Akiko, Former Yoshiwara Worker, Captures Red-Light Districts’ Legacy
One of the three major soaps in Japan.
The 2025 NHK Taiga drama “Berabou ~ Tsutashige Eikan no Yumenobana ~” tells the story of the protagonist, Tsutaya Shigezaburo, played by Ryusei Yokohama, who is born in the Edo period’s Yoshiwara red-light district and lives deeply intertwined with the people of Yoshiwara.
The Yoshiwara district has also been featured in the popular anime “Demon Slayer,” highlighting the growing attention on the red-light districts since the beginning of the Reiwa era. On the other hand, it has been 66 years since the Anti-Prostitution Law was fully enforced in 1958, and this year, in October, demolition work began on the former brothel buildings in Higashioka-cho, Yamato-Koriyama City, Nara Prefecture, marking the beginning of the loss of memories of these districts.
Taking photographs of these former red-light districts, brothel areas (semi-legal prostitution zones), and blue-line districts (illegal prostitution zones) is photographer Kureniko, a specialist in photographing color districts.
“I’ve always enjoyed walking around the streets, and I’ve liked alleys that seem to have been abandoned for a long time. About four years ago, I started taking pictures of such places seriously, and when I researched the history of these locations, I found that many of them were former red-line or blue-line areas. That’s why I started photographing these color districts three years ago.”
At 52 years old, Beniko began working in the adult entertainment industry from the age of 19 to 32. She started at a pinks salon in Nishi-Kawaguchi, Saitama, and moved to Tokyo’s Yoshiwara at the age of 22. By the age of 28, she joined a popular establishment called “Picasso,” known as one of Japan’s three major soapland establishments. She worked there until she retired at 32 when she got married. Her sense of sympathy toward the old red-light districts and yūkaku (brothel areas) might have been inevitable given her past.
“I started using my current title after I began my YouTube channel. Initially, my videos were titled something like ‘History of the Yūkaku told by a former soapland worker,’ but YouTube has strict regulations, and if I used direct words, I couldn’t get ads. So, after trying different things, I ended up settling on the title ‘Shitamachi Photographer.'”
On her SNS accounts like X (formerly Twitter), she goes by the name “Former Yoshiwara Soapland worker Beniko @ Shitamachi Photographer,” which holds significant meaning for her.
“I dropped out of high school after only six months and couldn’t even properly do basic math, which led me to be unable to become a regular employee. Before I knew it, I was deeply immersed in the adult entertainment world. Back then, I was troubled and wondered why I could only be in this kind of world.
‘Not wanting to end my life regretting my past as a sex worker’ is also why I started taking photos. I believe that because of my past as a sex worker, continuing my current activities has meaning.”
This is also Tobita Shinchi (Photographed by Beniko). The face it shows changes drastically depending on the time of day and the lighting.Beyond the underground and subculture
After dropping out of high school, Beniko went on to attend an art vocational school. During her time as a sex worker, she also engaged in art activities.
“I had a longing for worlds like those in Shuji Terayama’s films and the Ankoku Butoh (Dance of Darkness). When I entered the world of sex work in the ’90s, it was a time when adult entertainment was also discussed within the underground and subculture scene, so it wasn’t uncommon to progress into the sex work world as an extension of that.
But the actual world of sex work is far from underground. It’s a world that values respect and manners, so in order to be accepted by the customers who come, you have no choice but to go in the opposite direction of the underground. When I engaged in art, I expressed it as a sex worker, but in reality, it was just a means to survive.”
Having been a single mother raising her child on her own, Beniko was away from creative activities for a long time. However, at the age of 48, she began her activities as a former Yoshiwara soapland worker and Shitamachi photographer.
When she held her first photo exhibition, she worried that only male customers who came with the same mindset as visiting a sex establishment would show up, but the actual audience was very different.
“We had women and elderly couples, as well as a wide range of people. It seemed like women were viewing the photos while reflecting on their own lives and the sexuality hidden within them. Some elderly people, who had known about the old yūkaku during its active years, seemed to feel a sense of nostalgia for the past through the photos. I was really happy that people genuinely appreciated the photos.”
Scenes from the street walk held in October along the old red-light district and Ito Riverbank in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture © Yoshimi Mizuno“Many people consider yūkaku and red-light district sites to be negative heritage, and there are not a few people who have struggled because they grew up in those areas. It’s natural to feel anxious about ‘inappropriate expressions’ being made there.
However, when the photos were actually shown, they were properly appreciated. I don’t want to inconvenience the people living in those areas, so I make sure to interact with the locals before taking photos, and I try to get permission from them when using the photos for exhibitions or photo books. There were also some photos I wanted to use but decided not to display in the exhibition.”
In recent years, there has been a movement to repurpose former yūkaku sites, such as the old Nakajima yūkaku in Okayama City, which has been turned into a renovated old house café.
“There are critical voices, but I am only grateful that these places are being preserved. It’s been 66 years since the full enforcement of the Prostitution Prevention Act, so it’s inevitable that buildings from that time are being demolished due to seismic concerns. However, I hope that if they are going to be renewed, at least some of the history can be preserved.
The ‘Ryokan Hashimoto-no-Ko’ in the old Hashimoto yūkaku in Kyoto is being repaired and preserved by the Chinese-born owner, who understands the history of the yūkaku era. There are very few yūkaku ruins where you can actually go inside, so I would like people to visit it.”
Beniko Self-Portrait: Hashimoto Yūkaku (Yahata City, Kyoto Prefecture. Photographed by Beniko)
“Today, it’s an amazing time where you can learn so much by searching online, such as on YouTube. I also started learning photography in earnest at the age of 48 and began taking photos. I hope to convey that people can reinvent themselves at any age.
I think there are people who become interested in yūkaku through historical dramas or popular anime, but in the past, women were sold into yūkaku to pay off debts or to reduce family size, becoming courtesans who endured great hardships and were ultimately buried in history. Through my photos and the remains of the yūkaku, I hope people can also sense these aspects.”
Text and photography by Yoshimi Mizuno
After working in an editorial production company and publishing, Mizuno became a freelance writer. She writes widely, from articles about deep spots in Japan and public gambling to interviews with celebrities.
