is an old place name for a part of Nishinari-ku in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, which has the largest day laborer concentration in Japan: 30,000 people are estimated to live in every 2,000 meter radius in this area, part of which has been in

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

-like conditions. The area surrounding Kamagasaki is upscale, clean and attracts tourists with popular sightseeing spots including the Tsutenkaku,

Shinsekai is an old neighbourhood located next to south Osaka City's downtown "Minami" area. The neighbourhood was created in 1912 with New York (specifically, Coney Island) as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. At this locatio ...

, and Nipponbashi. However, in Kamagasaki,

homeless people Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

can often be seen sleeping in the streets throughout the day, and hotels (cheap temporary rooms intended for day laborers) abound in the area. These hotels have recently become popular amongst backpackers from outside Japan due to their cheap price and proximity to rail transportation. The city government of Osaka does not allow the name "Kamagasaki" to appear on official maps and discourages the use of the name in the media. Sections of four different towns — , , , and — are collectively known as Kamagasaki. As part of

slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...

in preparation for World Expo 2025, the government ordered the closure of the Airin Labor and Welfare Center, a symbol of Kamagasaki since its opening in 1970.

History

Kamagasaki has been a place name since 1922. An accurate count of occupants has never been produced, even in the national census, due to the large population of day laborers who lack permanent addresses. Daily life in Kamagasaki in the 1950s was photographed by Seiryū Inoue, who won the 1961 Newcomer's Prize awarded by the Japan Photography Critics' Society for "One Hundred Faces of Kamagasaki". became the area's official name in May 1966. Non-profit and religious organizations frequently give out food rations, creating long lines of people in public parks. Property values in Kamagasaki are noticeably lower than those of surrounding areas. A film set in the neighborhood by director which was partially financed by the city, called "Fragile", was pulled from the 2013-2014

Osaka Asian Film Festival The Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF, ) is an annual film festival held in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan in March. The festival began in 2005 and currently introduces Asian films. History In December 2005, the Korean Entertainment Film Fes ...

after Ota refused to cut scenes from the film that identified the location of the community and referenced certain aspects of its culture.

Notable riots or protests

Several conflicts with the police have occurred in Kamagasaki since 1961 over perceived

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

violations by authorities. The

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

usually refer to these events using words that can be translated as "riot". The first riot occurred on August 1, 1961, when an elderly day laborer from Kamagasaki was killed in a traffic accident. The official who arrived on the scene assumed that the man was already dead (only doctors are allowed to pronounce a death) and left the body on the street for over 20 minutes without calling an ambulance while he spoke with witnesses. A large group of day laborers surrounded the Nishinari police station in protest of the man's treatment, overturned parked police cars, and set fire to nearby apartment buildings. The Osaka Prefectural Police responded with 6,000 officers, using police sticks and vehicles to round up the rioters. It took two days to stop the 2,000 rioters; 28 were arrested. Approximately 10 rioters and 100 police officers were injured. This riot became a national issue and was taken up in the prefectural legislature and national legislature of Japan. Several attempts were made to mend relationships between the groups, but minor riots continued to occur. In May 1966, it was decided that the official name of Kamagasaki would be changed to in an attempt to improve the area's crime-ridden image. The name Kamagasaki is still commonly used amongst inhabitants, while the name Airin-chiku is used by the media and government officials. The 22nd riot occurred in October 1990, 17 years after the last riot in 1973. This riot also involved local day laborers but grew in proportion when youths from outside Kamagasaki joined in. Shin-Imamiya Station and local stores were set on fire during this riot, and it took several days to calm the area. The 23rd riot occurred in October 1992, and a large-scale riot did not occur for over 10 years. This was the last large-scale riot to occur in Japan before the

34th G8 summit The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo (1979, 1986, 1993) and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 summit has evolved beyond being a gat ...

. The 24th conflict with the police occurred on June 13, 2008, and it continued six days. It was related to the

. One day before the G8 Finance Ministers' Meeting started in

with a very large police presence, a day laborer in Kamagasaki was allegedly

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d by the police. In protest, many day laborers and other local citizens carried out several days of street protests.Italian report
Many

referred to the protests as a "riot". Image:Kamagasaki Riot20080614 2005.JPG, The 24th Kamagasaki Riot Image:Kamagasaki Riot20080616 2224.JPG, The 24th Kamagasaki Riot

Education

Nursery school: Wakakusa Nursery School, 2-9-2 Haginochaya Primary schools: Haginochaya Primary School, 1-11-15 Haginochaya; Koji Primary School, 2-16-26 Hanazonokita In 1962 Airin School (renamed to Airin Elementary and Junior High School the next year) was founded. (In 1973, it was renamed Osaka City Shin-Imamiya Elementary and Junior High School. It closed in 1984.) The requirements of entering is not having register or

resident registration A resident register is a government database which contains information on the current residence of persons. In countries where registration of residence is compulsory, the current place of residence must be reported to the registration office o ...

. Junior high school: Imamiya Junior High School, 1-8-32 Hanazonokita Other school: UNION Theology University Extension Study, 3-4-23 Haginochaya

Welfare

The number of people who receive Life Protection is the highest in Japan (176 people per 1,000). The city of Tokyo is 17, Nagoya is 13, Fukuoka is 19, Osaka City is 42. The percentage of people who receive school attendance is 50.4% (whole of Japan is 13.7%, Osaka-fu is 24.7%, Osaka City is 33.8%).''Think about Poverty'' chapter 4. In Nishinari Ward in Osaka City, by Takeshi Ikuta, published by Iwanami Junior Paperbacks

Gallery

Image:Airin-District_Osaka_Japan01.jpg, Triangle Park Image:Airin-District_Osaka_Japan02.jpg, Street vendor Image:Streets of Kamagasaki.jpg, Streets of Kamagasaki

Transportation

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

Osaka Loop Line The is a railway Circle route, loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka. Part of a second, outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten Station, Hanaten to Kyuhoji Station, Kyuh ...

: Shin-Imamiya Station * Osaka Municipal Subway ** Midōsuji Line: Dōbutsuen-mae Station **

Sakaisuji Line The is an underground rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by Osaka Metro. Its official name is , and in Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan), MLIT publications, it is written as . The Sakaisuji Line is uniq ...

: Dōbutsuen-mae Station ** Yotsubashi Line: Hanazonochō Station * Nankai Railway **

Nankai Main Line The is one of the two main railway lines of Japanese private railway company Nankai Electric Railway, together with Nankai Kōya Line, Kōya Line. The route is from Namba Station in south downtown of Osaka to Wakayamashi Station in Wakayama, Wa ...

: Shin-Imamiya Station ** Kōya Line: Shin-Imamiya Station,

Haginochaya Station is a railway station operated by Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. in Nishinari-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Line *Nankai Electric Railway (NK04) ** Kōya Line Layout Haginochaya is an elevated station with one island platform An ...

* Hankai Tramway ** Hankai Line: Minamikasumichō Station, Imaike Station

Peace institutions

* Nishinari Police Station * Nishinari Fire Department * Airin Labor and Welfare Center * Nishinari Labor

Hello Work Foundation The foundation of Hello Work is based on the Employment Service Convention No. 88 (ratified in Japan on 20 October 1953) under Article 23 of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Duties Hello Work offices maintain ...

* Hospital Attached to Osaka Social Medical Center * Nishinari Citizen Center * Taishi Hall・Rest House for Old Men

Events

*Kamagasaki May Day May 1 *Kamagasaki Summer Festival　August 13–15 *Twilight Concert *Energy Festival *Evening Variety Show *Come Here Festival Image:Kamagasaki_Summer_Festival20080814_1704.JPG, Kamagasaki Summer Festival Image:Kamagasaki Summer Festival20080814 2020.JPG, Kamagasaki Summer Festival Image:TwilightConcert20090910_1758.jpg, Twilight Concert Image:GenkiFestival20060930_143204.jpg, Energy Festival Image:EveningVarietyShow20081003_195021.jpg, Evening Variety Show Image:YottekiFestival20081012 151556.jpg, Come Here Festival

References

External links

Mother's Day
Story about a walk through Kamagasaki/Shinsekai by Don MacLaren, published September, 2009 in the literary magazine ''Danse Macabre'' {{Coord, 34.648, 135.502, display=title, format=dms Geography of Osaka Articles containing video clips Slums in Japan