Yujaku and Okayusho - Another genre space that breathes in Monzenmachi (Edo Period)

Yujaku and Okayusho - Another genre space that breathes in Monzenmachi (Edo Period)

During the Edo period, the shogunate established Yoshiwara and other officially sanctioned brothels to keep prostitutes under control. In reality, however, there were many unauthorized brothels called "okabasho" in the gate towns of temples and shrines and on the periphery of cities. There, private prostitutes, also called "yujaku," gathered to deal with people who visited temples and shrines for pilgrimage and sightseeing. Pilgrimages to temples and shrines were a major leisure activity for the common people of Edo, and the areas in front of temples such as Ise, Zenkoji, and Nikko were crowded with people from all over the country, naturally attracting private prostitutes seeking business opportunities in this crowd.

Okayusho" were private brothels that borrowed the names of public bathhouses and bathhouses to attract customers and actually provided them with sex services. Because they were inexpensive and easy to use compared to the style and prices of the Yoshiwara, they were widely used by the general public. However, they were often the subject of prosecution for being disruptive to public morals, and the okaba were repeatedly relocated or abolished. Especially during the Kanbun period and the Kansei and Tempo reforms, whenever a decree of thrift was issued, strict controls were applied.

Even so, okabasho and okayusho never disappeared and continued to exist on the periphery of the public prostitution system. There was a gap between control and real life, and the sexual culture of the common people and the economic activities of the city intersected. In other words, the customs of Edo were not only the glitter of Yoshiwara, but also a multi-layered phenomenon rooted in the everyday spaces of the gate towns and yuyas (bathhouses).