Yoshiwara ─ Geishas, Courtesans, and the Pleasure Quarters of Old Tokyo

The late Stephen Longstreet and his wife and writing partner, Ethel, became interested in the culture of Japan and spent a number of years researching this study of the history of the Yoshiwara district of Tokyo in which for centuries geishas, male and female prostitutes and other entertainers could be found. This reprint of the 1970 edition is of interest for the attitudes of the authors at the beginnings of the modern feminist movement. Even a chapter on the fact that the women of the Yoshiwara were essentially slaves, forbidden to leave the area, is glossed over into an account of their superstitious nature. Those who ran away, according to the authors, did so only to seek out a lover. References for the statements made and for the quotations are lacking. In many ways, this book is as much an artifact of times past as its subject. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)