A Lamp Flickering at the Doorway of the First Meeting: The Reality Illuminated by the Third Misunderstanding in Yoshiwara (Late Edo Period)

A Lamp Flickering at the Doorway of the First Meeting: The Reality Illuminated by the Third Misunderstanding in Yoshiwara (Late Edo Period)
The first meeting and the stage of turning the other side in Yoshiwara are often spoken of as romantic rituals, but in reality they were merely practical mechanisms for the safety and benefit of the prostitutes and the brothels. The popular theory that a woman would not be allowed to have sex with another woman unless she had been to the brothel three times is also an unsubstantiated myth if one follows the historical record, and differs greatly from the reality of Yoshiwara. The first meeting was a time for the prostitutes to assess the identity, attitude, ability to pay, and riskiness of their customers. In the late Edo period, there were many customers who ate and drank without paying or dodged debts, and careful handling was essential to protect oneself.
The second visit, the backstage visit, was not a ritual for romantic development, but a practical gateway to determine whether the customer would continue to spend money and not cause problems. Historical records indicate that there were no fixed stages or rules, as there were many instances of customers allowing their skin in the first meeting, while others did not comply even after becoming familiar with each other. Relationships in Yoshiwara were intertwined with multiple factors such as money, trust, the store's judgment, and the willingness of the prostitute herself, and changed flexibly from time to time.
Why, then, did the popular myth of the third time become widespread? The reason is that literature and movies since the modern era have romanticized Yoshiwara and stylized the relationship in stages for the sake of narrative convenience. Fictions were also influenced by the dramatization that emphasized the pride of prostitutes, and the fictions were passed off as fact. However, the historical Yoshiwara was a huge industry driven by pragmatism, not ritual, and prostitutes and establishments made rational decisions based on safety and profit. The third misunderstanding was merely a shadow created by the stories of later generations.