Summary Of The Vilification Of Courtesans

Prostitution began in the early Tokugawa period in the shogun's city of Edo. The establishment of a feudal system by the shogunate and its regime, in addition to the increasing poverty of the peasant class (the most exploited class) allowed prostitution to thrive. Peasants sold their children to brothel owners because of the poverty and debt that plagued them. The exploited girls and young women almost never benefited from the deal made between the brothel owners and their parents. Most of the time, the money went directly to their parents to pay off debt and to sustain the ie. These women were seemingly obedient because of patriarchal societal ideologies and Confucian notions that emphasized filial piety and loyalty. Japanese society insisted

Amy Stanley’s piece Selling Women explores “the less palatable reality obscured by the proliferation of seductive imagery” (1). Courtesans are shamed and vilified for selling sex to make their own money and because of the increasing use of the term “yujoka”. The vilification of courtesans is concerned with their growing rejection of Confucian ideologies that center around filial piety and the ie, or extended family. The exchange of sex and money is justified in the public’s eye as long as the money is for the benefit of the ie and not as a source of wealth and exercise of agency for women (Stanley 7). If it is,, then the prostitutes are condemned and labeled “shameless women” (Stanley 18). However, their exploitation is not only accepted, it is also considered necessary and integral, only if the money goes to the woman’s family. The conditional acceptance of prostitution reveals a moral crisis in society and in its ideologies. These young females are sold as sex slaves by their own parents and it is accepted by the state and every class that constitutes the social hierarchy without objection as long as it is contained. The term yujoka was also used to vilify courtesans. It was a consequence of the expansion of prostitution. As it grew, so did its influence on society and so the term yujoka arose, meaning “likeness to the courtesan” (Imai 8). The term summarized the

First, this can be seen by the fact that it became a necessity for peasants to sell their children to sustain their entire families. Despite being the most dependent on and the most productive members of society, neither the higher or lower classes did anything to fix their increasing poverty and famine. Next, the discrepancy can be seen between the relationship of the consumer and “producer”. It was the wealthy merchant class who indulged in the company of courtesans. Despite being the lowest social class, they had the most money and contributed most to the exploitation of the relatively higher peasant class. These peasant girls and women sold into prostitution were an integral part of society. Yet, they were seen as unproductive, just like merchants. Nevertheless, their impact on the economy and society had spread through Japan in its entirety. As prostitution expanded geographically and in number of women employed, eventually even peasants themselves went to brothels (Stanley 13). Theoretically, in the social order, peasants were more respectable than the merchants. In reality, the peasants were so impoverished, they sold their children to the brothels so that the wealthy merchant class could benefit from it. The mixing of these women who were born peasants and the men of different classes that were their clientele, sometimes provided mobility in the social order