Prostitutes on display in Yoshiwara during the Edo Period

This movie set in Kyoto recreates the appearance of a red-light district such as Yoshiwara.

Yoshiwara (吉原), whose name means Good Luck Meadow, was a famous red-light district in Edo, present-day Tôkyô, Japan. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1196x902, 371 KB) Yoshiwara district of Tokyo prostitutes on display. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1196x902, 371 KB) Yoshiwara district of Tokyo prostitutes on display. ... The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Edo Period. ... Jidaigeki dummy Toei Uzumasa Studios Kyoto Japan 2002 I took this photograph and contribute it to the public domain. ... Jidaigeki dummy Toei Uzumasa Studios Kyoto Japan 2002 I took this photograph and contribute it to the public domain. ... Kyōto ) (lit. ... The De Wallen red-light district in Amsterdam. ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the de facto[1] capital of Japan. ...

In the early 17th century there was widespread male and female prostitution throughout the cities of Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka. To counter this, an order of Tokugawa Hidetada of the Tokugawa shogunate restricted prostitution to designated city districts. These districts were Shimabara for Kyôto (1640^[1]), Shinmachi for Ôsaka (1624-1644^[1]) and Yoshiwara for Edo (1617^[1]). The main reason for establishing these nightless cities was the Tokugawa shogunate trying to prevent the nouveau riche chônin (townsmen) from political intrigue^[1]. A sex worker in Germany. ... Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川 秀忠 (1579-1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. ... The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. ... Shimabara is a district of Kyoto. ... Kyōto ) (lit. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... Shinmachi (新町) was a courtesans district in Kyoto until prostitution was outlawed in Japan in the middle of the twentieth century. ... Osaka )   is the capital of Osaka Prefecture and the third-largest city in Japan, with a population of 2. ... Events January 24 - Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa. ... // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ...

History

See also: Prostitution in Japan Prostitution in Japan has a long and varied history. ...

Yoshiwara was created in the city of Edo and was located near what is today known as Nihonbashi, near the start of the busy Tōkaidō highway that leads to western Japan. It burned down (along with much of the city) in the Meireki fire of 1657 and the district was moved to its present location north of Asakusa on the outskirts of the city. Nihombashi (the bridge) Marker from which distances are measured Nihombashi (or Nihonbashi, 日本橋, lit. ... Tōkaidō (東海道) (literally, East Sea Route) may refer to: National Route 1, which links Tokyo and Osaka The Tōkaidō Main Line, which links Tokyo and Kobe One of the Edo Five Routes, which linked Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto along the shore (see below) An ancient route from the... Events January 8 - Miles Sindercombe, would-be-assassin of Oliver Cromwell, and his group are captured in London February - Admiral Robert Blake defeats the Spanish West Indian Fleet in a battle over the seizure of Jamaica. ... The Kaminarimon is the outer gate of the Sensoji, Asakusas famous temple. ...

Yoshiwara was home to some 1,750 women in the 1700s, with records of some 3,000 women from all over Japan at one time. The area had over 9000 women many of whom suffered from syphilis in 1893.^[2] These women were often sold to the brothels by their parents at the age of about seven to twelve. If the young girl was lucky, she would become an apprentice to a high ranking courtesan. When the girl was old enough and had completed her training, she would become a citizen herself and work her way up the ranks. The girls often had a contract to the brothel for only about five to ten years, but massive debt often kept them in the brothels their entire life. There were very few ways for a young lady to get out of the brothel due to all of her debt.

One way out of Yoshiwara was for a rich man to buy her contract from the brothel and keep her as his personal courtesan. Another would be if she managed to be successful and clever enough that she was able to buy her own freedom. This did not occur very often though.

Social classes were not strictly divided in Yoshiwara. A commoner with enough money would be served as an equal to a samurai. Though it was discouraged for a samurai to enter the Yoshiwara area, they often did so anyway. The only requirement on them was that all their weapons had to be left at the town's entrance gate. Also by law, the patrons of the brothels were only allowed to stay for a night and a day at a time.

Yoshiwara also became a strong commercial area. The fashions in the town changed frequently, creating a great demand for merchants and artisans. Traditionally the prostitutes were supposed to wear only simple blue robes, but this was rarely enforced. The high-ranking ladies often dressed in the highest fashion of the time, with bright colorful silk kimonos and expensive hair decorations. Fashion was so important in Yoshiwara that it frequently dictated the fashion trends for the rest of Japan.

The area was renamed Shin Yoshiwara (New Yoshiwara) in 1857 and damaged by an extensive fire in 1913 then nearly wiped out by an earthquake in 1923. It remained in business however until prostitution was abolished by the Japanese government in 1958 after the second world war. 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... An earthquake is a phenomenon that results from and is powered by the sudden release of stored energy in the crust that propagates seismic waves. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Edo is now known as the city of Tokyo, Japan and prostitution is said to be illegal, although this supposed illegality has been accomplished by applying a rather strained definition of the term (for example, the definition of "prostitution" for some reason does not extend to a "private agreement" reached between a woman and a man in a brothel). The area known as Yoshiwara, near Minowa station on the Hibiya Line, is now known as Senzoku Yon-chō-me and still retains a large number of soaplands and other façades for sexual services. Tokyo (東京; Tōkyō, lit. ... Hibiya Line (Click on image to enlarge. ... Soapland ) is a Japanese word for a type of brothel where men can be bathed by and can bathe with female prostitutes. ...

People/Services

People involed in mizu shôbai (The Water Trade^[3]) would include hôkan (comedians), kabuki (Popular theatre of the time), dancers, dandies, rakes, tea-shop girls, Kanô (Official school of painting), courtesans who resided in seirô (green house) and Geisha in there Okiya houses.

The courtesans would consist of yûjo (woman of pleasure/prostitute), tayû (high rank courtesans), Oiran (castle-topplers) named that way due to how quickly they could part a daimyô (lord) from his money, yarite (older chaperones for an Oiran), kamuro (young female student), shinzô (senior female student), hashi-jôro (lower rank courtesan), kôshi-jôro (high rank courtesan just below tayû), and the yobidashi who replaced the tayû when they where priced out of the market. See also: Oiran An ukiyo-e print of an Oiran Oiran ) were high-class courtesans in Japan. ...

You would also have Geisha/Geiko, Maiko (student of a Geisha), otoko geisha (male geisha), danna (patron of a Geisha), and okâsan (Geisha teahouse manager). The lines between Geisha and courtesans where sharply drawn a Geisha would never be sexually involved with a customer. It’s probable that Geisha did become involved with clients however.^[1] See also: Geisha Women dressed up as maiko (geisha apprentices), Kyoto, Japan wearing traditional kimono and geta. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "FLOWERS OF THE FLOATING WORLD: GEISHA AND COURTESANS IN JAPANESE PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS by SANDERS OF OXFORD"
2. ^ De Becker, J. E. The Nightless City, or The History of the Yoshiwara Yûkaku (Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo, 1971). p. 360
3. ^ Dalby, Liza. Geisha (London: Vintage, 2000)

External links

• Information about the Yoshiwara District
• Pictures and Information
• Image of Yoshiwara