"Unseasonal Winds of Love": A History of Prostitution and the Foreign Community in Early Modern Nagasaki

Nagasaki was the locus of foreign trade in early modern Japan. One direct outgrowth of this trade was the development of a red-light district called Maruyama. This district had distinct differences from other such quarters in Japan because of the nature of its interactions. This article explores the reasons for the uniqueness of Nagasaki and the impact that this institution had and provides some agency to the women involved by emphasizing the contributions they made to Japanese culture. It also examines the meanings and impacts of the sex trade with non-Japanese traders on early modern Japan, as well as the specific nature of the brothels in Nagasaki.