Japanese symbol for “brothel”
娼館
しょうかん
Romaji: shoukan
brothel
In Japanese, brothel is 娼館, read しょうかん (shoukan).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n brothel
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “brothel”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 娼家 | しょうか shouka | brothel |
| 妓楼 | ぎろう girou | brothel |
| 楼 | ろう rou | brothel |
| 銘酒屋 | めいしゅや meishuya | brothel (masked as a seller of high-quality sake) |
| 女郎屋 | じょろうや jorouya | brothel |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 娼婦 | しょうふ shoufu | prostitute |
| 男娼 | だんしょう danshou | male prostitute |
| 公娼 | こうしょう koushou | licensed prostitute |
| 街娼 | がいしょう gaishou | prostitute; whore; streetwalker |
| 娼家 | しょうか shouka | brothel |
| 図書館 | としょかん toshokan | library |
| 美術館 | びじゅつかん bijutsukan | art museum; art gallery |
| 博物館 | はくぶつかん hakubutsukan | museum |
See also: Chinese symbol for “brothel”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.