The Nightless City

Geisha and Courtesan Life in Old Tokyo

J. E. de Becker

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9780486122816
• Topic: Geschichte
• Subtopic: Japanische Geschichte

When The Nightless City was first published in 1899, it was deemed taboo in polite circles. It is now considered a valuable historical document—albeit still provocative—as a pioneering sociological study of the Yoshiwara Yukwaku: Tokyo's infamous red-light district where the giving of pleasure became both a tradition and a business. A consequence of old Japan's polygamous family system (where men had multiple wives who bore them many children), the Yoshiwara quarter offered a rough road to survival for the surplus daughters, many of whom were sold into prostitution by families who could not afford to keep them. It was thus regarded as a `necessary evil` that thrived from the late nineteenth century well into the 1950s. Despite its dark underbelly of slavery and abuse, the area was celebrated for its veneer of gaiety and the refinement of pleasure. In fact, the Yoshiwara district held such an honored place in Japanese tradition (and sexual tourism) that its demise in 1957 was lamented all over the world. Rich in detail pertaining to the many aspects of Yoshiwara life—folklore, ceremony, costume, erotic practices, and the like—The Nightless City is a compelling examination of life behind the teahouse doors. Two maps and over 40 plates of illustrations are included from the original edition.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List Of Illustration
• Map of the Yoshiwara in 1846
• Preface to the First Edition
• Preface to the Fifth Edition
• History of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku
• Nihon-dzutsumi (The Dyke of Japan)
• Mi-kaeri Yanagi (Gazing back Willow-tree)
• Yoshiwara Jinja (Yoshiwara Shrine)
• The “Aisome-zakura” (Cherry-tree of First Meeting)
• The “Koma-tsunagi-matsu” (Colt tethering Pine-tree)
• The “Ryojin no Ido” (Traveller's Well)
• Government Edict-board and Regulations at the Ōmon (Great Gate)
• The: Present Ōmon
• Of the Reasons why going to the Yoshiwara was called “Cliō ye Yuku”
• Classes of Brothels
• Hikite-jaya (“Introducing Tea-houses”)
• The Jū-hachi-ken-jaya (Eighteen Tea-houses)
• The “Amigasa-jaya” (Braided Hat Tea-houses)
• The “Kujaku Nagaya”
• The “Kembansho”
• Classes of Prostitutes
• “Kamuro” (Young Female Pages)
• Shinzō
• Yarite (Female Managers)
• The “Kutsuwa”
• The “Wakaimono” (Male Servants)
• Hōkan and Geisha
• The Europeanization of the Yoshiwara and the Introduction of Loochooan Courtesans
• Zegen (Procurers)
• The Dress of Courtesans
• Coiffures of the Yūjo
• Rooms of the Yūjo
• Tsumi-yagu no koto
• Sōbana (“All round tips”)
• Shokwai (First Meeting) and Mi-tate (Selection of Women)
• I-tsuzuke no koto
• O cha wo hiku to iū koto
• Shiki-zome no soba-burumai no koto
• Shasliin-mitate-chō (Photograph Albums for Facilitating the Selection of Women)
• Signs and Cyphers Showing the fees of Courtesans
• System of Book-keeping in the Yoshiwara
• Brothel Advertisements
• Ageya no sashi-gami (Summons to the “Ageya”)
• Yosliiwara Dialect
• Magic Charms of the Yoshiwara
• Yoshiwara “Pot-pourri”
• Oai-ya no koto (Cook-houses of the Yoshiwara)
• Famous Things of the Yoshiwara
• Peddlers, Hawkers, and Beggars
• The Examination of Licensed Women at the Hospital for Venereal Complaints
• Results of Medical Inspection
• Mu-sen Yūkyō (Going on a “Spree” without having any money to pay for it)
• Yoshiwara-gayoi no Jinrikislia (The Jinrikisha Traffic of the Yoshiwara)
• Sanya-uma da-chin-dzuké (The Cost of Hiring Horses to and from the Yoshiwara
• Byō-clū oyobi In-shoku no koto (Of the Sickness of Prostitutes and of Their Meals)
• Hiké no koto (Closing Hours in the Yoshiwara)
• Kōcbō no koto (The Next Morning)
• Hiru-jimai Yo-jimai no koto (The Day and Night Engagements՜ of Courtesans)
• Raku-seki no koto (The Removal of Names from the Register of the Yoshiwara)
• Gwaisliutsu oyobi tōbō (Exit and Flight from the Yoshiwara)
• Yūjo byō-shi oyobi jō-shi no koto (Of the Death and Double-suicide of Courtesans)
• Shin-Yoshiwara no Bodaiji (The Cemetery of the Shin-Yoshiwara)
• Karitaku no koto (The Temporary Prostitute Quarter)
• Dōchū no koto oyobi tsuki-dashi no koto (The Processions of Yūjo and the First Appearance of “Recruits” in the Yoshiwara)
• Yo-misé “Suga-gaki” no koto (The Night Exhibition and the Sugagaki)
• Daijin-mai no koto (Dancing of Millionaires)
• Daikoku-mai no koto (Daikoku-mai Dancing)
• Introductory Songs of the “Daikoku-mai”
• Dote-bushi no koto oyobi Hayari-uta (Dote-bushi (Songs) and Popular Songs)
• Annals of a Year
• Naka-no-chō no Hana-ue (Flower-planting in the Naka-no-chō)
• Tōrō no koto (Lanterns)
• Niwaka Dancing
• Tori-uo-machi
• Yoshiwara Nana-tushigi (The Seven Mysteries of the Yoshiwara)
• Yoshiwara no Kyō-ka (Comic Poetry)
• Yoshiwara Kwai-rok-ki (Chronology of Fire Disasters in the Yoshiwara)
• Furisode Kwaji (The Great Fire of Meireki)
• Mei-gi ryaku-den (Brief Sketches of the Lives of Famous Courtesans)
• Kinokuni-ya Bunzaemon
• The Laws-Relating to the Control of Prostitution
• Forms of Contracts between Brothels and Courtesans
• The Medical Aspect
• Result of Medical Inspection in the Shin-Yoshiwara, 1898
• Result of Medical Inspection in the Shin-Yoshiwara. January to April 1899
• Statistics re Social Evil in Japan in 1898
• Pros and Cons
• Correspondence from the “Japan Times”
• Notes on “Jigoku” or Illicit Prostitutes
• Appendix