Yoshiwara　吉原

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

The licensed pleasure and prostitution quarter of Edo. First established in 1617 near Nihonbashi 日本橋 by Shouji Jin'emon 庄司甚右衛門 (1576-1644), the original name Yoshiwara 葭原 (lit. reed fields) referred to marshy topography of the area. After the great fire of 1657, the district was moved to the area adjacent to Asakusa 浅草 (presently in Taitou 台東 ward) and called Shin 新 or "New" Yoshiwara, with the character yoshi changed to read 吉 meaning "happy" or "lucky". Surrounded by a walled moat and entered by a single gate, the district was layed out in a grid pattern and comprised approximately 19.5 acres. The streets were planted with willows which are a Chinese symbol of prostitution, and cherries. At its peak, the Yoshiwara contained roughly 3000 courtesans of varying grades and titles, and nearly 200 "houses" seirou 青楼 in which they lived and worked. The quarter was open to anyone with money, and, in rigidly stratified Edo period society, was one of the few places where all classes could mix. The Yoshiwara, along with the Shinmachi 新町 in Osaka and Shimabara 島原 in Kyoto, produced a distinctive music, art, literature, and even speech. The culture, in particular the activities of the courtesans and actors who shaped it, became the chief subject matter and a central theme of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵.

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