Japan's Gigolo Clubs

By Francoise Kadri

GIGOLO bar owner Takeshi Aida is one of a rare breed in Japan these days - a happy entrepreneur - thanks to the demand for male attention from Japanese women who feel neglected by the men in their lives.

Trend

Aida owns four "host clubs" out of hundreds in Japan, dozens of which are concentrated in Tokyo's traditional nightlife districts of Kabukicho and Roppongi. "In the past they used to be spacious places with 150 hosts or more, but now the trend is for smaller places which are cheaper to run, with about 15 hosts," the 63 year old told AFP, as he smoothed his moustache with a finger sporting a gem-encrusted ring.

Dating back to 1971, Aida's flagship club Ai (Japanese for love), which boasts neo-classical statues at the entrance, private rooms, gilded mirrors and chandeliers as well as 90 hosts, is one of the biggest in the business. He has three others - including one with cross-dressing, moustachioed female "hosts" catering to lesbians - the latest of which opened in 2002.

While the clubs have changed over the years, so has the clientele. "Before the clients were mostly mature, married, widows or women running their own businesses," said Aida, a former door-to-door mattress salesman, who discovered his vocation as a seducer of housewives. "Today the average age is younger and we have two categories of patron: before midnight it's predominantly office workers, and after midnight there are many hostesses."

The gigolo clubs operate along similar lines to the even more numerous hostess clubs catering to male patrons: the men encourage their women clients to spend as much as possible on drinks and snacks and to return as often as possible, as their own income depends on it. Aida only pays a nominal retainer of 6,000 yen (51 dollars) per night, but the top-rated hosts can earn a commission of up to 50 per cent on everything they serve their clients. The hosts are formally ranked according to their earnings and photographs of the top ten are posted outside the club.

Their skills are worth a lot to the club: a client persuaded to celebrate a birthday with a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, cocktail snacks and the company of four of five hosts will spend 300,000 to 400,000 yen. But in a nod to leaner times, those feeling the pinch can still enjoy a flask of sake and peanuts and the attention of a host for up to two hours for 5,000 yen. The hosts do not hesitate to go to bed with the clients to keep them happy and coming back for more. Ryusei Kuroki, 50, a divorced father of two who was a gigolo in his youth and came back to hosting when he could not make a living from his paintings, has five regular clients.

"I call them each in turn so they don't get jealous. We go for dinner outside the club and arrive fresh as a daisy as if we haven't slept together," he said. The most sought-after hosts are not always the best looking. "A host must know how to entertain and make the client laugh," explained another casanova with a pronounced tan, who claimed to have been given five American limousines in the course of his 40-year career. Often coming from the countryside or humble family backgrounds, coming to Tokyo is the realisation of a dream for the hosts who are highly motivated.

"To be a good host, you have to be hungry," said Kuroki. Even so, the appeal of gigolos for attractive young women is not immediately apparent. "Often they are married and unhappy with their husbands who neglect them, and don't even notice when they get their hair cut," explained the tanned beau.
Affable and smiling, the hosts know how to be charming, tactfully complimenting their clients and showing small courtesies rarely used by Japanese men. Writer Usagi Nakamura, 44, who has published several books on the subject, has her own explanation for the success of the phenomenon.
"Before going I had a very negative image of host clubs. I thought I would be sitting there with dirty old men looking like enka (sentimental popular song) singers touching me. "Actually I found out the people there are young and quite cute and don't have a very strong sexual image," said Nakamura.
Lots of the clients are young hostesses themselves, or prostitutes either just wanting to have some fun after work, or looking for love, Nakamura said.

"They earn lots of money and don't know where to go at night. They are somehow selling themselves and feel guilty and can't face that. "They think it is difficult to have a relationship with ordinary men ... They lack a sense of self-worth and think no one could love them, so they spend their money for an illusion of love," she said. Nakamura first went to a gigolo club out of curiosity but soon fell for one of the hosts at the Top Dandy club in Kabukicho in whose company she splashed out 15 million yen in a single year. "In the beginning it was a bit of a game, it was a kind of flirting. He is very cute, around 28 but very uneducated and ignorant," she said. "For me it was refreshing since I have many publishers and educated people around me. We had nothing in common but I fancied him," said Nakamura who is married to a gay man she considers her "soulmate.".

Eventually the game evolved into helping her favourite move up the rankings from 15th to third out of 30 hosts. "It was very much like the mentality of a pop music fan. When you find and like a new singer, you want to have all his CDs and posters," she said.

Friendship

These days, her author's royalties have dried up, however, and Nakamura's relationship with her paid beau has necessarily changed to something more like friendship. AFP

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