Lust, Commerce, and Corruption

Download or read book Lust, Commerce, and Corruption written by Mark Teeuwen and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By 1816, Japan had recovered from famines and political reforms and seemed to be approaching a new period of growth. No one questioned the shogunate, yet, in this same year, an anonymous author wrote one of the most detailed critiques of Edo society Japan had ever seen. Writing as Buyo Inshi, “a retired gentleman of Edo,” this experienced observer exposed the corruption of samurai officials, the suffering of the poor, the operation of brothels, the dealings of moneylenders, the selling of temples, and many other offenses. Specialists on Edo society oversee this annotated translation