Summary (embellished by personal knowledge of Japanese Studies): Shingo is a boy of upperclass standing in the Taisho era of Japan (a brief period in the early 1910s-1920s). The age of the samurai has fallen, and with it, the industrial revolution has forced Japan into a series of economical, social, and cultural revolutions. At this time in history, Yujo, prositutes of the Edo period (a golden age past) are slowly fading in prevalence, concentrated into brothels of polarized status, either used by the uber rich or the backwater patrons of societal underbelly.
Shingo finds himself quickly at the mercy of the changing times: his father, wracked with debt, commits suicide. Everything is taken from Shingo in order to amount to this massive sum which his father owed, but it is still not enough. And one day it becomes know to him that his debt has been paid off spontaneously.
But little does he know that this has only indentured him to yet another obligation and that, for the price of the remaining debt he owed, his body was actually bought in order to be cultivated as an oiran (high ranking prostitute. literally, "castle destroyer") for the use of the highest class of Japan. Zen, the man who is charged with "training his body," is blunt, aggressive, and inappropriate, but somehow he inspires Shingo to not only continue with his predicament in the brothel, but also to someday become the top courtesan in its ranks.
I'm looking forward to this particularly because it has direct relevance to my college studies. It is rare to see a story about prostitution so close to the appearance of the censorship laws in the late 1940s, which ultimately led to the outright banning of prostitution, and thusly to its westernization as a taboo, "unclean" profession. It is more common to see these stories taking place in the 16th or 17th century (I.e. Sakuran or Oiran Girl), so I can't wait to see where this is going.
Chinrou Cantarella