04-07-2025
Why Japan's largest Chinatown is unlike any other around the world
Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West.
In
a series of articles , the Post explores the historical and social significance of major Chinatowns around the world and the communities that shape them.
At first glance, Yokohama Chinatown has all the hallmarks of Chinese influence: lanterns swinging overhead, nikuman – the Japanese version of baozi or steamed pork buns – sold from big bamboo steamers, and shops selling Chinese trinket souvenirs.
But unlike Chinatowns in other parts of the world, Japan's largest Chinatown is today less of
a Chinese enclave and more of a tourist attraction for locals.
Still, beneath its tourist-friendly bustle, there lies a 166-year history of upheaval and survival.
Children view lanterns in Yokohama Chinatown in 2024. Photo: Xinhua
In July 1853, when US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry and his four ships reached Uraga – the entrance to what is now Tokyo Bay – it marked the beginning of trade and discourse between the island nation and the Western world, ending more than two centuries of Japanese isolationist foreign policy. As a result of a treaty between the US and Japan, Yokohama was officially opened as a foreign trade port in 1859.
