군항도시 사세보(佐世保)의 유흥공간 변천

Abstract

As for the entertainment space in Sasebo, from 1889, when the old headquarters was established, during the pre-war period, brothels and kashizashiki (貸座敷) were created. With the Katsutomi Yukaku and Hanazono Yukoku as the center, Aiura and Haiki Yukura were also established. Around 1937, it reached its peak of prosperity, and there were more than 1,000 prostitutes in only two brothel districts, Katsutomi and Hanazono. However, the Sino-Japanese War began, and the influence of the war could not be avoided even among prostitutes. Some were mobilized to factories for military production or converted to farming to make a living. Due to the Sasebo air raid on June 29, 1945, at the end of the Pacific War, the Katsutomi and Hanazono brothel areas were burnt down, districts of which lost their function. As the Allied Forces entered Sasebo after the defeat on August 15, 1945, the Sasebo City Hall and City Police Station gathered the owners and prostitutes of Katsutomi and Hanazono, which had been destroyed by the war, and instructed to set up brothels for the military. In the end, it was installed as a space dedicated to prostitution for soldiers and civilian employees under the name of ‘Special Teahouse Street’. The Korean War broke out in 1950, and the Allied Forces Command was established in Sasebo. Sasebo, which became a base for sending troops to Korea and supplying military supplies, was overflowing with soldiers crossing to the battlefield and returning from vacations from the battlefield, and foreigner bars also prospered together. On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement was signed in the Korean War, and Sasebo's entertainment district again flourished due to the returning soldiers through Sasebo Port. However, due to the closure of the US military base, Aiura Camp, and the Japanese government's deflationary policy, sekikashi for foreigners also decreases. In March 1950, the entertainment space, which was divided into foreigners and Japanese by the Relocation Committee, was organized as one in Katsutomi-cho, Goten-cho and Gion-cho. The reorganized Katsutomi/Hanazono Yukaku did not last again, and in March before the Prostitution Prevention Act took effect on April 1, 1958, the sekikashi business was closed and changed to an inn. In this way, we examined how the entertainment space of Sasebo has changed since 1889, when the old headquarters was established, through the prewar and postwar periods.