Stephen Mansfield

Stephen Longstreet

Ethel Longstreet

Inside Tokyo's Yoshiwara Pleasure District

Geishas and the Floating World

A Geisha girl falls in love with an American doctor against the background of feudal 18th century Japan.

A Novel

Geisha

The Pleasure Quarters of Old Tokyo (Yenbooks)

Yoshiwara

"Lust will not keep…Something must be done about it."—inscription at the entrance to Yoshiwara For over a hundred years the Western world has heard whispers of the pleasure city, Yoshiwara, set behind its walls in the city of Edo itself, which is today called Tokyo. Here was an eastern red light district, the place for the hedonists, the woman–seekers, the sensual plasure–hunters of old Japan. There, behind moated walls, an erotic Japanese world unmatched by the West was created by beautiful courtesans, geishas, dancers, actors, and artists. To this "floating world" came the hedonists and the sensual pleasure hunters of old Japan. Many myths and legends encircled the secrets of the Yoshiwara, and still do. In time other Japanese cities tried to copy the original, sometimes even calling their district for geishas and courtesans and pretty waitress girls a Yoshiwara. Stephen and Ethel Longstreet use prints and fascinating original sources to trace the rise and fall of this city within a city, a sanctioned preserve of teahouses and brothels that was not abolished until 1958, sketching a vivid, no–holds–bared portrait of social and sexual more in Japan's capital.

Geishas, Courtesans, and the Pleasure Quarters of Old Tokyo

A Novel Based on the Life of Maurice Utrillo

Man of Montmartre

Geishas and the Floating World returns readers to a lost world of sensuality and seduction, rich with hedonism, abandon, and sexual and personal politics. "Floating World" refers to Japan's traditional Geisha pleasure districts, but also to the artistic and literary worlds associated with them. At the heart of the "Floating World" and the system it supported was an extensive network of talented courtesans and entertainers, typified by the still fascinating, enigmatic Geisha. Stephen and Ethel Longstreet bring the reader on an in-depth tour of the original and most infamous red-light district in Japan—the Yoshiwara district of old Tokyo that underwent tremendous changes during the more than three centuries of its existence. Beyond the erotic allure the district held, the Yoshiwara also fostered a rich culture and a much studied and revered artistic and literary tradition. This account is adorned with examples of fine woodblock prints and quotations from often bawdy, and always colorful, original sources that offer a gripping portrait of life within the pleasure zone. Geishas and the Floating World balances scholarly insights with a master storyteller's flair for the exploits and intrigues of people operating outside the confines of polite society. Stephen Mansfield's new introduction bridges time, examining gender realities and the Yoshiwara through contemporary eyes, highlighting often overlooked subtleties and the harsh realities associated with this glittering world.

Ethel Longstreet

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