A Basic Research of "Yoshiwara Saiken" in the Edo and Meiji Periods

Abstract

       This paper deals with two major issues concerning Yoshiwara Saiken, the basic historical source for research on Yoshiwara brothels. As a precondition for dealing with these issues, the definition of Saiken is discussed in Chapter 1. The author summarized the various explanations given by researchers in previous studies and defined a new definition, referring not only to historiography but also to studies in other fields.

       The two problems addressed in this paper are "problems of interpretation," in short, archival problems. In Chapter 2, we discuss how to deal with the difference between Saiken and　Yujo Hyoban-ki, and what Saiken was to the people of the day, using contemporary historical sources. As a result, we questioned the idea that Saiken was considered continuous with Yujo Hyoban-ki in previous studies, although there is a correlation between the two. Another issue is that of factuality. Saiken has been treated without discussing its accuracy in existing studies. The accuracy of Saiken has not been questioned because of its practicality, but as Yukiko Miyamoto has pointed out, copies existed in the Meiji period. How this was the case in Saiken during the Edo period is discussed in Chapter 3, based on Kyoden Santo's yellow cover.