Kabukichō

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox settlement

Template:Nihongo is an entertainment district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabukichō is considered a red-light district<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with a high concentration of host and hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the Template:Nihongo. Shinjuku Golden Gai, famous for its plethora of small bars, is part of Kabukichō.

The district's name comes from late-1940s plans to build a kabuki theater, and 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.

History

File:Kabukicho cropped GSI CKT20092-C62-15 20090427.jpg
Aerial photograph (2009)

Originally, the area was known as Template:Nihongo and was a swamp. After the Meiji Period, the area became a duck sanctuary. As the Yodobashi Purification Plant was built in 1893, the ponds were filled in. In 1920, a girls' school was built there, and the surroundings were developed into a residential area. Prior to World War II, the district was one of the areas open to non-mainland property owners (primarily from the colonies in Taiwan and Korea), who mainly operated Template:Tlit, predecessors to today's love hotels.<ref name=JT-2002/>

During the war, a bombing raid on April 13, 1945, razed the area to the ground.<ref name=JT-2002/> After the war, Kihei Suzuki from the Shinjuku Revitalization Land Readjustment Union worked with the major landowner, Mohei Mineshima to draw up plans for Kiku-za, a kabuki theatre, in the area; they believed that performers from the Kabuki-za theatre in Ginza would accept their invitation to perform at Kiku-za.<ref name=JT-2002/> As a result, Hideaki Ishikawa, a regional planner, dubbed the town Kabukichō, which was adopted on April 1, 1948. Although the theatre was cancelled due to financial problems, the name remained. The Template:Ill (to the south, in Shibuya), Template:Ill movie theater, Tokyo Ice Skating Rink, and Shinjuku Koma Theater were all completed in 1956, cementing the area's reputation as an entertainment center.<ref name="K'cho-history">Template:Cite web</ref>

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. The "three most renowned overseas Chinese of Kabukicho" include the founder of Humax, Lin Yi-wen, who started his business with a cabaretTemplate:Citation needed; Lin Tsai-wang, who built the Fūrin Kaikan; and Lee Ho-chu, owner of the Tokyo Hotel Chinese restaurant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2002, it was estimated that 70% of the land in Kabukichō was owned by foreign-born Japanese residents and their descendants.<ref name=JT-2002/> The rise of home video entertainment decreased the demand for live performances and film theaters, and Kabukichō became home to a number of video arcades, discos, and Template:Tlit (businesses offering sexual services).<ref name="JT-2015">Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Ill, a portrait photographer who took pictures and sold prints back to his subjects for a modest Template:JPY, documented the citizens of Kabukichō during this transition period in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His portraits of Kabukichō residents received critical attention and praise from fellow photographers, and are today exhibited in museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In 1971, Template:Ill, a former mattress salesman, opened "Club Ai",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the first host club in Kabukichō; at its peak, Aida's company reported Template:JPY billion in annual revenue.<ref name=JT-2015/>

By 1999, the area had been named "Asia's largest adult entertainment district", and tabloids were regularly running candid photographs of drunken Kabukichō patrons fighting and being arrested.<ref name=JT-2015/> However, starting in 2003, joint citizen and police patrols began enforcing business licensing,<ref name=JT-2004/> and the 1948 Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act was more strictly enforced as well starting in April 2004, forcing adult-themed businesses to start removing customers at midnight in preparation to close by 1 AM. Kabukichō leaders attributed the change in enforcement to Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and the Tokyo bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.<ref name=JT-2008/><ref name=TR-2008/> Today, the Template:Cvt Kabukichō district has all the hallmarks of a red-light district, with over three thousand bars, nightclubs, love hotels, massage parlours, and hostess clubs.<ref name="JT-2015" /> However, there are no red lights in the literal sense with prostitutes in the windows as in Amsterdam.

With increased tourism from China and South Korea, tourists can now be seen in Kabukichō even during daytime. After several large hotels opened in the district, the Kabukicho Concierge Association was formed to recommend businesses that would be safe for foreign patrons, as the area is notorious for the practice known as Template:Tlit, where some businesses add exorbitant hidden fees to bring the final bill well beyond the initial advertised prices.<ref name="JT-2015" />

Geography and statistics

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Kabukichō is generally bounded by:

Notable locations

The red Template:Nihongo gate, near the southwest corner along Yasukuni-Dōri, is often photographed as the main entrance to Kabukichō. Other major entrances, east of Ichibangai-Dōri along Yasukuni-Dōri, include Template:Nihongo, where the Kabukichō branch of Don Quijote is; and another neon-lit arch at Template:Nihongo.

The Shinjuku Koma Theater was a landmark in Kabukichō. By 2008, it had moved to its third location; since it opened in 1956, it has hosted concerts and other performances by top stars, including Template:Tlit singers Saburō Kitajima, Kiyoshi Hikawa, and actor Ken Matsudaira. The management announced that they would close after the December 31, 2008 show, and the building was demolished in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The site was redeveloped and the Toho Shinjuku Building was completed there in 2014, including the 12-screen Toho Cinemas Shinjuku theatre and the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. A "life-size" replica of Godzilla (from the neck up) was added to an outdoor terrace in 2015; it has since become a local landmark.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Tokyu Milano-za movie theater, just west of Cinecity Square, was the largest in Japan when it opened in 1956.<ref name="K'cho-history"/> The cinema showed many of the latest movies in Japan, including anime films. As well as a cinema, which had four screens at the time of closure, the Tokyu Milano-za complex also had a skate rink when it first opened which was converted into a bowling alley called the Milano Bowl a few years later, a Japanese restaurant (both the bowling alley and the Japanese restaurant closed alongside the cinema), a Chinese restaurant (closed in 2008), a fast food restaurant (Wimpy until the mid 1990s, Mos Burger afterwards; closed in 2011) and a casino. Its last day of operation was December 31, 2014, closing after a screening of the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A Template:Cvt high skyscraper called the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower (which is being developed by the former owners of the Tokyu Milano) is built and was opened on 14 April 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Crime

File:Host Clubs and Cabaret Club at Kabuki-chō, Shinjuku (2016-07-13 15.32.28 by Dick Thomas Johnson).jpg
Advertisements for host, hostess, and cabaret clubs (2016)

In 2004, according to a spokesperson of Metropolitan Tokyo, there were more than 1,000 yakuza in Kabukichō, and 120 different enterprises under their control.<ref name="yakuza">2004年1月19日竹花東京都副知事発言・歌舞伎町住民との懇談会</ref>Template:Full citation needed

Entering the new millennium, laws were more strictly enforced and patrols became more frequent. In addition, fifty closed-circuit cameras were installed in May 2002 after the Myojo 56 building fire that killed 44;<ref name=JT-2002>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=JT-2008>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the patrols and cameras reduced criminal activities in Kabukichō, amidst controversy.<ref name=TR-2008>Template:Cite news</ref>

Private citizens and government agencies launched a joint effort in July 2003, called the Shinjuku Shopping Center Committee to Expel Organized-Crime Groups, with the aim to replace unlicensed and adult-oriented businesses (which were believed to pay protection fees to organized crime groups) with legitimate businesses.<ref name=JT-2004>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2004, the police undertook an operation clamping down on illegal clubs and brothels, causing many to go out of business. An amendment to the 1948 Adult Entertainment law made aggressive catching of female patrons by male hosts illegal.<ref name=TR-2008/> Also, the Kabukichō Renaissance organization started in April 2008 to rid Kabukichō of the yakuza; office manager Yoshihisa Shimoda stated "[a]t the end of the day, we want Kabukicho to be clean. We want security, safety and a pleasant environment."<ref name=JT-2008/>

In 2011, Tokyo began to enforce the Organised Crime Exclusion Ordinance, which makes it a crime for businesses or individuals to deal with the yakuza.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The punishment for violating the ordinance, which ranges up to one year in prison and a fine of Template:JPY, is intended to provide an excuse for refusing to make protection payments.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In recent years, with the increase in tourism, especially among younger foreign visitors interested in Japanese nightlife, several concierge and community groups have attempted to provide safer matchmaking and social interaction experiences in the district. Some newer dating platforms, such as Yoitoki, have specifically marketed themselves as foreigner-friendly services offering pre-agreed transportation compensation and mutual consent-based arrangements. These platforms are often discussed in travel-related content across social media, especially among Tokyo-based influencers documenting modern dating culture in areas like Kabukichō.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Tlit

Template:Tlit is a form of bait-and-switch, where patrons are attracted by a low advertised price but then charged numerous hidden fees. In one instance, a group of nine was lured into a bar under the promise the all-inclusive cost was Template:JPY (about Template:USD in 2025); the hostesses inside consumed 172 drinks and the final bill was Template:JPY, over Template:USD in 2025 dollars. The staff at the bar allegedly threatened the patrons to ensure payment. In 2015, there were 1,052 reported cases of Template:Tlit in the first four months of the year alone, particularly targeting foreign tourists from China and Korea,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> prompting a crackdown that began in May; in July, there were only 45 reported cases of Template:Tlit and 28 bars had been shut down.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2007, local businessman Takeshi Aida founded the Shinjuku Kabukicho Host Club Anti-Organized Crime Gang Association to disassociate host and hostess clubs from organized crime, reduce the aggressive "catching" street solicitations, and eliminate the Template:Tlit practice.<ref name=TR-2008/>

Education

The Shinjuku City Board of Education operates public elementary and junior high schools.

Kabuki-cho 2-chome and a portion of Kabuki-cho 1-chome is zoned to Template:Nihongo and Template:Nihongo. Another portion of Kabuki-cho 1-chome is zoned to Template:Nihongo and Template:Nihongo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kabukichō has been featured in:

See also

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References

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Template:Shinjuku Template:Neighborhoods of Tokyo Template:Authority control

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