Dated 100 years ago, prostitutes during the Meiji period were held in cages to attract customers in Yoshiwara, a center of brothels at that time. Girls as young as seven years old were sold to the brothels as sex workers to repay family debts.
The photos were taken between 1890 and 1900. The prostitutes were mainly from the countryside. Some lucky ones would be given training in etiquette such as Tea Art classes. However most had to stay in the brothels until some wealthy men paid off their debts and kept them as concubines, or they had enough money to buy back their own freedom.
The Nobel Prize Nominee Hideyo Noguchi, whose face is on the current 1000 yen banknote, was a big fan of brothels in Yoshiwara. He was reported to have spent a big sum of money for a night of pleasure. Men with different backgrounds were welcomed, while samurais had to remove their swords before getting in.
These brothels were called ‘harimise’, where prostitutes had to sit behind the bars and faced the main streets to let customers choose. Since 1903, sex workers were picked and chosen from their photos. And later in 1916, ‘harimise’ brothels were banned.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Freshman Ebuka Okorie had 36 points and nine assists and Stanford rallied from 12 points down in the second half to beat No. 14 North Carolina 95-90 on Wednesday night.
Okorie outdueled Tar Heels freshman star Caleb Wilson and helped the Cardinal (14-4, 3-2 ACC) knock off the Tar Heels (14-3, 2-2) for the second straight season as conference opponents. North Carolina had won all 13 meetings between the schools before coach Kyle Smith took over last season in Stanford's first year in the ACC.
Jeremy Dent-Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:04 to play for his sixth long ball of the night to make it 88-87. After Wilson turned it over at the other end, Ryan Agarwal hit another 3 to but the Cardinal up by four points with 32 seconds to play.
The Cardinal held on from there for their second win over a ranked opponent this month after beating No. 16 Louisville at home on Jan. 2. That matches the most wins against ranked wins in a season for Stanford since the Cardinal had five in 2013-14 in the last season when they made the NCAA Tournament.
Dent-Smith and Agarwal each finished with 20 points as Stanford won despite playing without second-leading scorer Chisom Okpara, who is out with a lower-body injury.
Wilson and Henri Veesaar each scored 26 points for North Carolina.
North Carolina broke out to a 12-point lead early in the first half behind Veesaar, but Okorie got Stanford back into it with 17 points and five assists as the Cardinal cut it to 47-45 at the break.
The Tar Heels scored the first eight points of the second half and built the lead back to 12 before Stanford rallied.
North Carolina: Visits California on Saturday.
Stanford: Hosts Duke on Saturday.
North Carolina center Henri Veesaar, right, drives to the basket against Stanford forward AJ Rohosy during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford forward Aidan Cammann, middle, dunks against North Carolina guard Jaydon Young (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, right, drives to the basket against North Carolina guard Seth Trimble during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
