(often simplified to , sometimes styled ) was the designated red light district () in Kyoto, and was later also a geisha district (). Established in 1640, Shimabara, following the outlawing of sex work in Japan became defunct as a red-light district in the 1950s; by the 1970s, no geisha were registered in Shimabara. , who never disappeared entirely from Shimabara, were allowed to register as a special type of geisha following the outlawing of prostitution, and continue to perform in the district to this day. Shimabara continues to operate as a tourist district, and operates one . History Before the establishment of Shimabara, earlier courtesan districts were established: first in in 1589, with the permission of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, which was moved to when the Edo period started, which was then moved to Shimabara in 1640/41. Shimabara was established in 1640 for a brothel owned by Hara Saburoemon and was closed (as a prostitution district) in 1958, when prostitution was outlawed in Japan, though it continued as a geisha district into the 1970s. There are many explanations for the name Shimabara; it may refer to the large gate () that resembled the gate of Shimabara Castle in Hizen, or may be a reference to the then-recent Shimabara Rebellion (1637–38) (which was provoked by the construction of the castle), due to the chaotic founding of Shimabara. In the Tokugawa period, it was also called or simply "the quarter" to distinguish the higher-class residents within from the unlicensed women who operated throughout the cities. Shimbara was one of the three districts known as established in the major cities of Japan by the Tokugawa shogunate to restrict prostitution to designated districts. These districts were Shimabara in Kyoto (established 1640), Shinmachi in Ōsaka (established 1624–1644) and Yoshiwara in Edo (established 1617). These restrictions and controls were designed to control the widespread male and female prostitution of the Edo period (1603–1868). They did not derive from a moral opposition to prostitution but out of a desire to compartmentalize certain types of activity within the cities. Kabuki and theatres, and other related entertainment establishments were similarly controlled. When geisha subsequently developed in the mid-1700s, some operated in Shimabara, and hence it also became a (geisha district). The Meiji restoration and resulting move of the imperial court to Tokyo caused economic difficulties to many traditional businesses in Kyoto that catered to the aristocracy. While the other five