Shin-Okubo: A Rich Tapestry of Cultures - Dive in Tokyo

[Music] there's a Tokyo neighborhood that young people are flocking to shinocubo it's known as the city's Korea Town [Music] streets here are filled with Korean pop culture and food it's also home to a number of other ethnic enclaves customers are from all over all countries learn about shinokubo's roots in the 17th century [Music] its history is a famous spot for azaleas [Music] and its reputation as the go-to place for musical instruments [Music] how did it grow to become such a culturally diverse neighborhood this time on dive in Tokyo re-explore shinokubo oh foreign [Music] of low-rise buildings just to the north of Shinjuku two train stations sit along a major thoroughfare running east to west this street has historically been at the heart of the community our reporter today is originally from South Korea hello everyone I'm Dom Kim I'm a PhD student researching on how we can reduce Prejudice towards ethnic communities using digital platforms which is also a YouTube channel and today I'm here at chinookable which itself is known for ethnic enclaves and we're going to explore different parts but first we're going to see that side so let's go check it out [Music] we head to the Eastern side of shinokubo station which is bustling with tourists [Music] this area gets especially crowded on the weekends now here you can see more Korean signs like what it says over there is if it's delicious it's zero calories it's not just over there [Music] the largest Korea towns it's home to many stores catering to fans of Korean pop culture which has become a global phenomenon let's see what they have in this department store [Music] ah so these are like Kpop Goods what does shinokubo mean to K-pop fans because there are even live music venues showcasing K-pop Idols sometimes you can run into performers walking around promoting their shows so I just met the shinokable K-pop idols and it's quite exciting to see like how K-pop is spreading in Japan and around the world the local Korean Community took root here shortly after World War II then in the early 2000s interest generated by the Japan Korea World Cup and a wave of hit Korean dramas made the area a tourist attraction [Music] meanwhile the western side of shinocubo has a multicultural feel to it so I came to this other side of Chicago and the vibe is completely different even the smell is different here you can smell different spices there are a variety of Asian markets and restaurants even a store selling clothes from Nepal here's a Turkish kebab staff we asked one of the regulars about the neighborhood seems something has caught Tom's eye and oh whoa wait wait wait this is Korean it says underneath and this looks like a different cuisine this two-story building houses four restaurants each specializing in a different type of cuisine I know where we are better restaurants here on the first floor customers can order dishes from both restaurants [Music] next we visit a Halal Market that caters to the local Muslim population see what's inside wait they also have customers are from all over all country India and Pakistan Bangladesh Vietnam Japanese he says more and more Japanese customers come seeking out Halal ingredients [Music] shinokubo's modern history has been shaped by a mix of cultural influences but its roots actually stretch back much further so next we go in search of traces of its past beginning with nearby okobo station so we are around 300 meters away from Chino station we literally just walked down here and one thing that I noticed is that there is a mural right in front of me [Music] okay so it says teppo gummies I see some old guns with the sunrise they must be pretty old it's said the town's history began with a group of Musketeers [Music] there's a local Shrine that's associated with them Kaiju Inari Ginger [Music] we're met by two men who work with the shrine to keep the legacy of the Musketeers alive kaneshige tokotaro and Takahashi tatsuro box this is the first Shogun of the Edo period key station the unit of 100 Musketeers here to guard the Western approach to the capital [Music] the neighborhood came to be known as hakunincho which translates to hundred person town that name is still in use today and the local preservation Society has in its possession dozens of old match locks from that era foreign foreign [Music] a reenactment of the unit's departure ritual in dedication to the shrine's deity [Music] the event is a blast from the past Samurai clad in traditional armor parade through the streets celebrating shinokubo's roots [Music] foreign they say that the presence of the musketeer unit literally shaped the local streets this area is made up of long narrow streets it said the layout has remained largely unchanged since the 17th century [Music] here is an old map of the neighborhood the Musketeers lived in long thin houses everything was arranged to make the area difficult to attack [Music] uh the network of Backstreets had the effect of deterring large-scale Redevelopment which is why today the neighborhood is home to a variety of smaller businesses [Music] the musketeer unit also planted the seeds for another local attraction azaleas [Music] we head to a nearby park to meet with two locals who can tell us more they're wearing those peoples of Azalea and Morita tadayuki work with the district council to make the community a better place foreign [Music] Japan enjoyed over 200 years of peace and stability the members of the musketeer unit began cultivating and selling azaleas in their spare time as a way to supplement their income they grew the flowers in private Gardens turning the wood charcoal and lime they used to make gunpowder into fertilizer gradually the neighborhood developed a reputation as an azalea viewing spot oh the second half of the 19th century saw the opening of several Azalea Gardens culminating in a visit by the emperor in 1899. following the great Contour earthquake of 1923 there was an influx of displaced people from hard hit areas residential development led to the closure of the Azalea Gardens in the early 2000s acai and others decided to launch an effort to bring back the Lost azaleas they've been working with the park staff and other locals to plant the seeds of the future [Music] um foreign [Music] in the post-war era shinokubo also began to develop an ear for music along these streets you'll find stores selling instruments recording studios and more can you hear the sound it's right here we've come to a shop that can tell us more about the area's history with musical instruments [Music] this is the current proprietor Takahashi Daisuke and his father Ichiro [Music] then repairing wind instruments [Music] the family business was founded after the war by takahashi's grandfather haruo whose Services were in high demand foreign [Music] music halls and clubs catering to occupation forces opened in areas like Ginza and shimbashi haruo grew the business by repairing instruments for musicians who were part of that scene [Music] then in the 1950s Shinjuku became the center of a new nightclub scene catering to Japanese music fans the shop became busier than ever [Music] [Music] soon thereafter the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra set up a base of operations here followed by more instrument repair shops and retailers and shinokobo became a town of music thank you [Music] the neighborhood's International character was also cultivated by historical influences to find out more Tom meets up with a locally based journalist murohashi hirokazen since moving here in 2018 he's been exploring these streets and interviewing local International residents he's even compiled his experiences into a book [Music] s [Music] he says there's a place that served as a Gateway for many International students foreign this education center is run by the Japanese student services organization [Music] [Music] offers to show us one of the classrooms [Music] I mean oh God that's very much nearly 200 students from 43 countries are currently studying here about 60 are here on scholarship from the Japanese government they're here for a variety of reasons foreign [Music] the education center stands on the former side of a public organization founded in 1935 to teach International students Japanese hata brings out some old photos taken shortly after its Inception look at this here is a classroom in session back in 1938 at the time they had students from 15 countries and regions mostly in Asia [Music] the number of international students coming to shinocubo further grew in the 1980s thank you Immortals is he says that the international students Institute helped pave the way for more Japanese language schools in the area accessibility and affordable rent made shinokubo a popular town for exchange students today there are over 50 Japanese language schools in the greater Shinjuku area [Music] [Music] myself says shinokubo's International makeup also has to do with the neighborhood's proximity to Shinjuku specifically the bustling kabukicho District um kabukicho lies to the south of shinokubo on the other side of shokwandori in the 80s and 90s the area became an adult entertainment district with bars and clubs open until late at night many of the workers were from East and Southeast Asia [Music] um from kabukicho it's a short five minute walk to shinocobo for foreign residents working in Shinjuku the neighborhood offered convenience and affordable housing so they made it their home [Music] since the 2010s the area has welcomed many new Halal markets serving mainly residents from South Asia [Music] um foreign s from Vietnam and South Asian countries like Nepal increased that led to more stores and restaurants catering to their names as the area became more Multicultural new places of worship began to pop up this Temple is at the center of the local Taiwanese community and this building here houses a mosque irons hey this Hindu temple just opened this past May [Music] onnaise [Music] nandi has been living in Japan for 23 years on this Shiva is one of the three main Gods of Hinduism yeah five years ago nundy established Tokyo's first Temple dedicated to Shiva to serve as a gathering place for his fellow Hindus but it wasn't long before they outgrew the space and so he built this Temple to accommodate more people it even includes a kitchen and a meditation space [Music] foreign believes spaces like these help make shinokubo a comfortable place to live for international residents [Music] lastly Dom and murahashi meet with another local resident who recommends Nepali food for dinner Masuda kayoko was born and raised in shinocobo she's a master of Japanese tea ceremony who also owns several buildings in the area and she's a regular at this restaurant [Laughter] Masada regularly holds Tea Ceremony classes to teach International residents and visitors about Japanese culture she also supports enterprising locals when magarmonish wanted to open a restaurant she helped him rent this space and has been recommending the place to her tea ceremony students ever since I want to open the new soap I request this place okay you have to do it everything that's why I do it happened [Music] [Music] people like Masuda and murahashi are helping build Bridges between local residents so that together they can create a more inclusive sense of community [Music] thank you honestly for me shinokubo was a place to have spicy Korean food but I was curious why it has such diverse characteristic and this time hearing the Japanese people talking about how shinokubo has evolved like the stories of the gun squad and all the flowers I could see how the Japanese local people were not just connecting but were planting in with the ethnic communities so I think shinokabur at the end is indeed a Melting Pot of culture [Music]

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 33,621

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Id: 4eMeJkZb3GQ

Length: 28min 6sec (1686 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 30 2023