A Woman of Pleasure
Ichi is fifteen when she is taken from her island home of Iojima and sold to the preeminent brothel in the Kumamoto licensed quarter in Kyushu. She is ranked physically “exceptional” and assigned to learn from Shinonome, one of two exquisitely perfect oiran (courtesan). Ichi is illiterate, unworldly, brash, and very independent. At the Female Industrial School, the girls are taught calligraphy, reading, and composition. Their teacher, Tetsuko, adds rudimentary mathematics to the curriculum, so the girls can understand the terms of their contracts (debt which often increases as their fathers continue to borrow) and keep track of their earnings, hopefully thwarting the brothel’s crooked bookkeeping. Only sixteen when she first sits behind the storefront lattice waiting for clients, Ichi has a level of acceptance way beyond her years. She calculates she will have to stay healthy and take clients every day for eight years to repay her way to freedom.
The first of Murata’s novels to be translated for western audiences is inspired by the harsh yet fascinating lives of the brothel courtesans of early 20th-century Japan and specifically the historical 1904 courtesan strike. As a western reader I was initially looking for a familiar cadence, which isn’t there. Rapid switches in point of view are abrupt. We hear Ichi, then Shinonome, then Tetsuko, past and present, with little preamble. Events are succinct, without long expositional passages or dialogue. Once in the swing of this matter-of-fact approach to storytelling, I found this an absorbing history, delving into universal themes of patriarchy, sexism, and oppression. As brutal as the reality is, darkness never overwhelms Murata’s narrative. Her portrayal of such a courageous young protagonist is so realistic, the reader can’t help admiring and applauding the determination of these resolute women.
