Sakariba (盛り場) in Interwar Tokyo

Introduction

Sakariba (盛り場)  refers to large entertainment districts in Japan,  represented by Asakusa, Ginza and Shinjuku, which are still some of the biggest entertainment districts in Tokyo. The term was originated during the Tokugawa period, meaning "flourishing, prospering  places" in Edo. These three districts led the Japanese modern, mass-produced and distributed leisure. In this post, we will examine how these places, being one of the best tourist attractions until today, became a symbol of Japanese popular culture in the interwar period. 

"Everyday life" in the 1920s

The rise of "Everyday life" in interwar Japan can be seen through the shift of prospering entertainment district from Asakusa to Ginza. After the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake -a historical disaster that nearly devastated everything in Tokyo and Kanto area- commercial marketing strategies, reflecting the norm of "returning to normalcy," focused more on middle class' daily consumption than high-class luxury. While Asakusa prospered through industrial workers, resident merchants and tradesmen, Ginza and Shinjuku represented the new middle class of modern boys and girls. Therefore, Tokyo's trendy leisure and entertainment moved from Asakusa to Ginza, as Elise K. Tiption stated as this shift "mirrors the shift from entertainment catering to the old Tokugawa middle class of small businessmen and artisans to the new middle class of salaried white collar workers and professionals." 

Asakusa

A Part of "Pleasure Island" at Asakusa Park, Tokyo 1920. 

Asakusa is the oldest among the 3 districts. It was strategically located on the way to the Yoshiwara district, it was a "place of pleasure" with the mixture of brothels, theaters, performers and temples. Because temples, places of abstinence, pleasure quarters and theaters were near to each other, Asakusa had an erotic and exotic image where people "satisfy basic desires and consume material things." The place also prospered with performances, cinemas and music theaters, where "erotic and exotic performances" were shown in a daily basis. The Old-style performances such as rakugo or naniwa bushiand gidayu  and new-style performances like Western opera took place together. It was a place of Ero-guro-nansensu (ero-grotesque-nonsense) that the audience consumed not only the performance itself but also erotic and funny episodes of them, such as wardrobe accidents of female performers. 

After the collapse of twelve stories building during the Great Kanto earthquake, Asakusa had its slow but continuous decline. But its prosper as an interwar entertainment district still continues today in literary works such as Kawabata Yasunari's Asakusa kurenaidan (The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa).

Ginza

Tokyo Ginza Yōro Renga Ishi-zukuri (Shinzu Utagawa Kuniteru, 1873)

Post-earthquake Tokyo can be defined as "Ginza era." Ginza was one of the representatives of newly-emerging entertainment districts in Tokyo, especially after the Kanto earthquake. Led by Matsuzakaya in 1924, numerous and various department stores were built, being a center of shopping, fashion of modern boys and modern girls. Restaurants, fashion shows, art galleries, gardens and playgrounds were made around the department stores so that people can enjoy their "everyday leisure" course after shopping. Some entertainment courses such as randebu route that defined shopping (plus window shopping) as a new form of leisure activity, or Ginbura, which is a term for strolling around Ginza area. As the video below shows, Ginza was famous for especially "Modern girls," Japanese young women with western outfits, walking around shopping districts and being main targets of product marketing. Ginza was a place of modernity, luxury but everyday middle-class entertainment district. 

Shinjuku

Main street of Shinjuku, 1930

Many middle-class white collar workers were mostly employees, who commuted to their companies every day. They needed a place to take a rest, shop, or have a cup of coffee while going back and fourth from their home to  workplaces. Shinjuku emerged around Shinjuku station, one of the major train and bus stations connecting all places in Tokyo, where salarymans can stop by. Its location also helped, because it was in the western part of Tokyo, where it had less damage than other districts from the Kanto earthquake. Bunka Jutaku (Culture houses) stood along the railroads with their Western looks, so that people who are on the train can enjoy the modern view. The notion of "everyday life" takes a large part in Shinjuku's "terminal culture," regional and temporary cultures developed and centered from train stations, such as ekiben. It was also the place for left-wing theatre and audiences, bringing up many leading proletarin writers.

Shinjuku Station, Tokyo 1930

Which sakariba looks like your favorite? Entertainment districts in interwar Tokyo is a representative of Japan's flourishing leisure and entertainment before Japan's  downfall in their late wartime. Taisho period, a period of a exotic balance of eastern and western culture, had modern boys and modern girls, cafe waitresses dressed in kimono inside and western apron outside, Japanese traditional stage shows and operas held in same theaters. Because of this, many still remember Taisho as "good old days of Japan." 

Tipton, Elise K. "Faces of new Tokyo: entertainment districts and everyday life during the interwar years." Japanese Studies 33.2 (2013): 185-200.