disguised as an archery range') and 女 (onna, 'woman'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term reflects the Edo-period practice of disguising brothels as archery ranges.