日本の古い遊郭を覗いてみよう：地元の人々によって保存された大正時代の遊郭の内部

日本の古い遊郭を覗いてみよう：地元の人々によって保存された大正時代の遊郭の内部

[Music] Goldfish is not our main topic today, but I guess we’ll be able to see some of them. Welcome back to Guro House Japan channel. Uh, I’m here in Yamato Koreyama City of N. I think a place that most of you don’t know. It’s a place famous for Kingo Goldfish. Today, actually, I’m trying something new. Uh I I don’t have my camera on me. I have it, but I’m not using it. I have Thomas, who is a professional in filming uh videos, photographers. Um he’s also very interested in things like uh machia buildings, uh traditional stuff. First place we’ll be visiting is Koreyama Castle. Afterwards, we’ll go to the downtown area to explore the shops related to Kingo Goish. And there is actually the brothel area. Of course, it’s not active anymore, but um uh there’s a building that’s being preserved very nicely, managed by the city. Actually, one that’s on sale uh for I think about 50 million yen. I think that’s a bit much for the introduction, but let’s go check out the castle. [Music] Where’s the castle? No castle, I told you. But as as you see, it’s a it’s a town famous for Kingo. We’re at the top of the castle tower. The castle is not here anymore. Uh the weather is great but as you can see already we are the only one here basically and maybe that group of oas this is not even that countryside but when you get out of the big busy cities like Kyoto you can have all this to yourself. So obviously from here we see everything around the this castle and if there’s enemy coming I’m sure it’s very easy to spot because everything is so flat. [Music] Did you see the goldfish? Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I already saw it. There’s going to be more goldfish around the town. [Music] This is the Kingo Gish Street. Yo, he’s gone. [Music] So, I think one of the thing about shopping street that it has to be pedestrian friendly. At the moment it’s very car oriented like you see now. Unfortunately, no goldfish. [Music] Oh, okay. Go fish inside a TV. It’s a bit too big. Very nice. Basically, we’re in a Kingo Museum. Um, Coya is the name of this building. Uh, they have some indigo dying workshop as well, but mainly it’s about this kind of king goofish, potteries, the history of it. I’m not an expert on goofish obviously but um I think it became popular in the Edo period and actually after Edo period for breeding kingo it’s more of like a hobby for it seems like for woman for displaying the samurai they lost their jobs in the Maji period they have to do some other works for earning money so this is one of the thing they started doing a few moments later. [Music] Probably another one that’s just demolished not a while ago. A very big one. Very big. used to be the same household connected. But the whale over there, if you see the black one, it’s split in between this this one and the other one. [Music] It’s likely part of the brothel, not the one that’s open to public. The girls. Where are the girls? There. Yes, we’ll we’ll see the spirits. A bit scary, but it’s just spirits. [Music] Look at the heart shape. [Music] Mia. Basically a museum now with a small cafe, but it used to be a broth. Three stories. You don’t see this in Kyoto, I don’t think. But some other parts of Nara and Japan, you still have this. But Kyoto, I don’t think so. It’s huge. [Music] Yeah. Two red light districts basically. one within the castle town. Poeni is this one. The one we’re here now. The other one, Higashioka, is the one. It’s outside of the castle town. The blue line. Uh, apparently the Higashi one was bigger. He doesn’t know the reason, but maybe because there’s a curfew. After a certain time, this is closed. So, people from the outside can only go to the uh the commoners Brussel outside inside the castle town. Maybe it’s more high class privilege. [Music] During the time when this business is running, the uh companion have their photos lined up like this in the shop front. The latis work of the facade first floor is the It was difficult to see the ladies uh because in in the era taicher area era when this building was built it’s already uh forbidden to show the ladies face to face from the outside. Yeah. So yes, the regulation is it’s prohibited. So you cannot show the face of the ladies directly outside. Whoever wants to see, they may peek through the lettuce. But with the lettuce this wide, you can of course see [Music] [Music] So this is basically on the left side of the entrance when there were displays of the ladies. The ladies are waiting here but they cannot be seen in face. But when they’re appointed, you know, you know, by a guest, then they go up this this stairway to their room. They wait for their guest in the room. And for the guest, the club uh the customer, they come from this route. They pay the money, they leave their records or whatever with the window over there, and they go up the this route. That’s the customer to the room. So, you’ve got a booking uh 100 years ago. Maybe not today. Wow. Uh the guide was saying this is the popular spot for the heart shape. [Music] This is heart shape. But he’s saying a lot of people mistaken it because this is a broth also. It’s heart shape. But actually this is more for uh light coming in and also for the ventilation the smoke coming out from this area under this is the each individual rooms of the broth. A lot smaller than the big eight tatami room. This is a typical one room. The lattice you see is a bit wider now and the window also the frosted one they will always have a toon for the guest more people [Music] the guest they are not so concerned about their identity being revealed because he said more before adult period That’s more important. They don’t want to be known. But this was actually running after Maji or Taiisho era. So the guests were not as concerned. He said apparently of course you don’t have the sewage or the system. So it’s pit toilet. Everything just go all the way from the top to to the bottom. [Music] So you would have maybe mistaken it as like a room number for each area but this is actually for electrical meter for each of the do rooms because it’s being used by different people. Uh but in the very p in the very beginning it used to have a room number just numbers when it’s used as a brothel but not these plates just electric electricity meter. So not the history of the brothel but when it’s a do you have uh students who are putting up the stickers. [Music] Hi Hold on. Hold on. Uh, he said something very interesting. You see in the floor you were able to see goldfish king. No way. It used to be glass. You could see under you can see the glass before it’s broken. That’s the only remaining of what it used to be. You got [Music] [Music] [Music] Good enough. [Music] What did you think of it? It’s great. It’s very interesting. First time you see like something like that. I mean, I’ve been to other ones, but not as big and interesting as this one. So, yeah, visit visit and go see the brothel. It’s worth just as a architectural perspective. Very interesting. [Music] Hello. [Music] Hey.

Explore the hidden gems in Nara Prefecture — a mix of history, heritage, and a bit of forgotten beauty. I started in Koriyama Castle Town, a historic area with charming streets and a long‑standing tradition of goldfish breeding. The Goldfish Museum was a quirky spot that captured the town’s obsession with these beautiful fish.

Then there is the Taisho‑era brothel that was saved from falling apart by the local community. This three‑story building, tucked away in what used to be a yūkaku (red‑light district), gives a rare glimpse into Japan’s forgotten history. Abandoned in the 1990s, it was restored and opened to the public as a museum in 2018. It’s a small town but worth visiting if you want to avoid the crowds…

0:00 Introduction
1:22 Koriyama castle area
3:22 Hatamotokan Konya – Goldfish museum and Indigo Dye shop
4:36 Machiya Turned into Curry Shop & Cafe – TabiTabi
5:47 Entering the Yukaku – Old Red light district
6:25 Kawamoto Residence & Brothel
9:27 Tour Inside the Kawamoto-ro Brothel

Links to the places that I visited
http://www.hakomoto.com/english/english.htm
https://tabitabi.shopselect.net/p/00001
https://www.city.yamatokoriyama.lg.jp/soshiki/chiikishinkoka/shisetsu/2/8605.html
https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/nara/sc_yamatokoriyama/nc_77457876/ (14.8mil yen ex-brothel property in the city currently for sale…sorry that I didn’t have enough time to pass by this property during my visit…)

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