Yoshiwara: Geishas, Courtesans & the Pleasure Quarters of Old Tokyo

by Stephen Longstreet, Ethel Longstreet

"Lust will not keep…Something must be done about it."—inscription at the entrance to Yoshiwara

For over a hundred years the Western world has heard whispers of the pleasure city, Yoshiwara, set behind its walls in the city of Edo itself, which is today called Tokyo. Here was an eastern red light district, the place for the hedonists, the woman–seekers, the sensual plasure–hunters of old Japan. There, behind moated walls, an erotic Japanese world unmatched by the West was created by beautiful courtesans, geishas, dancers, actors, and artists. To this "floating world" came the hedonists and the sensual pleasure hunters of old Japan. Many myths and legends encircled the secrets of the Yoshiwara, and still do. In time other Japanese cities tried to copy the original, sometimes even calling their district for geishas and courtesans and pretty waitress girls a Yoshiwara.

Stephen and Ethel Longstreet use prints and fascinating original sources to trace the rise and fall of this city within a city, a sanctioned preserve of teahouses and brothels that was not abolished until 1958, sketching a vivid, no–holds–bared portrait of social and sexual more in Japan's capital.

Genres: Japan, History, Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Stephen Longstreet was a prolific novelist, screenwriter, cartoonist, and artist whose work ranged in subject from gourmet cookbooks to potboiler detective novels to portraits of American jazz greats. He published over 100 books in his lifetime, including the novel The Sisters Liked them Handsome, which was turned into a successful Broadway musical. Longstreet also wrote screenplays that would go on to star Hollywood greats from Ronald Reagan to Errol Flynn.

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will start of by saying that my rating for the book is probably a bit harsh, and if you are looking for a detailed English exploration of the lifestyles of those who lived and frequented Yoshiwara, it is a great place to start.

While this book was informative and enjoyable, there were times I felt that the author was writing though the perspective of modern christian-based morality which seems to colour his descriptions at times. This may be due to his sources primarily being the accounts of western visitors after sakoku had been lifted from Japan after the visit of Admiral Perry. I personally would have preferred that the judgment of the actions of those living in the Pleasure Quarters be left to the reader.

Overall though, The author has created a tangible reconstruction of the life of Edo's pleasure district.

[Patrik Sampler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written (i.e., syntax), well organized (at least for my purposes), and seemingly informative. However, it was a bit of a surprise (just having finished Ronald Wright's What is America?: A Short History of the New World Order, which is roughly 250 pages plus another 100 pages of notes) that Yoshiwara has no notes and quotations are often introduced along the lines of, "according to a popular book in such-and-such a time...". I.e., the skeptical reader needs to have a lot of faith. In any event, I was reading the book for research, and found most of what I was looking for. One item, however, that I still need to know more about is the pass system that kept people of certain social statuses from leaving their designated areas. Can anyone direct me to a source with more detail on this topic?

[Victor Hugo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this is one of the most... biased books I've ever read. It's quite contaminated with some Western-modern-christian sense of morality which impoverishes A LOT any understanding of the Japanese Culture.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting content but poorly edited.

[Jamjars · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book covering a topic area with precious few resources available in English.
Prior to reading this book I had a vague knowledge of the old pleasure quarters of Japan through reading various texts focusing on geisha social history.
The authors pull together information from a vast array of sources, much of it interesting and relevant, and certainly provided me with several facts and traditions I didn't know about previously.
I wish there had been more illustrations from relevant ukiyo-e woodblock prints to help illustrate what the Yoshiwara actually looked like, and to show the differences between the levels of prostitutes and their manner of dress.
I felt that while the book gave a good general overview, there was a lot of detail missing so it was difficult to imagine how things worked back then. More could have been written about what they wore and why, what was the reason for each part of the distinctive look of an oiran for instance? Instead this is glossed over with vague mentions of 'one popular oiran decided to do it this way so everyone copied'.
I wanted more detail on what the different hairstyles meant, what types of hair ornaments were used and why, what designs were used on kimono and why, what were the types of dances and songs they had to learn, how were the rooms decorated and to what extent was personal taste allowed, what was the difference between tayuu and oiran??
I also found the morality of the authors coming through far too strongly at times, bizarrely alternating between being far too lenient on those taking advantage of the girls in the Yoshiwara and seeming to miss this 'simpler' time, and at other times being very critical that this situation ever existed.
At the end of the day the pleasure quarters such as Yoshiwara were dependent on female children being sold into sexual slavery, this is objectively awful and a neutral unbiased standpoint from the authors would have thrown this into relief all the more, showing it for the crime against humanity and flagrant misogyny that it was.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

For hundreds of years Yoshiwara was the largest pleasure center located in Tokyo where one could find every manner of entertainment including courtesans, Geisha, artists, actors, prostitutes, and more. Known as the "Floating World" it brought it all together in one area that made it easier for the government to control and tax these activities until it was finally ended as recently as 1958. In Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters of Old Tokyo by Stephen Longstreet, the author does a reasonably good job of explaining the various parts being played in the Yoshiwara from those providing services to those seeking said services. He also sets it carefully into the Japanese culture to help understand its evolution as well as how and why it works. Generally the women working and providing services were sold by their impoverished parents into the pleasure business to one of the Tea Houses located there at young ages. The buying enterprise then proceeds to train the girls to be anything from maids, to musicians, to courtesans, or Geisha, for example. There were provisions for them to save money to buy back their contract though this was unusual. The author provides results of research and personal accounts recorded in old writings, poems, and books. Unlike today's human trafficking, the typical transaction was between parents and a Tea House, of course without the consent of the child. But this arrangement was generally considered legal within Japan at that time. Viewpoints of both the women and the customers are presented here and we get a look inside the lives of all participants. I had spent tome in Japan 1969-1972 and many of the cultural oddities pointed out by the author were personally observed even then.

[Hifumi Gintsuki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright first of all, I wanted to say English isn't my first language and I'm still learning and this book is written very good which I don't have difficulty to read it. I really like how this written, very enjoyable and understandable.

I also like how the writer focus on several aspect on the topics. Which very informative in ice berg level for people who really don't know about the topics.

But that is the last good thing I will said about this book.

I actually have mixed feeling about the contain of this book. But eventually I settle with this two star. Because I feel like mostly of the information is written base on the writer point view. It make it worst because I can't find any like reference/notes/source of certain claims inside here. The closest thing that I get is a quotation with info like 'according to book this...' or 'according to book that...'

Which is ended up, not really reliable in eyes. Because it still make me questioning about the legitimacy of those claims. So to be honest, personally, I don't really recommended this as your future reference if you want to study this kind of topic historically.

But then I guess its the product of its time. Which is understandable.

[Steven McIntire Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh please

Yes, the sex trade is full of profiteers and abusers, but what trade isn't? Few, if any of these sex workers would have preferred to work in a sweatshop or more menial labour. Moreover, almost all, if not all, of the sweatshop workers would have preferred to work in the sex business. Also, the handwringing about lost traditions is overdone. The authors seem to forget that the times are not like they used to be and those times never were!

Nevertheless, the historical recounting is great, and the book is a nice read.

[Riezkystory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very enjoyable, informative and full of colourful vivid reconstruction of legendary Yoshiwara, the only problem is some content has muddled writing, the Editing somewhat poor and even when the writer try to open minded as posibble, i still feels some prejudice there

[Taiyo Monden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally believe the author could have minimized a lot of the factors he was trying to imply. Although the book sometimes gave off an inauthentic feel coming from a westerners point of view. I accept that the book is a great way to start perceiving the mystical arts and culture of pleasure city aka Yoshiwara.

[yengyeng · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed some background information while reading Sakuran by Moyoco Anno.

[PMP · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an odd couple the Longstreets were.

[Rebecca Radnor]

YAY, its on kindle in text to speech... its been sitting on my self waiting to be read for the last 15 years

[Commanderd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skips over a lot of the history that other books like Liza Dalby's amazing 'Geisha' cover, but in itself is a good read about a long vanished world.