Closing sincerity in a flower basket - Fate of the Yoshiwara Hanakai (from Edo to Showa)

Closing sincerity in a flower basket - Fate of the Yoshiwara Hanakai (from Edo to Showa)


No sincerity among prostitutes" is a cruel formula that confines the fate of the women who lived in Yoshiwara in a single word. Yoshiwara, a brothel officially recognized by the Edo shogunate, was a labyrinth of color and gold, separated from the mundane world. The oiran (courtesans), clad in garments of the most exquisite color, were not mere prostitutes, but the incarnation of artistry and emotion, colored by culture and prestige.

However, behind the splendor of the prostitute was the sorrow of being sold at an early age, the chains of indentured servitude, and a soul that was forbidden to freely fall in love. She was not allowed to speak of sincerity, and if she embraced it, destruction awaited her. Therefore, the words of love uttered by the oiran (courtesan) arouse the suspicions of the customers, and are dismissed as "no sincerity.

However, literature and folklore defy such words. Ohatsu in "Sonezakishinju" (The Love Suicide at Sonezaki) was true to her word with her life. The real-life Kisaragi Tayu also protected himself by refusing to accept a job offer in order to avoid falsifying his sincerity. In a world where sincerity is not permitted, there were still women who lived their lives with sincerity. Yoshiwara was not a place where sincerity was sold, but a basket of flowers where sincerity was locked away.