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The nightless city; or, The "history of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku"

Chapter 1: THE NIGHTLESS CITY
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About This Book

The work gives a detailed historical and ethnographic account of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, describing its layout, regulations, and everyday practices. It catalogs classes of brothels, ranks and roles of women and their attendants, management practices, and commercial systems for selecting and entertaining guests. Rituals of debut, redemption, mourning, and instances of double-suicide receive attention alongside health inspections, bookkeeping, and legal controls. Dress, coiffure, interior arrangements, festivals, and pictorial culture are described, and the narrative is supported by maps and numerous illustrations organized in topical chapters.

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The nightless city; or, The "history of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku"

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Title: The nightless city; or, The "history of the Yoshiwara Yūkwaku"

Author: J. E. De Becker

Release date: November 11, 2022 [eBook #69328]
Most recently updated: June 9, 2025

Language: English

Original publication: Japan: Max Nössler & Co, 1906

Credits: an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer.

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Transcriber’s Note

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THE
NIGHTLESS CITY

不夜城

OR THE “HISTORY OF
THE YOSHIWARA YŪKWAKU”

By J. E. DE BECKER

Twenty Years a Resident of Japan

“Virtuous men have said, both in poetry and classic works, that houses of debauch, for women of pleasure and for street-walkers, are the worm-eaten spots of cities and towns. But these are necessary evils, and if they be forcibly abolished, men of unrighteous principles will become like ravelled thread.”

73rd section of the “Legacy of Ieyasu,” (the first Tokugawa Shōgun.)

With Numerous Illustrations

Third Edition Revised

Yokohama

Shanghai Bremen

MAX NÖSSLER & Co.

London

PROBSTHAIN & Co.

14 Bury Street, W.C.

Copyright,

BY THE AUTHOR.

All rights reserved.

PRINTED BY
THE BOX OF CURIOS PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO.,
YOKOHAMA. JAPAN.