I have chosen to live in this district to be among the everyday people who make up this city. Sure there are outcasts, criminals and prostitutes here, but there are also artists and merchants who work hard and are good people. Plus the entertainment, the women, the sake, and the food are fine in this district.

Yoshiwara was home to some 1,750 women in the 1700s, with records of some 3,000 women from all over Japan at one time. These women were often sold to the brothels by their parents at the age of about seven to twelve. If the young girl was lucky, she would become an apprentice to a high ranking courtesan. When the girl was old enough and had completed her training, she would become a citizen herself and work her way up the ranks. The girls often had a contract to the brothel for only about five to ten years, but massive debt often kept them in the brothels their entire life. There were very few ways for a young lady to get out of the brothel due to all of her debt. One way out of Yoshiwara was for a rich man to buy her contract from the brothel and keep her as his personal courtesan. Another would be if she managed to be successful and clever enough that she is able to buy her own freedom. This did not occur very often though.

Social classes were not strictly divided in Yoshiwara. A commoner with enough money would be served as an equal to a samurai. Though it was discouraged for a samurai to enter the Yoshiwara area, they often did so anyway. The only requirement on them was that all their weapons had to be left at the town's entrance gate. Also by law, the patrons of the brothels were only allowed to stay for a night and a day at a time.

Yoshiwara also became a strong commercial area. The fashions in the town changed frequently, creating a great demand for merchants and artisans. Traditionally the prostitutes were supposed to wear only simple blue robes, but this was rarely enforced. The high-ranking ladies often dressed in the highest fashion of the time, with bright colorful silk kimonos and expensive hair decorations. Fashion was so important in Yoshiwara that it frequently dictated the fashion trends for the rest of Japan.