Music, food, and drink were all on offer, but prostitutes were the star attractions of this bustling city within a city. By the end of the eighteenth century, more than 4,000 prostitutes worked in the Yoshiwara. Ranked by brothel owners according to skill, cost, and services, the most expensive were elite courtesans, whose professional names were passed down from a woman to her successor within the brothel. Rigorously trained in music, calligraphy, poetry, and other refined arts, these women were accessible only through strict protocols, requiring huge payments and tips at three preliminary meetings. Other prostitutes sat in latticed showrooms, on view to prospective clients. At the bottom of the hierarchy were moat-side prostitutes, whose services were quick and inexpensive. Many Yoshiwara prostitutes, including those promoted by brothel owners to the highest ranks, started life in impoverished homes in the countryside. Taken from their families, they were brought to the quarter, trained, and typically bound to brothels during the term of a ten-year contract.
