Yoshiwara is a red-light district located in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1617 as one of three licensed and famous yūkaku districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate.
The other two prominent districts established during this period were Shimabara in Kyoto, founded in 1640, and Shinmachi in Osaka. Yoshiwara remains a notable historical site associated with these regulated pleasure districts of the Edo period.