"Rakka Roujaku" by Makate Asai Price: ¥760 + tax, Futaba Bunko, Published 2022 In the early Edo period, when the spirit of the Warring States period still lingered, Yoshiwara, a licensed pleasure district under the Tokugawa shogunate, was born. Hana, the proprietress of Nishidaya, the largest brothel in Yoshiwara, runs the shop while supporting her husband, Jinemon, who puts the town's interests before his own business. She struggles with the shogunate's difficult demands, the love affairs of the courtesans, and the dancers and bathhouse girls of Kabuki who steal customers in the shadows, but eventually embarks on a major project for the town. A master of historical fiction depicts the dawn of Yoshiwara, the best red-light district in Edo, and the joys and sorrows of the people who lived there in this masterpiece novel. #MakateAsai #Books #JapaneseLiterature/Novels/Stories