Glossary

akasenJapanJapanese

赤線, 'red line'. The licensed prostitution districts of pre-1958 Japan, abolished after the 1956 Anti-Prostitution Law took effect on 1 April 1958. Modern soaplands occupy the same geography in several cities.

Anti-Prostitution Law (Japan)JapanStatute

売春防止法, Law No. 118 of 1956. Criminalises 'intercourse with an unspecified person for compensation'. Customers are not penalised; sellers face penalty only when publicly soliciting. The narrow drafting underpins the entire visible fuzoku industry.

bottakuriぼったくりJapanJapanese

Bill-padding scam, most associated with backroom bars in Kabukicho and Roppongi. A street tout draws a foreigner into a venue with no posted prices; the bill at the end is ¥80,000–¥300,000 with credit-card-machine intimidation.

bottakuri barJapanJapanese (loanword)

A bar operating the bottakuri scam. Identifiable by: street-tout solicitation, no posted prices, fake menus, aggressive bouncers.

fuzoku風俗JapanJapanese

'Public morals'. In modern usage refers to the licensed adult-entertainment industry regulated under the 1948 Entertainment Business Law: hostess clubs, cabaret clubs, fashion health, delivery health, image clubs, pink salons, soaplands.

jiyū-renai自由恋愛JapanJapanese

'Free coupling'. The legal fiction underpinning Japan's soapland districts: any sexual contact is treated as a private personal matter between adults who happened to meet at a bath-house, therefore outside the 1956 Anti-Prostitution Law's scope.

KabukichoJapanJapanese

歌舞伎町, the entertainment district in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Highest-density of cabaret clubs, hostess clubs, host clubs, fashion-health establishments. Centre of the bottakuri scam pattern.

KoganechoJapanJapanese

黄金町, Yokohama. From the 1950s housed an estimated 250 small unlicensed brothels under the Keikyū railway arches, mostly staffed by Thai, Filipino and Colombian workers. Closed by a coordinated 2005 Kanagawa Prefectural Police sweep; redeveloped as artist studios.

NakasuJapanJapanese

中洲, Fukuoka. One of the three largest entertainment districts in Japan, alongside Kabukicho (Tokyo) and Susukino (Sapporo).

papakatsu (パパ活)JapanJapanese

'Daddy activity'. Compensated-dating economy operating online and in coffee shops, outside the Fueiho licensing framework. Carries compensated-dating-sting risk for customers if the other party is under 18.

soaplandソープランドJapanJapanese

Bath-house-and-private-room establishment operating on the jiyū-renai legal fiction. Concentrated in named districts (Yoshiwara in Tokyo; Tobita Shinchi in Osaka; Horinouchi in Kawasaki). Closed to foreign customers in most cases.

SusukinoJapanJapanese

すすきの, Sapporo. The largest entertainment district in Hokkaido and one of the top three in Japan.

SWASHJapanEnglish (Japan)

Sex Work and Sexual Health. Osaka-based Japanese sex-worker-led harm-reduction organisation, founded 1999. Multi-lingual STI/HIV resources.

Tobita ShinchiJapanJapanese

飛田新地, Osaka. The most architecturally distinctive of Japan's unofficial pleasure quarters: rows of glass-fronted 'restaurants' that the law treats as a chain of independent ryōtei restaurants for licensing purposes. Photography is strictly enforced by the local proprietors' association.

YoshiwaraJapanJapanese

吉原, Tokyo. The historical Edo-period pleasure quarter; today the largest soapland district in Japan. Like Tobita Shinchi, photography is enforced by the local proprietors' association.