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I am especially grateful to K. Inoue for his tireless help in digging out and analyzing mountains of material. His clear understanding of the ins and outs of the Japanese scene were of enormous help. I am also very grateful to W. Ishida, whose deep knowledge of Japan's culture, past and present, brought into perspective some of the more idiosyncratic twists of red-light life, and to Greg Allen for his social and linguistic acumen.
I would also like to thank my editor Sally Schwager for undertaking so many fact-finding missions for me, and for intercepting and interviewing important Tokyo figures; and also Dr. Lundquist, chief librarian of the Oriental Division of the New York Public Library, Ms. Kim, section head of the East Asian Division, and their staff, for suggesting books and articles that provided vital information, and for their constant scholarly assistance; and my agent Raphael Pallais for his enthusiastic support.
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On Watakano Island brothels such as Yokarō, Kinseirō, and Tomoerō soon came into their own, and nightly parties were arranged in the dining rooms of Osakaya and Takashimaya, the island's main hotels. Even respectable local women energetically chipped in to work as hostesses, pouring drinks and fluttering around the hard-working shipbuilders. In 1927, however, disaster struck. The shipyard was abruptly dismantled, its more than 10,000 shocked workers sent home and, for the first time in more than three centuries, the whole area tumbled into severe economic depression.
The Anori Village, a few miles north of Watakano Island, reverted to fishing and dedicated itself to developing the Anori Bunraku puppet theater, which was to become famous throughout Japan. The Matoya Village, on the mainland near Watakano, devoted itself to oyster fishing, turning its special breed of matoya-kaki (matoya-oyster) into a national delicacy. By 1932 there was only one brothel left, with five weary hashirigane. Toba Bay, a few miles north, still had five brothels and 40 prostitutes; there the railroad had already arrived, bringing with it the first tourists who were quickly followed by pearl merchants responsible for helping the villagers set up the famous Toba pearl farms.
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