Kanegafuchi is between Asakusa and Kitasenjyu.
That town is what's called "shitamachi."
Direct meaning of "shitamachi" is ''downtown," but it's not.
It is the town which keeps old traditions in the area.
A lot of 'mom & pop' shops.
People there know well with each other.
The relationships between people in the area are very tied.
In the evening, you can hear a lady talk to a butcher man, saying like "Hi, how are you? how's your son?" you also may see ladies or men in a sento(public bath) chat and chackle at gossips. At the dinner table, family talk like "Hey, listen. The man behind the liquor shop, you know? He did x, y, and z." In any time, people greets with each other in many places: on the road, in a supermarket, in front of his/her house, in a convenience stores, in a waiting room of a hospital... anywhere! Junior-high kids are together and taking a rest after their club activity. Moms are trying to persuade their children to stop playing and go home. Fish seller is asking with aloud voice, "Come on, come on! Today's tuna is owesome! No kidding! you have to get this!" High school girls are making up in a Mc Donald.
Everyday, same things happen.
This is the Kanegafuchi community I've grown up!
Yes!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tokyo is filled with villages!?
I agree with Donald Richie who says that Tokyo is a collection of villages.
Village is a community in which certain size of group of people live.
In a village/community, there are a lot of places which maintain people's lives.
There are parks, schools, landries, pharmacies, greengroceries, sentos(public bath), bookstores, butchers, fish shops, barbershops, flower shops, restaurants, libraries, toy stores, and in the present day, pachinko parlors, coffee shops, supermarket, fast-food shops, convenience stores, and so forth.
Let's take a closer look at the areas in Tokyo.
A lot of areas in Tokyo apply to this model. Azabujyu-ban, for instance, has bakeries, toy store, supermarkets, family restaurants, gas stands, pharmacy, pachinko parlor, bookstores, ra-men shops, convenience stores, parks, offies, coffee shops, fast-food shops..... anything!
United States, that does not happen. Areas are demarked by the area's feature, such as class or race of people. This place is where to shop! This place is where to travel! This place is for artists! This place is for gays! This place is for wealthy families! ...stuff like that.
Because Japan is the island with 99% population of Japanese and they do not have so huge gap between rich and poor, the areas in Tokyo are very similar in most of places. Similar people have their similar community. They have common way of living, tradition. They go to a specific shop depending on what to get. Kids go to a local park to play with other kids. Old people go to sento(public bath) to chat with their friends. Moms go to coffee shop after they see off their children go to kindergarten or piano lessons. Those reasons help the village-like community survive or even develope without collapsion. He calls that condition, "natural order" which no town planner has touched.
According to Richie, impermanence is the natural state and transience is the quality of life. The concept on this development, pulling down and putting up, is very strong.
The villages in Tokyo have been constructed as it shold be.
Village is a community in which certain size of group of people live.
In a village/community, there are a lot of places which maintain people's lives.
There are parks, schools, landries, pharmacies, greengroceries, sentos(public bath), bookstores, butchers, fish shops, barbershops, flower shops, restaurants, libraries, toy stores, and in the present day, pachinko parlors, coffee shops, supermarket, fast-food shops, convenience stores, and so forth.
Let's take a closer look at the areas in Tokyo.
A lot of areas in Tokyo apply to this model. Azabujyu-ban, for instance, has bakeries, toy store, supermarkets, family restaurants, gas stands, pharmacy, pachinko parlor, bookstores, ra-men shops, convenience stores, parks, offies, coffee shops, fast-food shops..... anything!
United States, that does not happen. Areas are demarked by the area's feature, such as class or race of people. This place is where to shop! This place is where to travel! This place is for artists! This place is for gays! This place is for wealthy families! ...stuff like that.
Because Japan is the island with 99% population of Japanese and they do not have so huge gap between rich and poor, the areas in Tokyo are very similar in most of places. Similar people have their similar community. They have common way of living, tradition. They go to a specific shop depending on what to get. Kids go to a local park to play with other kids. Old people go to sento(public bath) to chat with their friends. Moms go to coffee shop after they see off their children go to kindergarten or piano lessons. Those reasons help the village-like community survive or even develope without collapsion. He calls that condition, "natural order" which no town planner has touched.
According to Richie, impermanence is the natural state and transience is the quality of life. The concept on this development, pulling down and putting up, is very strong.
The villages in Tokyo have been constructed as it shold be.
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