‎J.E. DE BECKER‎
‎THE NIGHTLESS CITY or the history of the Yoshiwara Yukwaku (dedicated by the author)‎

‎Max Nössler, Probsthain, Shanghai Yokohama Bremen London, 1906. Decorative Cloth. With Numerous Illustrations (illustrator). Fifth Edition revised. Green/black/gilt embossed boards, clean, tight, attractive. Fifth edition revised. 1 foldout color map, 1 foldout plan, 18 color plates, 386 pages. Good shape.‎

Reference : PPP-154

‎This is an illuminating account of Yoshiwara, Edo s licensed quarters , the city within a city which housed old Tokyo s prostitutes from 1617 to 1957. All aspects of the history and culture of this settlement are beautifully recorded. J. E. de Becker was one of the first lawyers to visit Japan in late 1890s. "Organized sex has always been big business in Japan, and nowhere was it more politely offered than in the Yoshiwara Yukwaku (red-light district) of Tokyo. The Nightless City has been called a naughty book, shocking, nasty. But no more shocking and nasty than human nature itself. When this history was first published in 1899, its subject matter was taboo in polite discussion and kept out of sight of men and young women - thus assuring the books success. This fabulous book, containing fifty revealing maps and illustrations, is a pioneer social study of a Meiji community which lived close to traditional ways and according to the rules of the profession of pleasure. It is rich in folklore, magical charms, ceremonial, social rules, standards of dress, class stratification, and the rewards and punishments of the Yoshiwara; where life on the surface, was gay, but under that surface was much bitterness. Many inmates were virtually slaves, Geisha and courtesans were permitted beyond the walls on certain days, but the surveillance was prisonlike. However, the Yoshiwara had such an honored place in tradition that its passing, in 1957, was lamented by many, Japanese and foreigners alike."‎