Japan – Tokyo, The Yoshiwara Prostitute Houses
Yokohama, Japan: c 1890. Hand-tinted albumen print, 8 x 10 1/2 (204 x 266 mm), uncaptioned, some cockling at top corners; pencil inscription in Japanese on verso. Unmounted; housed in an archival mat with clear mounting corners.
Yoshiwara was a famous yūkaku (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1617, Yoshiwara was one of three licensed and well-known red-light districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside Shimabara in Kyoto in 1640 and Shinmachi in Osaka.
The first floor of whore houses had lattices as in this picture, and prostitutes waited for customers here, called "Harimise." Customers stood on the street and chose a companion from among the women sitting inside. This style of putting prostitutes out on display was prohibited after 1916 as a violation of human rights.
Condition: Good +.
Item number: 1149
Price: $300.00
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