Women’s Bodies under the Control of the Nation 1872
Under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, prostitution was made legal by the government, and the sex trade was widespread across the nation. While the government enacted the Geishogi Kaiho-rei (an order to liberate geisha and prostitutes) in 1872, which released geisha and prostitutes from their duty to serve at brothels, the government also set forth that women could sell sex of their own free will. The national government established a licensed prostitution system, under which venereal disease tests were required only for women, who were supervised by prefectural governments and the police. Under the patriarchic family system, which legally denied women’s self-determination, instead of women, the head of their family had the right to make contracts with brothel operators, and women had no freedom under the contracts. Modern Red-light districts were formed in various places, including the outskirts of military bases, along railways, and in Japan’s colonies.
The Modern Licensed Prostitution System and Patriarchic Family System
Women’s Bodies under the Control of the Nation eighteen seventy-two
Under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, prostitution was made legal by the government, and the sex trade was widespread across the nation. While the government enacted the Geishogi、 Kaiho-rei (an order to liberate geisha and prostitutes) in eighteen seventy-two, which released geisha and prostitutes from their duty to serve at brothels, the government also set forth that women could sell sex of their own free will. The national government established a licensed prostitution system, under which venereal disease tests were required only for women, who were supervised by prefectural governments and the police. Under the patriarchic family system, which legally denied women’s self-determination, instead of women, the head of their family had the right to make contracts with brothel operators, and women had no freedom under the contracts. Modern Red-light districts were formed in various places, including the outskirts of military bases, along railways, and in Japan’s colonies.
