Ohaguro Ditch Wall Ruins in Tokyo, Japan

Yoshiwara was an infamous red-light district of Edo (today’s Tokyo) that flourished between the 17th and 19th-centuries, extending for around 16 acres during its heyday. A place of extreme extravagance and decadence, the samurai of the Edo period frequented this area seeking romance that was, to quote a contemporaneous expression, “fleeting as a bubble.”

Historically, neighborhoods like Yoshiwara were known as yūkaku, the word signifying a government-sanctioned red-light district surrounded by either a fence or moat. Whereas wealthy sex workers of a higher rank—known as oiran—enjoyed their luxuries and comfort, many other sex workers had to endure constant misery and a myriad of health-related risks. Some were sold to brothels as indentured servants by their families. 

A center of contemporary culture, Yoshiwara was a popular spot among the men of Edo, while the flamboyant fashion of the oiran was adored and often imitated by common women, influencing the vogue of the era. Isolated from the rest of society, it was considered another world filled with dazzling, gorgeous glamour.

The women of Yoshiwara were rarely allowed to leave the district, and were often forced to remain in their profession for a term of ten years. The area was enclosed by a deep, ten-yard-wide moat called the Ohaguro Ditch, which was created to prevent sex workers from escaping.

The word ohaguro refers to the ancient Japanese custom of teeth blackening, and the moat’s name seems to have been inspired by its color, which was darkened by sewage. The only way in and out of the district was through a strictly-guarded arch called the Great Gate. It was nearly impossible to flee the yūkaku of Yoshiwara.

While the area remains an adult entertainment district of a much smaller scale today, the historic Yoshiwara is all but gone, destroyed by several fires, as well as by the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1956. The only remnants left today are a few ordinary blocks of stone, located on the edge of a parking lot. These blocks are actually the ruins of the walls that once surrounded the Ohaguro Ditch.

Once having fully served their decade-long terms, the sex-workers were well received and treated well by the public. Many common families welcomed them as brides and appreciated their beauty. 

Though the site of Yoshiwara’s historic yūkaku has become a popular subject of fiction and minor tourism over the years, its last surviving remanents stand unknown to most, a forgotten testament of the unromanticized hardships of sex-work in pre-modern Tokyo.