Kabukicho
Encyclopedia
is an entertainment and red-light district
in Shinjuku
, Tokyo
, Japan
. Kabukichō is the location of many hostess bars, host bars, love hotel
s, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town" (眠らない街). The district's name comes from late-1940s plans to build a kabuki
theater: although the theater was never built, the name stuck.
The area has many movie theaters, and is located near Shinjuku Station
, Seibu Shinjuku Station
, and several other major railway and subway stations.
, the area became a duck sanctuary. As the Yodobashi Purification Plant was built in 1893, the ponds were filled in. In 1920, a girl's school was built there, and the surroundings were developed into a residential area. During World War II
, the bombing of Tokyo
in 1945 razed the area to the ground. After the war, a kabuki theatre was planned to be built there and the town changed its name to Kabukichō. Though the theatre was cancelled due to financial problems, the name remained. Kabukichō was quickly redeveloped after the war, mainly due to the efforts of the overseas Chinese in Japan who bought land left unused after the expos and greatly developed them. Examples of such people include the founder of Humax
, Lin Yiwen, who started his business with a cabaret
.
At present, Kabukichō has transformed from a residential area to a world famous red-light district housing over three thousand bars, nightclubs, love hotels, massage parlours, hostess clubs and the like. Although referred here as a "red light district", there are no red lights in the literal sense with prostitutes in the windows as in Amsterdam. Recently, tourism from China and Korea are on the rise, and so, many tourists can be seen in Kabukichō even during daytime.
The Shinjuku Koma Theater
has been a landmark in Kabukichō. Now in its third building, it has hosted concerts and other performances by top stars, including enka
singers Saburō Kitajima
, Kiyoshi Hikawa
, and actor Ken Matsudaira
. The management has announced that they will close after the December 31, 2008 show.
members in Kabukichō, and 120 different enterprises under their control.
Entering the new millennium, laws were more strictly enforced and patrols became more frequent. These, adding to the installation of fifty closed-circuit cameras in May 2002, reduced criminal activities in Kabukichō, amidst controversy.
In 2004, the police undertook an operation clamping down on illegal clubs and brothel
s, causing many to go out of business. Also, there is a movement to rid Kabukichō of the yakuza ("bad hand" gangs), known as the Kabukichō Renaissance.
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
in Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Kabukichō is the location of many hostess bars, host bars, love hotel
Love hotel
A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing couples privacy for sexual activities...
s, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town" (眠らない街). The district's name comes from late-1940s plans to build a kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
theater: although the theater was never built, the name stuck.
The area has many movie theaters, and is located near Shinjuku Station
Shinjuku Station
is a train station located in Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan.Serving as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central Tokyo and its western suburbs on inter-city rail, commuter rail and metro lines, the station was used by an average of 3.64 million people per day in 2007,...
, Seibu Shinjuku Station
Seibu Shinjuku Station
thumb|Platforms is a train station of the Seibu Railway Company located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.-Lines:The station is served by the following line:*Seibu Railway Company**Shinjuku Line -Surrounding area:...
, and several other major railway and subway stations.
History
Originally, the area was known as and was a swamp. After the Meiji PeriodMeiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, the area became a duck sanctuary. As the Yodobashi Purification Plant was built in 1893, the ponds were filled in. In 1920, a girl's school was built there, and the surroundings were developed into a residential area. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the bombing of Tokyo
Bombing of Tokyo in World War II
The bombing of Tokyo, often referred to as a "firebombing", was conducted by the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. The U.S. mounted a small-scale raid on Tokyo in April 1942, with large morale effects...
in 1945 razed the area to the ground. After the war, a kabuki theatre was planned to be built there and the town changed its name to Kabukichō. Though the theatre was cancelled due to financial problems, the name remained. Kabukichō was quickly redeveloped after the war, mainly due to the efforts of the overseas Chinese in Japan who bought land left unused after the expos and greatly developed them. Examples of such people include the founder of Humax
Humax
Humax is an electronics company. Founded in South Korea in 1989, it manufactures set-top boxes, digital video recorders and other consumer electronics. It is publicly traded on KOSDAQ....
, Lin Yiwen, who started his business with a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
.
At present, Kabukichō has transformed from a residential area to a world famous red-light district housing over three thousand bars, nightclubs, love hotels, massage parlours, hostess clubs and the like. Although referred here as a "red light district", there are no red lights in the literal sense with prostitutes in the windows as in Amsterdam. Recently, tourism from China and Korea are on the rise, and so, many tourists can be seen in Kabukichō even during daytime.
The Shinjuku Koma Theater
Shinjuku Koma Theater
The was a major theatre in the Kabukichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. The theatre opened in 1956 and it had a capacity of 2,088 seats.- Past shows :*Kōhaku Uta Gassen *Saburō Kitajima*Ken Matsudaira*Hibari Misora*Kiyoshi Hikawa*Sachiko Kobayashi...
has been a landmark in Kabukichō. Now in its third building, it has hosted concerts and other performances by top stars, including enka
Enka
is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more...
singers Saburō Kitajima
Saburo Kitajima
is a well-known Japanese enka singer, lyricist and composer.He was born Minoru Ōno , in a little town in Hokkaidō to a fisherman. He was very poor because of the effects of World War II, and he was forced to work while he studied....
, Kiyoshi Hikawa
Kiyoshi Hikawa
is a Japanese enka singer who was born on September 6, 1977 in Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. His real name is and he is known as "The Prince of Enka" due to his young age and popularity...
, and actor Ken Matsudaira
Ken Matsudaira
is a Japanese actor from Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. His real name is Sueshichi Suzuki .- Career :Active both in television and on stage, he also sings. Matsudaira is most widely known for jidaigeki roles, having made his debut with Shintaro Katsu in an episode of the television series Zatoichi...
. The management has announced that they will close after the December 31, 2008 show.
Crime
According to a spokesperson of Metropolitan Tokyo in 2004, there are more than 1,000 yakuzaYakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
members in Kabukichō, and 120 different enterprises under their control.
Entering the new millennium, laws were more strictly enforced and patrols became more frequent. These, adding to the installation of fifty closed-circuit cameras in May 2002, reduced criminal activities in Kabukichō, amidst controversy.
In 2004, the police undertook an operation clamping down on illegal clubs and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s, causing many to go out of business. Also, there is a movement to rid Kabukichō of the yakuza ("bad hand" gangs), known as the Kabukichō Renaissance.
In culture
Kabukichō is featured in a number of media:- Shinjuku IncidentShinjuku IncidentShinjuku Incident is a 2009 Hong Kong action crime drama film written and directed by Derek Yee, and also produced by and starring Jackie Chan...
, a 2009 Jackie ChanJackie ChanJackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
movie set in the early '90s about Chinese immigrants in Japan - FuyajoFuyajoFuyajo is a Hong Kong and Japan joint film production released in 1998.It was directed by Chi-Ngai Lee; cinematography by Arthur Wong, who was granted 2 cinematography awards for this film.- Cast :...
, novel by Hase SeishuHase Seishuis a well-known Japanese novelist. He is known for writing Yakuza crime novels.A few of his novels were turned into movies.Seishu also wrote the story for Sega's 2006 video game, Yakuza, and its sequel, Yakuza 2....
. Also, a movie based on the novel that was filmed in Kabukichō - Enter the VoidEnter the VoidEnter the Void is a French film written and directed by Gaspar Noé, starring Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, and Cyril Roy. Set in the neon-lit nightclub environments of Tokyo, the story follows Oscar, a young American drug dealer who gets shot by the police, but continues to watch succeeding...
, a film by Gaspar NoéGaspar NoéGaspar Noé is an Argentine filmmaker and the son of Argentine painter and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. He graduated from Louis Lumière College and is the visiting professor of film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland...
, was partly filmed and set in Kabukichō - A Guide of the Sleepless Town, novel by Lee Xiaomu
- TOKYO REALTIME: Kabukicho, an audio guided tour of Kabukicho produced by Max Hodges
- In the Miso SoupIn the Miso Soupis a novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published in 1997 in Japanese, and in English in 2003.- Plot summary :Twenty year-old Kenji is a Japanese "nightlife" guide for foreigners — he navigates gaijin men around the sex clubs and hostess bars of Tokyo. On December 29 he receives a phone call from an...
, novel by Ryu MurakamiRyu Murakamiis a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is colloquially referred to as the "Maradona of Japanese literature".-Biography:Born as Ryūnosuke Murakami in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 19, 1952... - Dreaming Pachinko, novel by Isaac AdamsonIsaac AdamsonIsaac Adamson, born in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1971, is the American author of a series of mystery novels set in Japan and featuring journalist and amateur detective Billy Chaka. Adamson currently lives in Chicago, Illinois...
- "Kabukichō No Joō", song by Shiina RingoShiina Ringo, known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer-songwriter, music composer and music producer. She is also the founder and lead vocalist of the band Tokyo Jihen.She describes herself as ""....
- The School of Water Business, novel by Hikaru Murozumi
- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, an RPG by AtlusAtlusis a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
- Yakuza seriesYakuza (series)Yakuza is a Fighting game video game franchise created by Amusement Vision and owned and published by Sega.The series has sold at least 3.2 million copies as of March 2009...
, an Action-adventure gameAction-adventure gameAn action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
by SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
features a fictionalized Kabukichō as Kamurocho - Ugly Americans, novel by Ben MezrichBen MezrichBen Mezrich is an American author from Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University in 1991. Some of his books have been written under the pseudonym Holden Scott. Mezrich attended Princeton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey...
- Pattern RecognitionPattern Recognition (novel)Pattern Recognition is a novel by science fiction writer William Gibson published in 2003. Set in August and September 2002, the story follows Cayce Pollard, a 32-year-old marketing consultant who has a psychological sensitivity to corporate symbols...
, novel by William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer... - "Shin Pet Shop of Horrors", manga by Matsuri Akino
- The manga GintamaGintama, also known as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...
by Hideaki SorachiHideaki Sorachiis a Japanese manga artist best known for his work Gin Tama.- Works :* Bankara One shot, 2010* Gintama Serialization, 2003* 13 One shot* Shirokuro One shot* Samuraider Discontinued at sketch phase...
is mostly focused around a fictional version of Kabukichou in the late 19th century - Tokyo Vice, book by Jake AdelsteinJake AdelsteinJoshua "Jake" Adelstein is an American journalist and writer who has spent much of his career in Japan covering vice and organised crime. For 12 years, Adelstein was a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and was the first American to work for a Japanese newspaper as a Japanese language reporter...