"This is a whimsical comedy about an aspiring comedian and his two love affairs. Shintoto, taken by his pals to a Turkish bath for his birthday celebration, falls for his beautiful hostess, Elizabeth. Soon thereafter he also finds himself getting involved with Yumi, a pert high school student in a student club he is hired to coach. Unable to choose between the two, he tries to keep up with both.... Something Like Yoshiwara is set in the world of rakugo, a very particularly Japanese form of comic storytelling which centers on hapless characters, miscommunications and misunderstandings. The Turkish baths which form the background for much of this film are the Tokyo equivalent of massage parlors--disreputable, expensive, popular dens of iniquity, and unlikely as a setting for true romance. This was Yoshimitsu Morita's first theatrical film, made on a shoestring. The film's earthy humor, however, transcends language and culture, making it an auspicious predecessor to Morita's now renowned The Family Game (PFA 7/85)." David Owens, Japan Society, N.Y.