Tokyo’s Edo-Tokyo Museum apologized via their official twitter account on Dec 8, 2021, after fans reacted negatively to the museum’s description of Yoshiwara Yuukaku, which was also the setting for Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku Arc, as “gorgeous”.

On Dec 6, 2021, the day after the first episode of the Entertainment District Arc aired, Edo-Tokyo Museum tweeted about its Yoshiwara-related artifacts and exhibits, using the hashtag #Kimetsu no Yaiba.

元禄期の吉原の風物を描いた「吉原風俗図屏風」。吉原は歌舞伎やドラマ、漫画でも題材となることが多く、最近ではアニメ #鬼滅の刃 遊郭編 の舞台にもなっています。煌びやかな遊郭の世界をご覧ください。
江戸ゾーン 芝居と遊里コーナーにて12月19日(日)まで展示#江戸東京博物館 pic.twitter.com/X7qKSLUopE

— 江戸東京博物館 (@edohakugibochan) December 6, 2021

The tweet translates to:

This Yoshiwara Fuzoku Painted Scroll was made in the Genroku-period (1688-1704). Yoshiwara is often the subject of Kabuki, dramas, and manga, and it is also the setting of the recently started anime #Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc.
Please see the world of the gorgeous Yuukaku.
Exhibited until December 19th (Sun) at the Edo Zone Play and Yuukaku Corner

The promotional attempt to attract attention from anime fans by connecting the museum to the most popular anime in Japan was bombarded with angry comments from fans criticizing the museum’s choice of words for describing Yuukaku.

Even though a few comments were in defense, the museum issued out an apology tweet on Dec 8, 2021, and clarified how it depicts Yoshiwara and its history in its exhibitions in response to the overall negative reaction of the fans.

当館の展示では吉原が江戸文化の形成に大きな役割を果たした「表」の面と経済的な理由から身を売らざるを得なかった遊女たちの苦しい実像という「裏」の面、両面を紹介しています。12月6日の「吉原風俗図屏風」を紹介したツイートで「煌びやかな遊郭の世界」の表現は不適切でした。お詫び申し上げます pic.twitter.com/WdJTBlwYe7

— 江戸東京博物館 (@edohakugibochan) December 8, 2021

In the exhibition of this museum, we will introduce both the “front” side, where Yoshiwara played a major role in the formation of Edo culture and the “back” side, which is the painful real image of the prostitutes who had to sell themselves for economic reasons. In the tweet that introduced Yoshiwara Fuzoku Painted Scroll on December 6, the expression “the world of gorgeous Yuukaku” was inappropriate. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The reason for such reaction was because “entertainment district” is a pretty loose translation of the word Yuukaku, which actually translates to “legal red-light district”.

Though Yoshiwara was formerly a legitimate, regulated brothel district, modern attitudes against prostitution, as well as the living conditions of those who work in it, are vastly different from those of the Genroku Period, and even the Taisho Period (1912-1926), in which Demon Slayer is set.

Besides, Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime faced a lot of criticism recently from fans for multiple reasons such as violence, a character having multiple wives, and spanking that was shown in the series.

Before the second season premiered, Japanese parents voiced concerns about the upcoming plot being set in a red zone with multiple brothels, an environment they wanted their children to stay out of.

Source: Sora News