Motomachi
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Motomachi (元町?) is a district of Naka Ward in Yokohama, Japan, located immediately west of Yamate and east of Chinatown. It consists mainly of the Motomachi Shopping Street, a five-block long stretch of boutiques and shops, well known in Japan for its cosmopolitan atmosphere, original fashion, and western influence.
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[edit] History
Motomachi was originally a quiet farming & fishing village until 1859, when the Port of Yokohama was opened. Since then, the closeby Kannai district became the foreigners' business district, and the adjacent Yamate and Yamashitacho districts became the foreigners' residential districts. Situated in between, with Yamate to the east, and Kannai and Yamashitacho to the west, Motomachi became frequented by many foreigners. Shops and businesses were opened, catering to the needs of foreigners.
Soon after the start of the Meiji era, the population of foreign residents had increased. And western influence became more evident in Motomachi, with the opening of many cafés, bakeries, and boutiques. Such shops were uncommon in Japan, and Motomachi helped introduce western culture into Japan, as part of what is called bunmei kaika (文明開化?). This was the beginning of the Motomachi Shopping Street as we know it today.
In the 1970s, the "Motomachi Shopping Street" produced a new style of fashion called the hama tora (ハマトラ?) (short for "Yokohama traditional"). The most famous producers of the hama tora style were Kitamura [1] , Mihama [2], and Fukuzō [3], three of the most fashionable boutiques in Motomachi.
[edit] Naming
Upon the opening of the Port of Yokohama in 1859, this area was called Motomura (本村?). The name was changed to Motomachi in 1860.
[edit] References
- This article was translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on September 9, 2006, and with a few minor changes
[edit] External links
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