Exchanges over illness and rest - The human condition inside Yoshiwara (Edo period)

Exchanges over illness and rest - The human condition inside Yoshiwara (Edo period)

The Yoshiwara brothels were always beset by hard labor and health problems behind the glamorous atmosphere. The prostitutes were busy with customers from morning till late at night, and often fell ill from the weight of makeup and costumes and the unreasonable entertainment they received at the drinking parties. In those days, Edo was repeatedly plagued by epidemics, and diseases such as syphilis and tuberculosis especially afflicted prostitutes. Against this background, it was a common problem for prostitutes to "take a rest.

When a prostitute fell ill, the hostess or the head clerk would first discuss the situation with the hostess, saying, "My sister can't take any customers today," or "Which one of us should be sent in her place? This was not just an informal communication, but also a tactic to avoid disappointing the customers. For example, a regular customer might be told that a young girl would be specially assigned to him, while a superior customer might be put in a good mood by saying, "It would be chic to wait for her to get well.

Rumors and jokes also circulated among fellow prostitutes. In some cases, the cause was a serious illness caused by overwork or an infectious disease. There was a sense of camaraderie, of trying to support each other by laughing at the pain, but also a sense of tension as they had to survive in a competitive society.

Although the shogunate officially sanctioned brothels as part of its efforts to maintain public order, there was little system in place to protect the health of prostitutes. As a result, communication over illness and rest depended on on-the-spot ingenuity and conversation, not on the system. Behind the scenes of the glamorous Yoshiwara, there was an earnest and human side that emerged through these small daily exchanges.