Ikebukuro Chinatown in Tokyo: the First “New Chinatown” in Japan

CHAPTER NINE Ikebukuro Chinatown in Tokyo: The First “New Chinatown” in Japan Kiyomi Yamashita Introduction Chinatowns the world over may be divided into two types based on the pro cess of their formation. One type comprises the traditional Chinatowns many of which were formed near the center of a metropolis. The author calls this type “old Chinatowns.” The Chinatowns in downtown Manhattan of New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, etc., are included in this category. Apart from these old Chinatowns at the center of metropolises, new China towns have been formed in suburban areas in more recent times. These are established by Chinese who moved from the aging Chinatowns to the sub urbs seeking higher residential standards, by wealthy Chinese from Hong Kong and Taiwan, or by new emigrants from mainland China who have become increasingly affluent. The author calls these “new Chinatowns.” The Chinatown newly formed in the Richmond area in the western suburb of old Chinatown in San Francisco is simply called “New Chinatown.” There is also a large new Chinatown near Monterey Park, the eastern suburb of old Chinatown in Los Angeles (Fong 1994; Li 2009; Zhou 2009: 7796). Another example of a new Chinatown is Richmond in the southern part of Vancouver (Lai 2003). Parallel to the formation of these new Chinatowns, the inflow of Chinese from Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) is increasingly notice able in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Japan, Chinatowns had come into being in three port towns: Yoko hama, Kobe and Nagasaki, which were opened to foreigners at the end of the Edo era, leading to the formation of foreign settlements. Nagasaki was the This article originally appeared in the Journal of Chinese Overseas Volume 7 Issue 1 (2011). 248 kiyomi yamashita only trading port specifically opened to foreign countries at a time when the Japanese government adopted an isolationist policy. By the end of the Edo era, with the conclusion of treaties with Britain, Russia, Holland and USA, the port of Nagasaki had been reopened. The three big Chinatowns, viz. Yoko hama Chinatown, Kobe Nankinmachi, and Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, are now important tourist spots which attract many Japanese visitors (Yamashita 2003a). All of these are classified as old Chinatowns. Yokohama Chinatown is the biggest in Japan with about 200 Chinese restaurants. These, together with other types of business, come to about 600 shops in a district of 500 square meters. While there are about 100 shops in Kobe Nankinmachi and about 40 in Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, these two are much smaller in size than Yoko hama Chinatown. Until recently there were no “new Chinatowns” in Japan. But with the increasing number of newcomers, the first new Chinatown in Japan has been formed in Ikebukuro, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. The Three Big Chinatowns, such as Yokohama Chinatown, are highly touristy Chinatowns, generally targeting Japanese visitors. Ikebukuro Chinatown, on the other hand, is the first new Chinatown in Japan put up by the Chinese in Japan, especially those who came from mainland China after the latter half of the 1980s following the implemen tation of the policy of reform and opening up of the country. This article seeks to discuss the formation process and the surrounding cir cumstances of the first new Chinatown in Japan, comparing it with the Three Big Chinatowns in the country, which are old Chinatowns. For this purpose, the increase of Chinese newcomers in Japan is examined first. I shall then discuss the development of ethnic businesses of the Chinese newcomers and their rela tionship with the local Japanese community in their host society. There used to be a small number of foreign laborers and immigrants in Japan, but recently the number has been surging. Accordingly, one expects that social conflict will arise in the future between groups of foreigners and the host society. As such this study may be significant not only academically but also socially. Having studied Chinese society and Chinatowns from a geographical perspective,1 the author again takes a geographical approach to examine the space and scenic aspects of Chinatown. As the statistics relating to the 1 Yamashita (2000) is a study of Chinatowns in Japan and other countries from a geographi cal point of view, based on field studies all over the world. Yamashita (2002) looks at the socio cultural and economic interrelationship between Chinese societies in Southeast Asia and home lands of Chinese overseas. Yamashita ed. (2005) is a study of the characteristics of Chinese societ ies in Japan and other countries by leading researchers of Chinese society in Japan. Yamashita ed. (2008) is a survey by leading ethnic geographers in Japan, including Yamashita who writes about Chinese society..

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