解説Yoshiwara Map Edo by Utagawa Hiroshige II July 1860.png
English: Yoshiwara red-light district before the advent of electricity in July 1860 (Edo period). This is Hiroshige Utagawa II's "Tōto Shin-Yoshiwara ichiran (View of Shin-Yoshiwara in the Eastern Capital). The Yoshiwara red-light district has a square shape and is surrounded by rice fields. If you look at the maps from that time, you'll understand. Yoshiwara Yukaku was a square, 330 meters wide and about 250 meters long. Literally "guo" = surrounded place. The Nakanochō main street, lined with cherry trees, had teahouses that mediated for the brothels. Although it is not clearly depicted in ukiyo-e, the Yoshiwara red-light district was surrounded by a wall, and outside of it was a moat with a width of more than 5 meters called “Oguro Dobu”. It was generally only accessible by a large central gate and by boat via the Sanya canal which was filled in long ago. The district's location corresponds to modern-day Senzoku 4-Chōme in Tokyo, Taitō-ku.