Under the Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan, sixteen entertainment districts were established. Generally known as "yūkaku," these were red-light districts where state-regulated prostitution operated. While authorized by the colonial regime, their routine operations were supervised and regulated by local authorities. For this reason, it is difficult to assess the role of state regulation on legalized prostitution in colonial Taiwan. However, it is certain that the lack of state-wide regulation inevitably facilitated the creation heterogeneity among the yūkaku, allowing them to flourish in different ways.This article investigates the reasons why the brothel business, which was transplanted via the colonia1 power, used different methods to meet different needs, and how the interactions between local powers and regional society influenced the formation and survival of the various yūkaku, using the yūkaku of Hualian as a pnmary example. This study furthers our knowledge of state-regulated prostitution in the colonial Taiwan.