Cities 34 (2013) 58–66

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Cities

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate /c i t ies

The liminal nature of alleyways: Understanding the alleyway rojias a ‘Boundary’ between past and present

Heide Imai ⇑Hosei University Tokyo, Kohoku-ku, Kikuna 4-15-2-602, Yokohama 222-0011, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Available online 25 February 2012

Keywords:AlleywayRojiLiminal natureBoundaryPast and present lifestylesTokyo

0264-2751/$ - see front matter � 2012 Elsevier Ltd. Adoi:10.1016/j.cities.2012.01.008

⇑ Tel.: +81 90 6518 4411.E-mail address: heide.imai@gmx.net

a b s t r a c t

This paper presents a study of the roji, a form of Japanese urban alleyway, which was once part of people’spersonal spatial sphere and everyday life, but has increasingly been transformed by diverse and compet-ing interests. Marginalized through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces andre-appropriated by different fields, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted byindividuals, subcultures and new social movements to fit hybrid and multiple concepts of living andlifestyles. Focusing on the case of Tsukuda–Tsukishima in central Tokyo and drawing on ethnographicdata supported by a conceptual framework derived from theories of place and place-attachment, thispaper investigates the kind of functions the roji fulfilled in the city in the past, and the qualities of urbanlife that have been lost or changed as the alleyway has ceased to be an everyday part of the urban land-scape. Providing multiple narratives of change, the paper’s main purpose is to critically reflect on thepotential of the recovery of the Japanese urban alleyway roji, arguing that the interstitial place of the rojican be characterised as a boundary between past and present (lifestyles), which is valuable space as it isdesired and needed to express local voices, thoughts and personal opinions about urban change. In thissense, it continues to exist as imaginary, having a shared or social presence as mental space and an alter-native landscape of reminiscence.

� 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1 A liminal space is in this particular research context understood as a place whereboundaries dissolve, a place of transformation between processes of separation andreintegration, a space of ambiguity and hybridity, in a marginal or transitional mode(McIntosh, 2005; Mukherji, 2011). Homi Bhabha defined a liminal space as an

Introduction

Cities are the built expression of our cultural values and in thiscontext seen as a complex pattern of physical and social relation-ships. And while buildings provide boundaries which help todetermine space, it is the presence of people, activities and inspira-tion, which form one of the most influential qualities of urbanspace (Gehl, 1996). Moreover, daily actions and movements con-tribute to the variety and vitality of space. And it seems as if thecities’ spatial mind expresses itself in the layered urban voidswhich derive from the transformation of everyday transit zonessuch as tunnels, passages, streets and urban pathways. Accord-ingly, these blanks and blind spots play an important role in theevolution of the city and form essential spaces of temporary andinformal use. However, the voids and scars by the city’s recoverybecome urban borderlands, which need to be defined.

This paper takes into account the realities and conditions ofcontemporary urban borderlands and argues that we have to de-velop an improved understanding of urban borderlands, for exam-ple, the vanishing alleyways that often function as interstitialplaces featuring different modes and processes in the contempo-

ll rights reserved.

rary city. In particular, aiming to understand the nature and poten-tial of the alleyway as a ‘boundary’ between past and present, themain purpose of this paper is it to critically evaluate the recent re-vival of the alleyway roji in offering multiple and hybrid perspec-tives of local residents on this ‘liminal space’.1 This will be doneby introducing and discussing personal narratives; experiences andeveryday life practices of residents encountered inside the alleywaysof Tsukuda–Tsukishima, a neighbourhood in central Tokyo which,since the late 1990s is an area of increasing urban transformationand redevelopment. The area of Tsukuda 2-chome was chosen be-cause it is in close proximity to the alleys of the lively Tsukishimadistrict, offering a mix of different types of alleyways and is the placeof residential and business activities. Additionally, the area is bor-dered by the stringent grid of the Tsukuda fishermen village in thewest, a wide main street in the east and new high-rise developmentslike the River City 21 in the north (Fujita & Sano, 2001).

interstitial space that allows different modes without imposing a hierarchy (Bhabha,1994). Understanding the concept of liminality as state and space of ‘in-between’ wecan approach different urban voids, passages and conditions, which we can observe ingrowing numbers in the contemporary city, and which exist between global and localeconomies, public and private use, consumption and personal values (Zukin, 1995).

H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66 59

In summary, conceptualising the alleyway as a contested placeand boundary between past and present (lifestyles) allows us toview the alleyway as the material expression for broader socialstruggles, and locus for generating, proclaiming and negotiatingdifferent cultural subjects, which are aspects of contemporary ur-ban life. Within this framework, the paper aims to understandhow different urban transformation processes affect the transfor-mation of vernacular urban forms and everyday urban life at themicro-level. This will be achieved by studying the changing lifepattern, everyday practices and personal tactics observed in alley-ways of the neighbourhood of Tsukuda, Tokyo. The outcomes ofthis study should offer more insights and alternative views tounderstand the potential and future of the alleyway, which caneither be revitalised as an active part of everyday urban life orfunction as an alternative landscape of reminiscence.

The alleyway as a liminal space

In this research context, an alleyway is understood as ordinarylandscape providing the setting for everyday urban life and place-based identities being shaped by varied everyday practices, collec-tive experiences and forces. The alleyway marks the intersectionbetween public and private forms of use and habitation, whichcan allow us to understand the socio-spatial, personal and culturaldimension of urban realities (Carmona, Tiesdell et al., 2003). Asliminal spaces, it is argued that alleyways offer the potential to be-come the vehicle of different intellectual, artistic, cultural, econom-ical and political discourses. On the other hand, they providemultiple narratives of change, which make it possible to under-stand how liminal places are transformed and to re-negotiate thefunction of these spaces in inner city areas (Jones, 2007; McIntosh,2005; Mukherji, 2011; Williams, 2007).

Being in this sense an interstitial urban space, the alleywayforms a boundary between past and present. A boundary can notonly describe a physical or geographical line but it can also forma psychological, perceived or imagined formation between differ-ent cultural, social or religious groups living together in one urbansetting (Rumley & Minghi, 1991). These perceptual borders havebeen described as ‘markers of difference’ (Donnan & Wilson,1999), sometimes being the site for different forms of tensionsand conflicts (Abu-Orf, 2003; Morehouse, 2004). These kind of ten-sions however also occur in places where no geographical bordersexist, marking the ‘interfaces’ between different social groups, lan-guages or cultures, forming not only a place of difference but alsoof contact and exchange (Bhabha, 1994; Ní Éigeartaigh & Getty,2006; Paasi, 2001). Morehouse (2004) argued that ‘borderlandsare an area through which a boundary line runs (and) borderlandsacquire their basic identity from interactions with the boundaryand its rules, and from transactions that take across the border, be-tween inhabitants of the borderland territory’ (Morehouse, 2004,p.29). In this sense, most boundaries, geographical or imagined,are not only forming a site of conflict but are also forming a spaceof intersection, cooperation and combination. This allows newforms of ‘hybrid’ spaces and identities to occur and exist, function-ing like a filter stimulating new creative potentials, ‘boundariesthen are perhaps best understood as rules and practices (. . .) ab-stract metaphors that are useful for articulating, and spatialising,concepts and perceptions of difference’ (Morehouse, 2004, p. 33)

Aiming to understand the nature and potential of this ‘bound-ary’, the main purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the re-cent revival of the alleyway roji in offering multiple and hybridperspectives of local residents on these ‘liminal’ spaces. This willbe done by introducing and discussing personal narratives,

experiences and everyday life practices of residents encounteredinside the alleyways.

Alleys in general have no name and it is unclear to whom theybelong, as they are often situated in between two premises, beingeither a part of private or public property, or used by different peo-ple for different purposes. In this way, they can be defined as an‘intermediate zone’ (Kurokawa, 2006) or ‘liminal place’ (Jones,2007) being in the theoretical and spatial sense a place situated‘in-between’ (Entrikin, 1990). In other ways they are defined ashidden, located behind the wider main streets and sometimesmade up of leftover or even wasteland (Martin, 2001, p. 77). Nothaving the spatial definition of streets or the importance of prom-inent landmarks they are difficult to be indicated as specific places(Lynch, 1960). They are spatially unstable and dependent on theexistence of other places and boundaries to be defined, a character-istic indicating the liminality of a place (McIntosh, 2005). In thisway, they slip away and are out of the focus of the contemporaryapproach to urban planning, falling into disrepair and disappearingas part of the urban landscape (Martin, 2001).

The case of the roji in contemporary Tokyo

This paper examines the roji, which was historically a centralplace of everyday life and social interaction in a neighbourhood,but is now considered a marginalized urban form, increasinglycrushed between diverse competing interests and contests (Waley,2002; City Life, 2005). The roji can be described as a mostly narrowand winding alleyway or neighbourhood unit in traditional woo-den low-rise neighbourhoods, which, no car can enter, and whichare only wide enough to allow one person to walk or cycle through(Kobata and Tadokoro, 2000; Nishimura, 2006). The roji formedhistorically inside the block or behind the main streets or sidestreets, as a ‘semi-public, semi-private’ realm, which was a placefor collective activities around small shrines, local shops and bath-houses (Bestor, 1993; Ho, 2006; Jinnai, 1995). The enclosed envi-ronment of the alleyways became the stage for shared, intimateneighbourhood relations and local, daily life, connecting publicand private activities in a kind of communal space (Nishimura,2006, p.36). In this context, Nakano and Hirayama (2006) arguedthat roji are safe places, which offer a protective feeling, and a feel-ing of home based on the narrowness and the human scale of thealley (Nakano and Hirayama, 2006). The roji was, in contrast to astreet, not based on the use of a car and traditionally supported pe-destrian and small-scale usage as well as intense social interaction(Nakano and Hirayama, 2006, p. 1). Furthermore many roji have amaze-like character offering unexpected encounters because oftheir complicated shape, which the architect Amos Rappoport clas-sified as a quality of alleyways (Rappoport, 1982).

Tokyo alleyways in particular, are vanishing from the urbanlandscape as they make space for new small- and large-scale officeand residential complexes, which increasingly appear inside theremaining dense and low-rise neighbourhoods (Yukikuni, 2007).With the modernisation of Tokyo being reflected in new forms ofurban living and individual lifestyles, the alleyway turned into amarginal urban form, being recently rediscovered, re-interpretedand re-appropriated by different fields, actors and users to pro-mote different strategies and ideas (Hashizume, 2005; Tokyojin,2005). Summarising, the alleyway roji is not only recognised as avulnerable, vanishing urban form or a place of alternative counterdiscourse of urban planning but increasingly as an interstitial pas-sage of the ‘good old days’, fulfilling the desire to remember andcelebrate the past and places of familiarity, warmth and simple ur-ban life (City Hashizume, 2005; Life, 2005; Nishimura, 2006;Tokyojin, 2005), like that found in Tsukuda–Tsukishima. Therefore

60 H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66

this paper will focus on the neighbourhood Tsukuda 2-chomewhich offers a good example of vanishing alleyways in Tokyo.

Fig. 1. Case Study Area Tsukuda and Tsukishima (based on Google Maps, accessed2011).

The case of Tsukuda–Tsukishima

The case study area Tsukuda 2-chome is located in central To-kyo, approximately 3 km East of Tokyo Central Station, in the To-kyo Bay, on an island called Tsukishima.2 In 2011, Tsukishima,which stretches over ca. 2,3 km2, has a population of ca. 54,000inhabitants, the majority of who, are increasingly younger residentsliving in newly constructed high rise complexes3 (Ch�uo Ward Office,2011; Meiji University, 2005).

The neighbourhood of Tsukuda (Fig. 1), which is characterisedby the layout of a small fishermen village, is an area of reclaimedland. The name Tsukuda means ‘cultivated rice fields’ referringback to a rural area near Osaka from where the first fishermenand inhabitants came (Waley, 1991, p.104). The reclamation workfinished in 1893 (Meiji period), as the islands of Tsukuda and Tsu-kishima were joined together and made up the urban form it hastoday. The Tsukuda Ohashi Bridge built in 1964 was the first directconnection between the mainland and the island, and almost con-temporaneously, the last ferry ceased operating between Ginzaand Tsukishima (Yomota, 2007). Having survived the fires of theGreat Kanto Earthquake in 1923 and the bombing of World WarII, one can still find old wooden houses along the roji, the narrowalleyways that made up the first urban structure, when the areastarted to become urbanised. Cheap housing and craft shops forfishermen were built during the Edo period (1603–1868) alongthe Sumida River. Today, the waterfront and area are especiallyknown for specialties like monja-yaki (a special fried mix of flour,egg and vegetables), tsukudani (small seafood, meat or seaweed,simmered in soy sauce) and the Edo style cruise boats that starttheir tours from here (Yabuno, 2005).

Since the 1980s, the island of Tsukuda and Tsukishima havefaced increasing redevelopment in the form of new high-rise build-ings on different scales, as the proximity to the city centre and theopening of the Y�urakucho and Toei Oedo Line made it an attractivearea for real estate developers and new residents (Meiji University,2005). From 1988 the northern part of Tsukishima changed into anew high-rise residential area when a former plot of the Ishikawaj-ima-Harima Company became vacant and a large-scale projectcalled Okawabata River City 21 was realised. Northeast of the his-torical sites and traditional neighbourhoods of fish merchants,small-scale businesses and low rise, single-family houses alongthe narrow alleyways is the traditional, close-knit community ofTsukuda 1-chome (Yoshida, 2010). The development of the RiverCity 21 and other recent high-rise buildings around TsukishimaStation stand for the ongoing construction and destruction of thetraditional urban landscape and in particular, the narrow alleywith its cheap, aging and somehow poor inhabitants stand in sharpcontrast to the new community of the modern high-rise, where hipfeatures like the Egg of Wind (Fig. 2) by Toyo Ito screen videos atnight (Ars Electronica, 2011). Next to the urban redevelopmentproject of River City 21, newer, pencil-like towers including the Fa-mille Tsukishima Grand Suite Tower (2002), The Crest Tower(2004) and Lions Tower Tsukishima (2006) rise up next to theneighbourhood of Tsukuda 1-chome and inside the neighbour-

2 The island of Tsukishima consists of the neighbourhoods Tsukuda, Tsukishima,Kachidoki, Toyomicho and Harumi.

3 In 2011, 28,000 families were living in the area, and the number of inhabitantsincreased by 1600 people (3%), 40% of these newcomers are aged between 30 and 44(Chuo Ward Office, 2011). Since 2000, the majority of people are either singles/youngfamilies in their 30–40 (34%) or people aged 60–70 (37%). The number of youngpeople living in one of the new residential complexes is increasing compared to thenumber of local, older people inhabiting an own house/land (Meiji University, 2005).

hoods of Tsukuda 2-chome. Additionally, new developments likethe I-Mark Tower (2003) or Moon Island Tower (2002) south ofTsukishima station indicate the ongoing restructuring of the neigh-bourhood since the 2000s (Yabuno, 2005; Yoshida, 2010).

Tsukuda: different attempts to revitalise the roji

In the case of Tsukishima–Tsukuda, the local government of theCh�uo-ward has developed plans to re-construct houses on existingplots along the narrow alleyways to avoid further fragmentation ofthe area caused by large-scale developments in the form of high-risebuildings and to keep/attract more residents to the area (Nishimura,2006). Existing houses can be reconstructed up to 3 stories if the rojiis extended from 3.3 m to 4 m, creating a 0.3 m setback along eachside (Nishimura, 2006, p. 212). The central problem is caused bythe fact that all inhabitants of the alley have to agree to the changesand widening of the roji, which in reality often fails because of finan-cial problems, unsolved conditions of ownership or disagreementbetween old and new tenants (Kawasaki, 2006). Although the at-tempts of the local ward and revitalisation group to preserve Tsuk-uda’s historical townscape are exemplary and can be an exampleof a balanced urban revitalisation plan (Kawasaki, 2006; Kibe,2003), it is important to critically analyse the effects of different at-tempts to re-integrate the alleyway. Aiming to offer more insightsinto the questions, if the revitalisation of the alleyway is desiredand how it can be achieved; this paper presents some of these voices(documented in 2007 and 2011) which are lost when presenting ahomogeneous view on community based urban revitalisation at-tempts (City Life, 2005; Nishimura, 2006).

Research method

As this paper is aiming to feature different voices and views of lo-cal residents reflecting on the potential and possible recovery of thealleyway roji, a mixed research methodology was adopted (Creswell& Plano Clark, 2007; Grant, 2004). Next to participant observation(captured in field notes) and the collection of different information(e.g. prefectural and communal urban development plans and notesfrom different local preservation groups), 25 in-depth interviewswere conducted between August and October 2007 and October/November 2011. These were the result of a snowball techniquewhich was applied to get access to the community and a variety of

Fig. 2. Tsukuda with the River City 21 and its Egg of Wind in the background (Source: Author).

H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66 61

age groups, genders and residents4 (Denzin & Lincoln, 2008). The pro-cedure followed a semi-structured approach based on questions of ageneral nature before approaching the participant with the specifictheme (Warren and Karner, 2005). Nevertheless, the intervieweesdecided on which topic they were putting emphasis on or to which ex-tent answers relating to the specific problems were given. The re-sponse on the different questions varied, as it was the aim to get adeeper understanding of the different issues influencing everyday lifeand to see the specific points in its general context (Yin, 2004). Duringthe documentation of current urban transformation processes in2011, the researcher visited some of the residents again, to inquireabout their current living situation and personal stories reflecting re-cent changes, both small and large scale (Perlman, 2010). This ap-proach allowed the researcher to collect different time-basednarratives, a method suggested by Tuan to understand how place ismade and the experience of place is altering (Tuan, 1991). In this pa-per, eight interviews will be presented reflecting different personaltrajectories documented between 2007 and 2011 and mirroring dif-ferent age groups, genders and residential status, e.g. young single/older couple, newcomer/native, native and returnee (Warren and Kar-ner, 2005).

Discussion

Spatial dimension of urban change and revitalisation

The alleys run in a block shape from northwest to southeastconnecting the parallel running side streets with each other. His-torically, along the alleyways small-scale nagaya (wooden long-houses) were lined up, but in recent years the neighbourhoodand alleyways have changed, influenced by urban restructuringprocesses at the high-rise (e.g., alleyway number one) and low-riselevel (e.g., alleyway numbers two and three). Next to the apart-ment blocks of River City 21, new high-rise buildings were estab-lished south of the development (1) on the plot of a formerfactory, in the case of the Crest Tower; (2) on the plot a former lab-oratory in the case of the Lions Tower Tsukishima; and (3) built onthe plot of 35 nagayas in the case of the Famille Tsukishima GrandSweet Tower, rising up next and inside the neighbourhood of Tsuk-uda 2-chome. Furthermore, the small-scale apartment block be-tween alleyways numbers two and three, Cesar Tsukishima,replaced 14 nagayas, indicating the ongoing restructuring of theneighbourhood inside the traditional roji units (Map, Fig. 3). In

4 The interviewees age ranges from 26 to 81 years old, with an average age of51 years. As reflected in the Chuo Ward Offices statistic of 2011 (Chuo Ward Office,2011), an almost even number of female (13) and male participants (12) have beenchosen, who have a different residential status, background and personal biography(Interviews 1–25, 2007/2011).

the alleyway numbers six and seven, some nagayas of the residen-tial roji unit remained, which stand in a sharp contrast to the adja-cent high-rise building and its poorly maintained open space. Inthe case of alley number six, a new apartment block was built in2007, replacing seven nagayas and leaving only a covered thor-oughfare as a connection between the alleyway behind and theside street (Map, Fig. 3).

As this paper is aiming to provide alternative perspectives onthe realities and conditions of the roji, it will be useful to includein the discussion urban narratives and personal stories reflectingdifferent daily practices, experiences and attitudes towards the roji.

Social dimension of urban change and revitalisation

Different degrees and urban narratives on everyday lifeInside a residential block in the case study area of Tsukuda 2-

chome, one can observe how ‘old’ and ‘new’ exist next to eachother (Fig. 4). Residents living in the low-rise houses define theborder to their new neighbours by placing potted plants alongthe alleyway or continuing to raise chickens, extending their pri-vate territory and activities out onto the street space. In contrast,a sign at the entrance of the newly created green space surround-ing the 32-storey high-rise apartment block indicates how this‘public privately-owned space’ can be used (Fig. 5), resulting inthe limited use and interaction of new and old residents in thepublic space connecting both livelihoods (Imai, 2010).

Hybrid lifestyles and nostalgic longing. During the interviews con-ducted, different participants were asked how they experiencethe neighbourhood and life in the alleyway on a day-to-day basis.Some native residents talked about different positive and nega-tive aspects, drawing on traditional features such as close socialties, friendship, daily gossip among neighbours, trust, and a senseof voluntary obligation. They also discussed how these featuresare changing in times of rapid modernisation and urban restruc-turing, resulting in new and sometimes unseen spatial and socialrealities.

Kura-san,5 a woman in her 50s and a long-standing resident, runsa kimono shop in the area of Tsukuda 2-chome; she has experiencedand recognised different kinds of changes which affect her familybusiness. The demand for traditional fabrics is shrinking becausekimonos are not used as much on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore,making a kimono requires special skills, which makes it an expensiveitem. When asked about her private life and how she makes a livingnowadays, Kura-san answered:

5 All names of the participants of the interviews are pseudonyms.

Fig. 3. Roji Network Tsukuda 2-chome (based on Google Maps, accessed 2011).

62 H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66

‘My father-in-law strived for multiple businesses and wasfinally successful. These days we do not only make kimonosbut also interior works. However, it is not easy to survive inthe shrinking market of this business derived from structuralchanges. Let’s say there were many more people visiting theshop but not anymore (. . .). However, 15 years ago we openeda gallery in the Ginza area nearby, where modern art made byyoung artists was exhibited, so we try to connect our work withmodern art, that works quite well (Interview 1, 2007).’

Kura-san was able to adapt to the changes in her business andcan now make a living running a traditional kimono shop and artgallery. The traditional features of the area of Tsukuda, which re-main, seem to support her business, as different and an increasingnumber of new customers visit the area on a regular basis or dur-ing seasonal events like local festivals.

Fig. 4. Aerial View Roji Network Tsukuda 2

Visiting Kura-san again in October 2011, she replies that as a re-sult of the ongoing restructuring of the neighbourhood in the lastyears, many newcomers have moved into her street, and Kura-sanis interested in developing good communications with new neigh-bours, as well as with the visitors who come to the area on weekends.She is sometimes surprised by their spontaneous visits to her shop.However, she is not afraid of any possible affects on her daily life be-cause she welcomes people who are interested in the history of thatplace and in keeping the roji ‘alive’. The roji are used for extendedwalks connecting Tsukuda with its direct neighbour Tsukishimaand other areas nearby. Furthermore, Kura-san mentions that onthe morning before our interview, people from the TV station NHKcame to visit the area to film the opening of a new shop. Featuresof traditional daily life in the alley are still seen, like when herfather-in-law put some potted plants in the alley behind their houselast week, but it is not so often anymore (Interview 1, 2011).

-chome (Google Maps, accessed 2011).

Fig. 5. Different uses observed in the alleyways, Case Tsukuda (Source: Author).

H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66 63

Kura-san reflects on the changing use of the alley; she remem-bers how her children used the roji:

‘Just behind this premise, there was a roji, where my childrenused to play together. Now we do not see many children, sotheir voices cannot be heard in the roji nowadays. Boys playedbi dama (rolling glass bowls), menko (playing cards) or bei goma(spinning top) (Interview 1, 2011).’She concludes that the old ways of using the roji are not seen asmuch anymore, while the roji in itself partly remains and olderneighbours consider it a common space sharing duties such ascleaning the street or watering trees.

Her neighbour, Ando-san, a woman in her late 20s and a new-comer to the area, considers the roji in a different way. She has justrented an old shop and opened a new café together with her part-ner, but she lives nearby in one of the new residential high-risebuildings. Being asked how she considers herself being not activein the local machizukuri (local town planning) groups, she statedthat she is too busy during the week and weekdays running herown business. When asked if she likes the shitamachi6 atmosphereof the area, she stated:

6 Shitamachi and Yamanote are central terms in discussing Tokyo’s urban landscapeThey form ‘the main street-level, vox-pop. divisions of the city and they are alsospatial metaphors for the kind of people who live there, for differing approaches tolife (Waley, 2002, p. 1533). Shitamachi can be translated as ‘low’ (shita) ‘town’ (machior ‘low city’, being originally the area of the commoners of the shogun; commonerstypically lived in the lower areas northeast of the Edo Castle and west of the SumidaRiver. Yamanote means literally ‘hand of the mountains’, being located on the hills othe Musashino Plateau and divided into three districts of Johoku (north), Josai (westand Jonan (south) of Edo Castle, being referred to as ‘High City’ (Jinnai, 1995, p.11)Both terms are not official names, but used extensively in the different literatureabout Tokyo’s history (Bestor, 1993; Waley, 2002). The terms were used overcenturies, but their meaning and physical location has changed in the twentiethcentury as new administrative centres were established. Accordingly, it can be arguedthat the old boundaries of shitamachi have moved as far the edge of Shinjuku andShinagawa and the characteristics of urban life as in the shitamachi districts cannowadays be found throughout the whole of Tokyo and other cities in Japan. Sincethen, the terms have been used in different ways and their meaning is nowadaysloaded with nostalgia and a longing for traditional Tokyo life (Waley, 2002). This typeof re-interpretation is important to consider as it also influences the perception andrepresentation of the marginalized alleyways.

.

)

f).

‘Oh, Tsukuda is not shitamachi. I am not fond of shitamachi. Thisplace is an old fishermen village built on manmade land, so Idon’t consider this area as shitamachi. I like the area, as manypeople want to visit the old neighbourhood famous for its deli-cacies, which secures in turn enough guests for our small café.Yes, the neighbourhood has changed during the last years, butI am a newcomer and for me it is important that I can combinework and living (Interview 2, 2007).’

In our interview in October 2011, she is asked about the reasonswhy she moved to the area some years ago. In return, she statesthat she was attracted by the charm of the old neighbourhood,but also the fact that the area is close to downtown Tokyo and of-fers many new residential housing options and facilities. She goesonto state that she likes the traditional and ‘old-fashioned patternof everyday life’, but prefers to keep a good relationship with new-comers to the area, as she does not feel connected to the old peopleliving nearby. Her neighbour Takada-san runs a rice-cracker shop.When asked if she communicates with him, she answered that sherarely sees him, as she mainly visits other facilities like the super-market and other leisure areas which opened near her residentialbuilding in the last few years (Interview 2, 2011).

To compare her view, the researcher had a chance to talk to Tak-ada-san some days later. Takada-san runs the shop next to her.Being asked if he communicates well with his new neighbours hestated:

‘Communication, I would not call it communication. Weexchange occasional greetings, but furthermore, not much(. . .). I am afraid of the current changes going on. And yes, thenew shops are also a kind of competition for me, as some visi-tors to the area are young people who come to the area to enjoya walk and some coffee (. . .) and sometimes, they also buy somesouvenirs at my shop (. . .) but I am getting old, and think I haveto close my shop as my son does not want to take over the place(Interview 3, 2007).’

Trying to interview Takada-san in 2011 again, the researcherdiscovered that his shop had closed, but discovers that his sonhas rented the shop to a new business run by a young couple.The son (49) was considering selling the house but thought it

64 H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66

might be a better option to rent the space so that the original func-tion is kept (Interview 3, 2011). The young couple, the Yamada’s(34/37) run a small Jazz bar, which is mainly opening at night,but argues that they took over most of the existing furniture tokeep the spirit of the former rice-cracker shop alive (Interview 9,2011).

In a neighbouring alley, Okada-san (a woman in her mid 40s)runs a flower shop in an old wooden house and was interviewedin 2007. During our first interview she explained that the placewas previously a carpentry shop her father rented to somebody,until Okada-san returned to the neighbourhood 10 years ago totake over the place. Talking about her childhood days and howthe area has changed during the last 30 years, she stated:

‘My family has lived in this house from the time of my father’sfather. Of course, during childhood, the locals helped each other,we would have dinner with our neighbours, and they would letus use their bath. I wonder what is left of those times. DoubtlessI my attraction to old things came from this old working-classneighbourhood (Interview 4, 2007).’

This statement shows how she feels close to and ‘rooted’ in theneighbourhood, as she has vivid memories when talking about thepast. This might have been one reason why she came back to thearea, as she was longing for the places of her childhood whichmight have long ago disappeared but are ‘alive’ in her memoryand became (through the transformation of the house into hershop) a part of her everyday life again. She uses the shop as a‘place’ to meet different people, to follow her own hybrid lifestyle(mixing professional and private life) and, as a returnee to the area,to express her memories through her shop, the interior and theway she sells her goods (Interview 4, 2007).

During our interview in 2011, she again talks about the impor-tance and role of the alleyways in her personal life, but also howeverything seems to have changed so fast during the last few years:

‘Because of my nature, being ‘hurried up’, I just prefer to use theroji for short cuts. Alternatively, my nature may be the same asthat of children, who seek a small space like a box into whichthey like to get into [. . .] I prefer to walk the alleys alone inthe morning, when everything is empty and quiet, as thisreminds me of my childhood days. Everything got so fast andnoisy, that I long for a moment where I just can hide and escapefrom my busy, daily life. During the last few years, many of myold neighbours have died or moved away, and even if only somewere close friends, I miss the spirit of the old community. New-comers often don’t understand the need for good communica-tion between neighbours, they often pass by without saying aword (Interview 4, 2011).’

This statement shows that she is using the leftover roji as herown place of retreat, as she is not an active member of the localtown planning group. But she likes to make personal use and con-tacts along and inside the alleyways. This form of hybrid identifica-tion with the alleyway is, to some extent, reflecting her personalsituation as a returnee to the area. She was not living in the areaduring the time of urban transformation processes, such as theemergence of high-rise blocks (in this case River City 21 in1988). Being back in her neighbourhood now, she has somehow ac-cepted and internalised the changing urban landscape as similar tothe change in her own urban lifestyle. This reaction can be de-scribed as a combination of compensation (using the alleywaysfor her daily walk to remember), adaptation (running this kind ofshop, she responded to the demand of the new clientele living inand visiting the area, and allowing her to live here) and resignation(as she is not active in a local group or similar). Finally, it can beargued that her hybrid lifestyle reflects different facets of the

changes going on in the area, as she is at the same time supportingand regretting the changes of the neighbourhood and actuallylonging for the ‘places’ of her childhood (Interview 4, 2011).

Adapting and resignation – adapting a traditional business. The localrice seller Wada-san (62), a long-standing resident who lives in analley further down, is also experiencing increasingly differentforms of personal struggle. He argued during our first interview(Interview 5, 2007) that he would be more active in the local mach-izukuri group, however, since the group failed to prevent the build-ing of the high-rise apartment block which was recentlyconstructed nearby, he started to have doubts about the possibili-ties of the local group and support as promised by the Ch�uo Ward.At the same time, he mentioned that he worries more about hisbusiness and how to promote his rice shop, which, traditionallysold to private people and local restaurants. Asked who his maincustomers are, he answered:

‘Seventy per cent of my customers are shops such as sushi res-taurants. People don’t eat rice so much nowadays; however mywife’s shop selling rice balls is successful. I suspect shops rootedin the neighbourhoods like my wife’s may enhance communica-tion with customers and boost the local culture (Interview 5,2007).’

In this sense, Wada-san has changed his business, which is nowgoing better, and justified his activities with the aim of enhancingcommunication between neighbours and to promote the shita-machi culture for several, not unintended, reasons. Nevertheless,it is clear that such a revival would also boost his business and in-come when he adopts the new emerging idea of ‘rediscovering thepast’, which is currently emerging on a wider scale and is econom-ically driven (AlSayyad, 2001). He has not only adapted to thechanges, but indirectly also supports the ‘commercialisation’ oftraditional products.

After our interview, the researcher experienced the extent towhich his business promotes the commercialisation of the productand how his wife is able to sell and promote her homemade cooking.In 2010, the local NHK TV station featured traditional local busi-nesses in Tsukuda in a weekly program. In the program, which theresearcher came across by chance, Wada-san’s shop is featured.The observer can see Wada-san’s wife (61) standing inside her shop,formed by a small counter directly next to her kitchen window. On asmall bench, two young women sit to enjoy their lunch. In front ofthe window a queue of people (presumably working in the area)and passers-by is forming. She is doing well, after one hour all 60 riceballs she prepared are sold. She then closes the business for the day.Being asked if she still enjoys onigiri (riceballs) herself, she reachesfor a rice ball and takes a bite. Laughing, she sits together with herhusband, and the camera zooms out, leaving the observer with thenostalgic scenery of the alleyway behind.

This scene showed how Wada-san has not only adapted hisbusiness and lifestyle to the current trends, but how he is also partof the boom now being observed nationwide and on a large scale.Since the feature on TV, other travel journals and urban guidesmight be inspired and will use the information provided to includeit in their own reports or publications, which would promote theneighbourhood. Consequently, the information would be spreadon a wider scale, attracting new visitors to the area. Some of thenew customers would not only come by chance during lunchtime,but might plan a trip and stroll around the area to visit that specificshop (Muraoka, 2007).

Resignation and regret – accepting urban change. In contrast, someinhabitants of an almost unrecognisable alley nearby have to dealwith different personal situations and conditions. Like in the case

H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66 65

of three neighbours who live along one alleyway and longstandingresidents in the area: Saki-san is an old woman in her 80s, living ina nagaya (old wooden longhouse), behind Yamato-san, who is inher 40s, a housewife and living in the house behind her parents.On the other side of the alleyway, Mori-san, a man in his 50s, is liv-ing in a bigger property but he is not always present as he worksduring the day.

The researcher got in contact with the neighbours in 2007, as theywere standing inside the alley talking and discussing which soilshould be used to cover the space between the step stones. Whenasked why they are maintaining the roji, Mori-san answered:

‘Ch�uo ward these days launches new policy for preserving roji,which is in my opinion too late (. . .). As I think the roji will dis-appear. It is a pity but a reality (. . .). We know about the goodaspects of the roji, which should be kept, but we don’t knowhow to become active, as we are single people busy with ourprivate lives (. . .). But we like the warmth of the roji, and dowhat we can to preserve the quality of the alley, until we areforced to move out, or it disappears (Interview 6–8, 2007).’

This statement shows that these neighbours feel uncertainabout the future of the roji, and are unable to react, to the extentthat they are unsure of how to engage in the wider network ofthe changing community or how to react to the changes in a per-sonal way, expressing thoughts, fears or other desires (Interview6–8, 2007).

In the following interview in 2011, Mori-san answers the ques-tion regarding how things have changed during the last few years.He has observed that many houses disappeared inside his blockand often thought about how to preserve the remaining atmo-sphere and convince other neighbours to keep their houses. So, re-cently he thought about joining the local neighbourhood group(chonaikai) who are active in the area, but because of his longworking hours and the commitment he would have to make asan active member, he thinks it would be very difficult to get in-volved (Interview 6–8, 2011).

The different interviews show that the perspective we take de-pends on which people we encountered in the alleyway and howthey perceive urban change. The redevelopment and gentrificationprocesses have had positive effects on the spatial and social struc-ture of the area, as new people move into the old houses to opennew shops and attract new people to the area. Nevertheless, it alsoincreases existing disparities between natives and newcomerswho have different perspectives on the future of the traditionalneighbourhood.

Conclusions

To conceptualise the changing views and perspectives on theroji, it will be useful to draw on a notion of ‘boundaries’ whichare in times of modernity understood as unstable terrain producingambivalent and unstable senses of place (Oakes, 1997). In particu-lar, an ‘urban borderland’ like the alleyway is in times of urbanfragmentation and increasing differences between social groups,the base for different forms of place identities, interests and expe-riences; however the different actors all make use of the sameplace (Wood, 2009). Thus, multiple and hybrid identities as ob-served in the case of Tsukuda and Tsukishima co-exist in the sameplace, and it depends on the perspective of the individual as to howan everyday place like the alleyway is perceived and valued. This isoften reflected in the different degree of personal use and socialinteraction. To understand changing place identities and sensesof place we should draw both on the individual everyday practice,experience and memory of the user and the wider network of dif-ferent forces in and outside that place (Entrikin, 1990).

As people perceive the roji from a certain distance, a distancecaused by the shift from the low-rise wooden house to a modernhigh-rise apartment flat, these places have lost their pragmaticfunction and have become aesthetic or fictional boundaries of dif-ferent memories, fears and hopes. The abandoned alleys have, indifferent ways, been re-appropriated to respond to people’s long-ing for the past with the repressed subconscious of modernityturning ordinary, everyday, and familiar places into ‘secret’ places(Shields, 1991). As the interview with Okada-san showed, thealleyway turns into a space which forms an imaginative boundarybetween past and present, allowing her to remember certain mo-ments of her past and re-encounter places of her childhood.Long-standing neighbours like Wada-san share this kind of senti-ment when walking, experiencing and reflecting on the past. Nev-ertheless, newcomers as Ando and Yamada-san see the alleyway ina different way, where they make use of the nostalgic spirit but donot want to live the life of the ‘good old days’. For them the alley-way fulfills a personal but especially economic function, support-ing their local business and hybrid lifestyle, as they embody pastand present elements in a modern lifestyle.

In consequence, modernity and the increasing speed of globali-sation push us to search for such ‘urban borderlands’ or interstitialspaces that become re-embodied places of resistance, retreat andcompensation. Moreover, rejecting an overly predetermined view,the research suggests the possibility of understanding such placesby paying attention to ‘‘the analytical lens of a ‘politics of forget-ting’ integral to globalisation processes’’ (Lee & Yeoh, 2004, p.2296) – in other words, revealing how the politics of forgettingworks to smooth over the uneven histories of ‘urban borderlands’and show that such places are shaped at the global and local level.

In particular, by not taking it as a given fact that interstitialplaces exist and disappear, as ‘no space disappears in the courseof growth and development: the worldwide does not abolish thelocal’ (Lefebvre, quoted in Brenner, 1997, p. 144), the study sug-gests that we draw on concepts such as co-presence, multiplicityand scale in re-conceptualising ‘urban borderlands’ as central tothe ways in which globalisation works and takes hold in a city,rather than being written off as passive counterparts or irrelevantperipheral phenomena (Brenner, 1997; Lee & Yeoh, 2004).

In this particular context, the alleyway stands for the declineand progressive gentrification of a traditional neighbourhood andits traditional elements of urban life, which people experience asmost distinctive at the moment they vanish from the urban land-scape. They try to capture this moment of disappearance in walk-ing the city and searching for places like the alleyway –chronologically and geographically at the boundary – and in wayssimilar to those applied by the ‘flaneur’ (Burton, 1994).

In this sense, ‘boundering’ places like the roji fulfil new rolesand are desired and needed to express local voices, thoughtsand personal opinions about political, economic or social changes.The roji – as an integral part of everyday urban life – looks set todisappear from the urban landscape of Tokyo, leaving traces ofthe past to be covered by new, modern urban developmentsstanding for the ongoing destruction and reconstruction of Tokyoand other places in the 21 century. Nevertheless, it continues toexist as imaginary and in this sense continues to have a sharedor social presence. Being in this sense a mental space, the alley-way forms a boundary between past and present and an alterna-tive landscape of reminiscence.

Endnotes:Interview 1 with Kura, Local Resident, Tsukuda (26 August2007, 25 October 2011).Interview 2 with Ando, Newcomer, Tsukuda (10 September2007, 27 October 2011).Interview 3 with Takada, Newcomer, Tsukuda (10 September2007, 26 October 2011).

66 H. Imai / Cities 34 (2013) 58–66

Interview 4 with Okada, Returnee, Tsukuda (10 September2007, 29 October 2011).Interview 5 with Wada, Local Resident, Tsukuda (12 September2007, 2 November 2011).Interview 6 with Mori, Local Resident, Tsukuda (12 September2007, 4 November 2011).Interview 7 with Yamato, Local Resident, Tsukuda (13 October2007, 5 November 2011).Interview 8 with Saki, Local Resident, Tsukuda (13 October2007, 7 November 2011).Interview 9, with Yamada, young Couple, Tsukuda (10 November2011).

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Prof. Hidenobu Jinnai, Hosei University forhis continuous advice, the Japan Foundation for the generous helpto fund my fieldwork in Japan and my supervisors at the Manches-ter Metropolitan University for their support.

References

Abu-Orf, H. (2003). Collaborative planning in divided cities: Informal communicationacross a boundary of conflict. Bristol: University of the West of England.

AlSayyad, N. (2001). Consuming tradition, manufacturing heritage: Global norms andurban forms in the age of tourism. London: Routledge.

Ars Electronica (2011). Architecture in a Simulated City. <http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/festival_archive/festival_catalogs/festival_artikel.asp?iProjectID=8677>Retrieved 10.05.11.

Bestor, T. (1993). Rediscovering Shitamachi: Subculture, class and Tokyo’s‘‘Traditional’’ urbanism. In R. Rotenberg, G. Mc Donough (Eds.), The culturalmeaning of urban space (pp. 47–60). London: Bergin and Garvey.

Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge [2004].Brenner, N. (1997). Global, fragmented, hierarchical: Henri Lefebvre’s geographies

of globalization. Public Culture, 10(1), 135–167.Burton, R. D. E. (1994). The flaneur and his city: Patterns of daily life in Paris 1815–

1851. Durham: University of Durham.Carmona, M., Tiesdell, S., et al. (2003). Public places – urban spaces. Architectural

Press.Ch�uo Ward Office (2011). Ch�uo-ku no jinkou – setaisuu (Heisei 23 Nen 11getsu

1hi gensai) [Report of number of population and families in Chuo Ward(1st November 2011)]. <http://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/syokai/tokeiderta/zinko/tyuuoukunozinkousetaisuu/index.html> Retrieved 28.11.11.

City Life (2005). Roji yokocho kara no Toshisaisei (City Revival starting from usingback alleys and sidestreets). City & Life Summer, 2005(76).

Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methodsresearch. Thousand Oaks, Calif: London, SAGE.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2008). Strategies of qualitative inquiry. London: SAGE.Donnan, H., & Wilson, T. M. (1999). Borders: Frontiers of identity, nation and state.

Oxford: Berg.Entrikin, J. N. (1990). The betweenness of place: Toward a geography of modernity.

Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.Fujita, M., & Sano, T. (2001). Life in riverfront: A middle-western town seen through

Japanese eyes. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.Gehl, J. (1996). Life between buildings: Using public space. Copenhagen: Arkitektens

Forelag.Grant, J. (2004). Encouraging mixed use in practice. <http://www.smartgrowth.

umd.edu/InternationalConference/ConferencePapers/Grant_MixedUsePractice_DateNA.pdf> Retrieved 18.06.10.

Hashizume, S. (2005). Roji wa naze hitsuyô ka (Why people need the roji?). City &Life Summer, 2005(76), 1–6.

Ho, H. (2006). Roji wa do shite dekita ka (How roji was made?). In Y. Nishimura(Ed.), Roji kara no machizukuri (pp. 46–60). Tokyo, Gakugei (Shuppansha).

Imai, H. (2010). Sensing Tokyo’s Alleyways: Everyday life and sensory encounters inthe alleyways of a City in Transition. In D. Kalekin-Fishman and K. E. Y. Low(Eds.), Everyday life in Asia: Social perspectives on the senses (pp. 48–68). Hants,Ashgate: Aldershot.

Jinnai, H. (1995). Tokyo: A spatial anthropology. Berkeley, London: University ofCalifornia Press.

Jones, G. A. (2007). Liminal cities: Global spaces, everday lives. In Valenca, M. M.(Ed.), The global challenge and marginalization. Noval Science Publisher Inc.

Kawasaki, K. (2006). A study on the improvement of residential environments withalleys in the high density built-up urban area-early-stage achievements andeffects of district planning utilizing the 42–3 road in Tsukishima District inChuo City, Tôkyô. Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan (2), 41–43.

Kibe, S. (2003). Tsukishima chiiki ni okeru machinami yudogata chiku keikaku: rojikukan Tsukishima-rashisa o ikashita machizukuri (Townscape inducement-style district plan in Tsukishima district: Community planning that makes thebest of Tsukishima typical alleyways). Machinami, 31, 12.

Kobata, S., & Tadokoro, K. (2000). Aban tissshu to shite no roji/yokocho/Machi kadono kanosei (Roji/Yoko-cho/Machi-kado as Urban Tissue). Summaries of technicalpapers of Annual Meeting Architectural Institute of Japan. F, Urban planning,building economics and housing problems, history and theory of architectureSeptember (pp. 437–438).

Kurokawa, K. (2006). Toshi kakumei, Koy�u kara kyoy�u e (Revolution of the city – FromPublic to Joint Ownership). Tokyo: Ch�uo kôron shinsha.

Lee, Y.-S., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2004). Introduction: Globalisation and politics offorgetting. Urban Studies, 41(12), 2295–2301.

Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Martin, M. D. (2001). The question of alleys, revisited. Urban Design International,

6(June), 76–92.McIntosh, L. (2005). Liminal space. Lantzville, BC: Oolichan Books.Meiji University (2005). Tsukuda–Tsukishima Juumin Ankeeto Choosa Shuukei Kekka

(Tsukuda–Tsukishima – Results of the Analysis of Residents Questionnaire) <http://www.kisc.meiji.ac.jp/~jukankyo/tt.pdf> Retrieved 28.11.11.

Morehouse, B. (2004). Theoretical Approaches to Border Spaces and Identities. In V.Pavlakovich-Kochi, B. J. Morehouse, D. Wastl-Walter (Eds.), Challengedborderlands: Transcending political and cultural boundaries (pp. 19–39).Ashgate: Aldershot.

Mukherji, S. (2011). Thinking on thresholds: The poetics of transitive spaces. London:Anthem Press.

Muraoka, H. (2007). Shitamachi ya Tokyo Showa toozakaru (Showa Style of Tokyo isfading away in Shitamachi). Tokyo: Sairyusha.

Nakano, T., Hirayama, E. (2006). J�utakuchi to Shogyochi ni okeru rekishi roji k�ukan nofukken no keiko (Tendencies of the Reconstruction of the Historical Roji Space inResidential and Commercial Areas) <http://www.itailab.se.shibaura-it.ac.jp/kenken/kenken2007/kougai2007/data/pdf/r03058.pdf> Retrieved 10.01.11.

Ní Éigeartaigh, A., & Getty, D. (2006). Borders and borderlands in contemporaryculture. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.

Nishimura, Y. (2006). Roji kara no machizukuri (Townmaking starting from using theroji). Gakugei (Shuppansha): Tokyo.

Oakes, T. (1997). Place and the paradox of modernity. Annals of the Association ofAmerican Geographers, 87(3), 509–531.

Paasi, A. (2001). Europe as social process and discourse: Considerations of place,boundaries and identity. European Urban and Regional Studies, 8, 7–28.

Perlman, J. E. (2010). Favela: Four decades of living on the edge in Rio de Janeiro. NewYork; Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rappoport, A. (1982). The meaning of the built environment: A nonverbalcommunication approach. SAGE: Beverly Hills.

Rumley, D., & Minghi, J. V. (1991). The geography of border landscapes. London:Routledge.

Shields, R. (1991). Places on the margin: Alternative geographies of modernity. London:Routledge.

Tokyojin (2005). Tokyo no roji, Dai Jiten (Rojis of Tokyo, Big Encyclopedia). TokyojinFebruary 2005(211).

Tuan, Y.-F. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptiveapproach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684–696.

Waley, P. (1991). Tokyo–city of stories. New York: Weatherhill.Waley, P. (2002). Moving the margins of Tokyo. Urban Studies, 39(9), 1533–1550.Warren, C. A. B. & Karner, T. X. (2005). Discovering qualitative methods: Field research,

interviews, and analysis. Los Angeles, Calif.: Roxbury Publishing Company.Williams, A. (2007). Therapeutic landscapes. Aldershot: Ashgate.Wood, A. F. (2009). City ubiquitous: Place, communication, and the rise of omnitopia.

Hampton, NJ: Cresskill.Yabuno, K. (2005). Tsukishima, Tsukuda. Tokyojin, Tokyo no Roji Daijiten February

2005 211, 99–103.Yin, R. (2004). The case study anthology. California, London, SAGE: Thousand Oaks.Yomota, I. (2007). Tsukishima Monogatari, futatabi (The Tsukishima Story, a 2nd time)

Tokyo. Kousakusha.Yoshida, A. (2010). Nokosareta genfuukei Toukyou Tsukuda Tsukishima Kaiwai

(Leftover Scenery Tokyo: Tsukuda Tsukishima Neighborhood – Photo AlbumYoshida [Paperback]) Tokyo. Nihon Shashin Kikaku.

Yukikuni, H. (2007). Tokyo no roji wa ima - iromachi, shitamachi, kioku no machi(Contemporary Tokyo Roji – Red-light, Low-town and Retrospect Areas). Tokyo:San ichi Shobo.

Zukin, S. (1995). The cultures of cities. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.