LIGHT: CULTURE

The luxurious wardrobe in Yoshiwara was often a burden for these prostitutes as the debt to the brothels would increase as one's rank got higher. Luxurious wardrobe she was required to wear which could include four or five layers of Kimono at once would become a financial burden for these women. Additionally, the daily quotas that women in Yoshiwara had to pay would be punished if not paid even when they were sick or in their periods. 

The makeup of the prostitutes in Yoshiwara was a lengthy process which began with the girl studying her face in the mirror. Camellia oil would be added to her face following a pink masque to cover her face. The use of red for the cheeks, lips, and eye area was common. 

“The upper garment consisted of white nanako dyed with purple clouds among which peeped out some tasteful pattern. Here and there were flowers embroidered in silk and finished by hand painting representing in vivid colors the four seasons, while the crest consisted of a wisteria flower sewn upon the dress with purple silk thread. The underwear consisted of a figured satin garment bordered with plain brown Hachijo silk and embroidered with the same pattern in colored silk, and of a lower girdle of claret-colored figured satin lined with bright scarlet silk crepe. As an instance of the beauty and costliness of the night-gown of a certain young miss, the Keiseikai Shi-juhat-te (“Forty-eight methods of buying courtesans”) mentions that “the garment was of scarlet crepe trimmed with purple figured satin and edged with gold and silver threads so as to give the effect of waves breaking upon the seashore, while her night-sash was of kabe-choro (wrinkled silk). The pattern of the shikake or cloak generally represented a cloud with lightning and a golden dragon, or rocks with peonies and a tiger chasing a butterfly; the embroidery being silver and gold.” (Longstreet, Stephen, et al. Geishas and the Floating World)