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Yoshiwara (吉原) was a famous red-light district in Edo period Japan.
History
In the early 17th Century, Shogun Hideyoshi and Tokugawa authorities in Kyoto, Edo (now Tokyo), and Osaka passed rules confining prostitution to single sections of these cities.
Kyoto's quarter was called the Shimabara. Osaka's quarter was the Shimmachi, and Edo's quarter was called the Yoshiwara. The Yoshiwara at one time had 3,000 Japanese women as prostitutes. Ronin, masterless samurai, were not allowed in and neither were the prostitutes let out, except once a year to see the sakura cherry blossoms and to visit dying relatives.
The Yoshiwara maintained an aura of mystery and refinement. The prostitutes could be anywhere from extremely poor to extremely rich.
Modern Yoshiwara
Edo is now known as the city of Tokyo, Japan and prostitution is illegal. The area known as Yoshiwara, near Minowa station on the Hibiya Line, is now known as Senzoku 4-chome and still retains a large number of soaplands and other facades for sexual services.
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