HACHINOHE, Aomori Prefecture--What does it take for a former brothel to be designated by the central government as a tangible cultural asset?

The answer basically is that few people here care to be associated with the seedy legacy that used to thrive in this part of northern Japan, with the result that not many of the historic structures where prostitutes sold their services still survive.

Those that did were transformed into ryokan traditional inns after the Anti-Prostitution Law took effect in 1957. Others were  torn down in the decades that followed. Some inns are still in business, but a lack of successors is taking its toll.

In a residential area of the Konakano 6-chome district here, the two-story Shin-Mutsu inn stands in a blind alley beside a narrow street. The building, erected in the 1890s, used to be a brothel, one of many in the area in those days.

"Customers would check out the prostitutes inside from outside through the window," said Kumiko Kawamura, 80, the owner of the ryokan, referring to a large lattice near the entrance.

As Konakano is near a port, it flourished as a red-light zone. At one time, there were more than 30 whorehouses with about 90 women working there, according to Kawamura, making the district one of the largest nightlife entertainment areas in the Tohoku region.

Even though the establishment was transformed into a ryokan after the crackdown on prostitution, the gallery on the second floor surrounding the atrium serves as a vivid reminder of the building's racy past.

Records dating from the Meiji Era (1868-1912) that detail customers' sexual preferences, addresses and facial features of the guests are available for guests to peruse. This fascinating glimpse into the past has helped draw hordes of Japanese and foreign visitors eager to experience the ambience of bygone days, according to Kawamura.

"My husband initially wanted to demolish the building rather than continue to operate it as a ryokan," she said. "Red-light districts are considered dirty, so he may have been ashamed that he was able to go to college thanks to what the prostitutes did for a living and probably hated his family business."

Kawamura persuaded her spouse, Hisao, to preserve the structure as a ryokan, arguing that the building had historic significance. It is now designated by the central government as a tangible cultural property.

After Hisao died in 2017, Kawamura has run the business by herself.

"I have no one who will inherit the business, so the ryokan will close when I retire," said Kawamura. "What I am most worried about is how the building will be cared for after that happens."

NEGATIVE LEGACY

According to Aomori city's history, a red-light area flourished in the municipality's Asahicho district between 1910 and 1958.

"U.S. soldiers went there immediately following the end of World War II, so the district thrived," said a woman in her 80s who moved to the region shortly after the conflict ended.

Although the woman's family ran a brothel in a corner of the entertainment district from 1955, it was remodeled into a ryokan in 1958. The facility ceased operating in 1995 because of the building's age.

The area used to boast 20 or so inns, but now only one ryokan remains as hotels opened near JR Aomori Station, wooing customers away from the district.

The woman said that she and only a few other people still recall what life was like when the area hosted many brothels. She also noted that few buildings from that time still stand.

While she was adamant that the surviving structure should "be kept as a record of part of our culture," she also expressed mixed feelings about her family's links with prostitution.

"I hated the fact that my family did business in a red-light zone, so I never mentioned it to other people around me," she said.

Hiroshi Nakazono, an official of Aomori Prefecture's resident life and culture division, said one of the greatest challenges in preserving such a historical heritage, especially one that could be considered in a negative light because it involves a red-light district, "is how to deal with owners' complicated feelings."

According to Nakazono, "soliciting donations," "helping to renovate the structures" and "understanding their history" are important in ensuring that such structures are preserved.

"Anyone can simply insist that owners should preserve this aspect of our heritage," said Nakazono. "An important thing is imagining what is in their mind."