An excellent colour woodblock map of Yoshiwara, illustrating the entrance to the district, alongside the names and e-mon (crests) of notable chaya (brothels).
This is a highly informative map which lays out the gridded street system of Yoshiwara, and a bit about its history. To the top right corner there is an extract from a book published in 1684, Kokonkoshoku-otoko (loosely, 'Lustful Men of the Past and Present') by Sugimua Haranobu (dates unknown). Down the central avenue, known as Nakanocho, there is some explanatory text about how it was different in the Kan'ei era (1624-1643). It is worth noting here that the present map shows Shin-Yoshiwara – 'New Yoshiwara'. Before a devastating fire in 1567, the district was located in the Nihonbashi area, after which it moved closer to Asakusa.
In the illustrated colour section of the map there is a willow tree leading up to the Omon gate (in fact the only way one could enter or leave Yoshiwara). This is a famous tree, labelled in the map as the mikaeri-yanagi, or the 'Backward Glance Willow', and it appears in many ukiyo-e prints of Yoshiwara. The willow served as a landmark for those approaching Yoshiwara, knowing that when they saw the tree they were not far away. It was called 'backward glance' because it was usually the spot where a man leaving Yoshiwara would turn back to wave goodbye to a particular geisha or brothel-worker they were fond of.
The date is not printed on the map, but according to the Taito City Central Library catalogue (item 2014_u_012), the names of the brothels and layout of the district indicate that it shows Yoshiwara in 1847. This map is reproduced in the revised edition of de Becker's famous book, The Nightless City, but the caption states 'Map of the Yoshiwara in 1846'. Owing to more recent research, it is likely that de Becker's date is incorrect.
One copy in the Edo-Tokyo Museum (collection ID – 17200612). There do not seem to be any copies of this map in OCLC.
