were legal red-light districts in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese history, where both

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s and

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

- known collectively as , the higher ranks of which were known as - recognised by the Japanese government operated. ��郭��大百科事典. 第25巻』 (平凡社, 1939) Though prostitution was, officially, legal to engage in and pay for only in these areas, there were a number of places where prostitutes and brothels operated illegally, known as , the generic name for all unlicensed red-light districts other than Yoshiwara (later including both Shimabara and Shinmachi).平田（1997）109頁。 In January 1946, GHQ issued an order (SCAPIN 642) nationwide to abolish Japan's legalised system of prostitution, with brothels in the areas having to change their names to either that of or , with the being renamed as districts. Following this, the was passed in 1956, before being fully enforced two years later in 1958; though the law did not criminalise all forms of sex work, the sale of sex with "unspecified" (meaning in this context 'unacquainted') persons was outlawed, leading to the , and later , areas to cease to exist as they once had. In spite of this, the legal sale of some sex acts and services continues to this day within Japan, circumventing the Anti-Prostitution Law either through the sale of acts that do not involve penetrative sex, or through the sale of sex only to customers who have first been 'acquainted' with prostitutes.

References

Brothels Prostitution in Japan Social history of Japan Japanese courtesans Japanese prostitutes Culture of Japan Society of Japan Sexuality in Japan Japanese words and phrases {{Japan-hist-stub

See also

References