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70808-0001, Maruyama Brothel District, Nagasaki, 1910s

Nagasaki 1910s
Maruyama Brothels

Artist	Unknown
Publisher	Unknown
Medium	Postcard
Period	Meiji
Location	Nagasaki
Image No.	70808-0001
Purchase	Digital File
Author	Kjeld Duits

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.

1914 Map of Nagasaki in 1887 — 1914 (Taisho 3) Map of Nagasaki: 1. Dejima (already landlocked at this time); 2. Former Foreign Settlement; 3. Yoriai red light district; 4. Maruyama red light district.

see current map

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.

Published June 8, 2008
Updated December 7, 2021 11:19 PM

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Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.

To enhance our understanding of Japanese culture and society I track down, acquire, archive, and research images of everyday life, and give them context.

I share what I have found for free on this site, without ads or selling your data.

Your support helps me to continue doing so, and ensures that this exceptional visual heritage will not be lost and forgotten.

Thank you,
Kjeld Duits

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Reference for Citations

Duits, Kjeld (December 7, 2021). Nagasaki 1910s: Maruyama Brothels, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on June 2, 2026 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/268/maruyama-brothels

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Nagasaki 1910sMaruyama Brothels