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Gardener garners prolific proceeds by retailing wealthy wives

Nikkan Gendai Oct. 10
Nikkan Gendai Oct. 10
In 1988, the high-class “Mrs. Club” opened for business in Tokyo’s Akasaka district. This was a social club that entitled paying members to have sex with married women residing in Denenchofu — the capital’s most affluent residential area.

How was the shop’s proprietor able to persuade the wives of wealthy celebrities to toil at such a sleazy trade? Actually the women were customers of the club owner, who daylighted as a humble gardener.

“The women in such opulent neighborhoods were wealthy, but lonely,” he tells Nikkan Gendai (Oct. 10). “Their husbands were physicians or presidents of major companies, and almost never home. So I figured a club offering women like this would definitely catch on.”

His method for approaching them was to ask, “Would you be interested in getting to know lots of different types of men?” Apparently about half gave positive replies.

Membership in the club cost 50,000 yen, and monthly dues of 100,000 yen entitled a customer to two “dates.” This was during the era of the “bubble” economy, and most of its fiftyish male customers were presidents of prosperous small businesses, whereas the age of the women who came to work ranged from late thirties to forties.

Many of the women were graduates of prestigious women’s universities, and the male customers reveled in the notion of cavorting carnally with aristocratic nookie.

For the wives, the feeling was often mutual. Few of them up to that point had much experience with men, and they were mostly ignored by their husbands. The illicit frisking with randy males who, familiar with foreplay, stirred long-slumbering sections of their femininity into tingling wakefulness.

Unfortunately this resulted in troubles for the shop. It seems more and more of the ladies began submitting their resignations, telling management, “Sorry, but I’ve decided to divorce my husband and marry the customer.”

Subsequently several jilted hubbies managed to track down the address of the club and confronted its management — and the new grooms — with outrageously high claims for compensation.

Saddled with rapid staff attrition and high monetary damage claims, the owner had no choice but call it quits after two years of operation. He then returned to his original occupation, or to put it another way, he threw in the towel and picked up the plow. (K.S.)

Source: “Hitozuma no ‘honki’ de tsubreta kokyu misesu kurabu,” Nikkan Gendai (Oct. 10, page 28)