Soaplands began when explicit prostitution in Japan became illegal in 1958, as a simple form of bath where women washed men's bodies. They were originally known as toruko-buro, meaning Turkish bath. Following a 1984 campaign by Turkish scholar Nusret Sancaklı (JA, TR) denouncing the use of this name for brothels, the new name "soapland" was the winning entry in a nationwide contest to rename them.[18]