Japan’s first so-called “Aijin Banku” (Mistress Bank) in Osaka created quite a stir at the time of its founding back in the 1970s. The service, which made its money by serving as a go-between between women seeking steady employment in a prone position and men who could afford it, gradually disappeared, to be replaced by such customer-direct transactions as enjo kosai, or “compensated dating.”.
But in 1994, reports Nikkan Gendai (Nov. 21), things were still going strong and a shop in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district came up with a new twist. Instead of introducing divorcees down on their luck or middle-aged moms who sought income on the side, the High School Girl Mistress Bank charged 30,000 yen for membership, upon which a customer could peer through a two-way mirror at a selection of real, live high-school girls.
At that point, the customer would be entitled to a one-hour “date” with the girl, during which the two would negotiate the terms, conditions and rates of their romantic relationship. The market price for sex was typically around 30,000 yen for a one-time session, which was generally unsatisfactory to both parties, whereas an “Easygoing mistress course” — consisting of four monthly hot-mattress encounters for a set rate of 100,000 yen — proved a big hit, and before long 300 eager johns had signed up.
For those who sought nothing more than a brief encounter with a cute companion, the bank could also arrange for a gal to go along for a one-hour singing session at a karaoke shop, priced at 5,000 yen.
But problems soon arose. It was not that the girls weren’t young — they were; but there simply weren’t enough of the desirable giggly, girl-next-door types. Instead, many of the those who volunteered for bank duty were “Yankees” — delinquent girls from biker gangs with dyed hair, tattoos, body piercing and other subcultural accouterments. What’s more, they tended to be unreliable, showing up late for work (or not showing up at all).
Worst of all, some of the girls carried STDs — which meant disaster for customers who passed on the germs to their own wives. And to top it all off, these gals were maguro who just laid there without attempting any creative refinements beyond the basic procreative act.
Not surprisingly this decline in quality of merchandise infuriated growing numbers of bank subscribers, who demanded their fees be refunded. By this time, thanks to the profusion of cell phones pre-20 commerce had shifted to electronic transactions, rendering such services obsolete. The “mistress bank” went bust in 1997.
Source: “Furyo shojo de shippai shita joshikosei aijin banku,” Nikkan Gendai (Nov. 21 page 28)
