"The Tea House of the August Moon"

     The Imjin Wars which had a devastating and lasting effect on Korea also affected other countries in the region.  The Ming Dynasty of China proved to be not such a powerful country and it soon fell to the Manchus.  Korea, with its huge loss in population and devastated cities, took a long time to recover.  Japan, on the other hand, although failing to accomplish its goal of conquest of Korea, benefitted from the experience by establishing itself as a power to reckon with in the region.  It also acquired many skilled artisans who were brought back from Korea as prisoners and helped establish Japanese pottery, porcelain, lacquer, and other artisan industries.
     One of the smaller victims of the Imjin Wars was a tiny chain of islands south of Japan known as the Ryukyus (Loochoo in Chinese), Okinawa as it is known today.  Before Toyotomi Hideoshi set off on his campaign to conquer Korea, he requested that the King of Ryukyus provide him with soldiers to help in his endeavor.  He had planned to use the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) soldiers as a labor force. (It is interesting to note that Japan was finally able to do so during World War Two, use Okinawans as a labor force). The King of Ryukyus refused to provide troops to Hideoshi.  After all, how could he, Ryukyu was a vassal state of Ming China, as was Chosun (Korea). The Japanese, however, did not forget this slight, and later Okinawa was to pay for it dearly.
     The years 1609 through 1871 proved to be the darkest years of Ryukyuan (Okinawan) history.  About a decade after the end of the Imjin Wars in 1598, the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma in Kyushu landed on Okinawa and proceeded to terrorize the island nation.  Shortly, Okinawa ended up paying tribute to two countries, to China and Japan!  The Chinese refused to step-in and intervene when the Japanese came to the islands.  The Japanese, on the other hand, came to Okinawa when they knew the Chinese would not be there.  So the two never met, but came separately, one (China) to trade legitimately, the other (Japan) to exploit the islands.  The Shimazu Clan forbid Okinawans to own swords or any weaponry.  It is said that the Chinese Shaolin monks introduced Kung Fu to Okinawans so they could defend themselves against the Japanese raiders, thus the Okinawan Shotokan Karate was born - at least that is what the popular legend claims.
     Another thing that occurred during this period was supposedly an Okinawan Princess was abducted by the Japanese raiders (they could have been Wako pirates, not Shimazu Clan) and sold into slavery in China.  The abduction of Okinawan men and women was a common practice by raiders, both Japanese and Chinese pirates.  The abducted Okinawans were sold into slavery, women into prostitution, men as slaves for rich families or companies.
     According to popular legend, the abducted Okinawan Princess returned to the island several years later.  But she was too ashamed to return to the palace in Shuri, so instead she opened the first fancy brothel on Okinawa and called it "The Tea House of the August Moon."  Now, prostitution was alive and well on Okinawa even before the Japanese arrival, but there was nothing quite like the "tea house" that was established, patterned after the fancy brothels in China.  It is said that the King of Okinawa would secretly meet with his daughter periodically when he travelled to Naha incognito, where the tea house was located.  Whether this was true or not cannot be completely verified.  There was a professor at Ryukyu University in the 1950s and 60s who was an expert on that period in history and he claimed it did happen.  But, as far as it can be determined, there are only some sketchy written records.  No doubt there are many instances of Okinawan women who were abducted and sold into prostitution in China, and some of them returned home to operate "tea houses."  Whatever the case, it does make for an interesting story!
     Those who had visited or lived on Okinawa prior to reversion to Japan in 1972, may remember that there was a "Tea House of the August Moon" located at Naminoue in Naha.  It was not a brothel, and most of the time it had an "A" sign approval, although periodically it lost its "A" sign and was declared "off limits" to US military personnel.  It was just a pseudo "geisha house" set up to appeal to American customers.  Contrary to what many Americans may think, a geisha house is not a house of prostitution, although they may have been some brothels that called themselves "geisha houses!"  So, despite the fact that the "modern" version of the "Tea House of the August Moon" took its name trying to capitalize on a popular movie of the 1950s, there may have very well been, in fact, a brothel by that name started by a former Princess, many years ago!