Tobita Shinchi
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Tobita Shinchi (飛田新地), also known as Tobita Yūkaku (飛田遊郭), is the largest brothel district in western Japan. It is in the Sanno 3-chōme area of Nishinari-ku, Osaka. It was one of the largest police-sanctioned red light districts in Japan until 1958, when anti-prostitution laws went into effect. The laws seem to have had little effect for the brothels in the area, however, as they now operate largely under the guise of being "Japanese-style restaurants."[1]
Tobita brothels, similar to how brothels in Amsterdam have women in the windows, tend to have a young woman kneeling by the genkan (entryway) or in the living room (which is fully open to the street) of the brothel to attract customers—an unusual practice for brothels in Japan.[1]
An elderly woman, often the owner of the residence, sits in the genkan and greets male passers-by with phrases like douzo, onii-san (どうぞ、お兄さん, "Welcome, young man").
Osaka mayor Tōru Hashimoto was a legal advisor of the Tobita "restaurant" association.[2]
Access
- Imaike Station
- Dōbutsuen-mae Station
- Shin-Imamiya Station
- Tennoji Station (JR West)
- Ōsaka Abenobashi Station
Places of interest
- Boshikannonzo (Mother and baby statue) 3-5 Sanno
- Taiyoshi Hyakuban (Restaurant) 3-5-25 Sanno
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Mother and baby statue
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Monument
Well-known figure from Tobitashinchi
- Natsume Nana (夏目ナナ)
See also
- Nishinari-ku, Osaka
- Kamagasaki Day Laborers' District
- I went to Tobita Shinchi - Gigazine (Japanese, with many pictures), May 21, 2012
References
- ^ a b "Kansai's red lights still glowing strong," Mainichi Daily News, October 14, 2006 [1]
- ^ Mr. Tōru Hashimoto was a leagal advisor of the Tobita restaurant association - Josei Seven (Japanese), Nov 25, 2011