A Contrapuntal Reading of Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha

Abubakar, Sadiya and A Prem, Chandr and Muhammad, Suzana (2019) A Contrapuntal Reading of Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha. In: The 5Th International Conference on Linguistics, Literature and Culture. Pusat Pengajian Ilmu Kemanusiaan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, pp. 15-18. ISBN 9789674614362

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Abstract

Historical overview of prostitution in Japan Until the enactment of Anti-Prostitution Law in 1956, prostitutes were safely operating as the brothel districts had been licensed since 1589. Thus they were somewhat under the Japanese government’s protection (Leupp, 2003). However, even in previous centuries before the Anti-Prostitution Law enactment, sexual variability in the form of the sexual services the brothels offer, or the prostitutes’ personal business engagements were considered completely normal and a large part of daily life (Downer, 2001). Saburuko (serving girls) is the first ever documented sex workers in Japanese history which dates back to the 759 AD as found in the ancient Japanese book Ma‘nyōshu which translates to “A Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves”. According to this record, the Saburuko (described as wanderers) came from displaced families because of factional struggles that took place in Japan during the late 600s. They wandered and resorted to prostitution for survival (Stephenson, 2018).

Item Type: Book Section
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) > H1-99 Social sciences (General)
Divisions: Pusat Pengajian Ilmu Kemanusiaan (School of Humanities) > International Conference on Linguistics, Literature and Culture (ICLLIC)
Koleksi Penganjuran Persidangan (Conference Collection) > International Conference on Linguistics, Literature and Culture (ICLLIC)
Depositing User: Puan Sukmawati Muhamad
Date Deposited: 08 Oct 2019 06:16
Last Modified: 08 Oct 2019 06:16
URI: http://eprints.usm.my/id/eprint/45594

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