Consideration of Gay Quarters in Kyoto in the Interwar Period from Economic History

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  • 戦間期における京都花街の経済史的考察
  • セン カンキ ニ オケル キョウト ハナマチ ノ ケイザイシテキ コウサツ

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In the interwar period the peculiarity of gay quarters in Kyoto is that the number of prostitutes and geishas as compared with the population and industrial production was significantly higher than other prefectures. In the first half of the 1920s, the number of them had increased rapidly, and the number of visitors and entertainment expenses had grown along with it. The reasons of this are due to the recovery of the textile industry and the Showa great honor in 1928. From the point of the economic status of gay quarters, prostitutes and geishas had been forced to pay a large amount of monthly levy or hybrid tax to Kyoto Prefecture. The amount of these money reached about 30% of the Kyoto prefectural tax imposed on commercial and industrial enterprises. In addition, in the 1920s the entertainment expenses had reached a scale almost comparable to the total amount of revenue in Kyoto. Further the related industries such as kimono merchants have greatly benefited. In this way, gay quarters were incorporated into the Kyoto economy as a major consumer economy entity and one of main part of the economic cycle of the Kyoto economy. Even though prostitutes and geishas had been despised as ugly worker and exploited, they had brought economic benefits to Kyoto economy through tax payments and so on. The Kyoto residents had also exploited indirectly from them.

Journal

  • 人文學報

    人文學報 115 193-222, 2020-06-30

    THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN HUMANITIES, KYOTO UNIVERSITY

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