Mizu shōbai

Mizu shōbai

Mizu shōbai (Japanese: 水商売), or the water trade, is the traditional euphemism for the night-time entertainment business in Japan, provided by hostess or snack bars, bars, and cabarets. Kabukichō in Shinjuku, Tokyo is Japan's most famous area where one can patronize the water trade, as well as its more carnal counterpart Fūzoku (風俗?)—the sex industry composed of soaplands, pink salons, health, and image clubs.

While the actual origin of the term mizu shōbai is debatable, it is likely the term came into use during the Tokugawa shogunate (16031868)[1]. The Tokugawa period saw the development of large bathhouses and an expansive network of roadside inns offering hot baths and sexual release, as well as the expansion of geisha districts and courtesan quarters in cities and towns throughout the country. Bearing relation to ukiyo (浮世 and 憂世), or "the floating world", mizu shōbai is a metaphor for floating, drinking and impermanence[citation needed].

According to one theory proposed by the Nihon Gogen Daijiten[2], the term comes from the Japanese expression "Gain or loss is a matter of chance" (勝負は水物だ shōbu wa mizumono da?), where literal meaning of the phrase "matter of chance", mizumono (水物?), is "matter of water". In the entertainment business, income depends on a large number of fickle factors like popularity among customers, the weather, the state of the economy, and success and failure change as rapidly as a flow of water. The Nihon Zokugo Daijiten[3], on the other hand, notes that the term may derive from the expression doromizu kagyō (泥水稼業?), lit. "muddy water earning business", for earning a living in the red-light districts, or from the Edo-era expression mizuchaya (水茶屋?) for a public teahouse.

See also

References

  1. ^ De Mente, Boyé Lafayette. "Selling sex in a glass! — Japan's pleasure trades". http://www.davidappleyard.com/japan/jp23.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-03. 
  2. ^ 前田富祺(編)『日本語源大辞典』(小学館)ISBN 4095011815
  3. ^ 米川明彦(編)『日本俗語大辞典』(東京堂出版)ISBN 4490106386参照。

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Host and hostess clubs — Hostess clubs are a common feature in the night time entertainment industry of Japan as well as other east Asian countries and areas outside Asia with a high oriental population. They are establishments that employ primarily female staff and… …   Wikipedia

  • Prostitution au Japon — Au Japon, la prostitution a fait l objet de réglementations dès le début du XVIIe siècle, au cours de la période Edo (ev. 1600 1868). Une loi concernant le quartier de Yoshiwara[1] tendait à criminaliser l activité des prostitués et les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prostitution au japon — Au Japon, la prostitution a fait l objet de réglementations dès le début du XVIIe siècle, au cours de la période Edo (ev. 1600 1868). Une loi concernant le quartier de Yoshiwara[1] tendait à criminaliser l activité des prostitués et les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Yoshiwara — For the Yoshiwara nightclub in the 1927 Fritz Lang film see Metropolis. Yoshiwara (吉原) was a famous Akasen district (red light district) in Edo, present day Tōkyō, Japan.In the early 17th century, there was widespread male and female prostitution …   Wikipedia

  • Ōnojō, Fukuoka — Ōnojō 大野城市   City   …   Wikipedia

  • Salaryman — For the electronic music project, see Poster Children. Sararīman take their train daily to work in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Salaryman (サラリーマン, Sararīman …   Wikipedia

  • Prostitution in Japan — has a long and varied history. While the Anti Prostitution Law of 1956 made organized prostitution illegal, various loopholes, liberal interpretations of the law and loose enforcement have allowed the sex industry to prosper and earn an estimated …   Wikipedia

  • The School of Water Business — Infobox animanga/Header name = The School of Water Business caption = ja name = 都立水商! ja name trans = Toritsu Mizusho! genre = ComedyInfobox animanga/Manga title = author = Hikaru Murozumi illustrator = Shinobu Inokuma publisher = flagicon|Japan… …   Wikipedia

  • Lion-Maru G — nihongo| Lion Maru G |ライオン丸G|Raionmaru Jī is a Japanese tokusatsu series that began airing from October 1, 2006 to November 24, 2006 in Japan, lasting 13 episodes. It is the third part in the Lion Maru trilogy, following Kaiketsu Lion Maru and… …   Wikipedia

  • Geisha — This article is about the female Japanese entertainer. For the Chinese elm variety, see Ulmus parvifolia Geisha . Geiko redirects here. For the insurance company, see GEICO. Geisha from Kyoto Geisha (芸者 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”