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Partaking of what the Yoshiwara had to offer could be incredibly expensive. And it required more than just money to get in the door; one needed connections (networking, i.e. knowing people), and a reputation for cultural capital. At the time of the Yoshiwara's cultural height, prior to 1750 or so, only the most ''[[tsu|tsû]]'', that is, those with the greatest reputation for familiarity with the Yoshiwara, its etiquette, and so forth, could secure an appointment with the top courtesans; even then, few could afford it, as the prices for a night with even a middling-ranking courtesan were quite expensive, serving as the source of income not only for the courtesan one was hiring, but for her entire entourage (i.e. attendants, younger courtesans-in-training) as well. A first visit could cost on average 10 ''[[currency|ryô]]'', including tips for the ''[[nakai]]'' and ''[[taikomochi]]'' (servants/assistants). Yet, some managed to afford not only this, but on occasion, a very few merchants are known to have even rented out the entire Yoshiwara for themselves for a night or two.

Partaking of what the Yoshiwara had to offer could be incredibly expensive. And it required more than just money to get in the door; one needed connections (networking, i.e. knowing people), and a reputation for cultural capital. At the time of the Yoshiwara's cultural height, prior to 1750 or so, only the most ''[[tsu|tsû]]'', that is, those with the greatest reputation for familiarity with the Yoshiwara, its etiquette, and so forth, could secure an appointment with the top courtesans; even then, few could afford it, as the prices for a night with even a middling-ranking courtesan were quite expensive, serving as the source of income not only for the courtesan one was hiring, but for her entire entourage (i.e. attendants, younger courtesans-in-training) as well. A first visit could cost on average 10 ''[[currency|ryô]]'', including tips for the ''[[nakai]]'' and ''[[taikomochi]]'' (servants/assistants). Yet, some managed to afford not only this, but on occasion, a very few merchants are known to have even rented out the entire Yoshiwara for themselves for a night or two.

While the higher-ranking (and thus more famous and more highly demanded) courtesans might not need to advertise themselves, lower- and mid-ranking courtesans often sat in the ''harimise''<!--張見世--> of the teahouse, a latticed display window facing the street. They might typically sit in three rows, and perform a concert from roughly dusk (the sixth hour) until midnight (the 9th hour).<ref>[[Kobayashi Tadashi]] and [[Julie Nelson Davis]], "The Floating World in Light and Shadow: Ukiyo-e Paintings by Hokusai's Daughter Oi," in [[John Carpenter]] et al (eds), ''Hokusai and his Age'', Hotei Publishing (2005), 96.</ref>

While the higher-ranking (and thus more famous and more highly demanded) courtesans might not need to advertise themselves, lower- and mid-ranking courtesans often sat in the ''harimise''<!--張見世--> of the teahouse, a latticed display window facing the street. They might typically sit in three rows, and perform a concert from roughly dusk (the sixth hour) until midnight (the 9th hour).<ref>[[Kobayashi Tadashi]] and [[Julie Nelson Davis]], "The Floating World in Light and Shadow: Ukiyo-e Paintings by Hokusai's Daughter Oi," in [[John Carpenter]] et al (eds), ''Hokusai and his Age'', Hotei Publishing (2005), 96.</ref> While sitting there, courtesans freely chatted with one another, including talking about clients, and about scheduled engagements and past ones; they were not obligated to avoid such talk, let alone to avoid chatting entirely.<ref>Laura Allen, "Introduction," in ''Seduction: Japan's Floating World'', San Francisco: Asian Art Museum (2015), xiii.</ref>

Getting to the Yoshiwara typically involved a river journey, on swiftboats called ''choki''. One typically departed from [[Azuma-bashi]], in Asakusa.

Getting to the Yoshiwara typically involved a river journey, on swiftboats called ''choki''. One typically departed from [[Azuma-bashi]], in Asakusa.