Brothels in Nagasaki’s Maruyama prostitute quarters. At the height of the area’s popularity, Maruyama and neighboring Yoriai counted no less than 54 brothels with 766 prostitutes.
By the end of the Edo Period (1603–1867), this had been reduced to 22 brothels and 487 prostitutes. By 1925 (Taisho 14), the number of brothels had slightly increased to 25, but the number of prostitutes had further fallen to 343.1
Interestingly, this decrease took place as the population boomed. Even in 1887 (Meiji 20), Nagasaki’s population stood at just 40,000. In 1925, some 189,000 people lived in the city.2
For more information and an earlier view of the area, see Nagasaki 1890s • Maruyama Brothels.
As I haven’t discovered the exact location of this image yet, the Current Map shows the center of the Maruyama district.
Notes
1 Metadata database of Japanese old photographs in Bakumatsu-Meiji Period, 3877 Maruyama brothel district. Retrieved on 2021-08-28.
2 Wikipedia, Timeline of Nagasaki. Retrieved on 2021-08-28.
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Kjeld Duits
Reference for Citations
Duits, Kjeld (). Nagasaki 1910s: Maruyama Brothels, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on January 23, 2026 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/268/maruyama-brothels
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