The Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters: A Cradle for Japan’s Edo Culture

Hiroshige II, Tōto Shin-Yoshiwara ichiran (View of Shin-Yoshiwara in the Eastern Capital), 1860, private collection. The Yoshiwara district was around 266 meters long and 355 meters wide, surrounded by a moat, and generally only accessible by a large central gate. The Nakanochō main street, lined with cherry trees, had teahouses that mediated for the brothels.

Keisai Eisen, Edochō itchōme, Izumiya-uchi, Senju (Senju from Izumiya, Edochō Itchōme), 1821, private collection. The complex hairstyle with many kanzashi ornaments and a bewitching kimono made courtesans fascinating for women too. The small writing in the title at upper right gives the names of the kamuro (attendants), Shikano and Kanoko.

Utagawa Kunisada II, Yūri hakkei, Shin-Yoshiwara Kakusenrō-uchi Itsumiki (Eight Scenes, Courtesans from the Pleasure Quarters: Itsumiki from Kakusenrō, Shin-Yoshiwara), 1869, private collection. An unusual landscape format picture of a courtesan. The moon shines above Nakanochō and the great gate.

Ochiai Yoshiiku, Kakusenrō, 1863, private collection. The artwork depicts the glamorous courtesans of the Kakusenrō brothel.