In the 18th century, futon production started because there was more domestic cotton available. At that time, futons were too expensive to buy for average people. They could cost 1,200,000 yen. Futons were important gifts and many men gave them to women in order to seduce them. Prostitutes were sometimes presented with futons by rich men. Prostitutes could be ranked by counting the futons; the higher ranks of prostitutes received more futons.