Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown

Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
	Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	長崎新地中華街
Simplified Chinese	长崎新地中华街
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Chángqí Xīndì Zhōnghuájiē
Wade–Giles	Chang2chi'i2 Hsin1ti4 Chung1hua2chieh1
IPA	[ʈʂʰǎŋtɕʰǐ ɕíntî ʈʂʊ́ŋxwǎtɕjé]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Cheung4kei1 San1dei6 Jung1wa4gaai1
Japanese name
Kanji	長崎新地中華街
Hiragana	ながさきしんちちゅうかがい
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Nagasaki Shinchi Chūkagai

Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown (Japanese: ながさきしんちちゅうかがい, 長崎新地中華街, Simplified Chinese: 长崎新地中华街) is an area located in Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan. Today this area is a shopping strip covering many blocks.

A short walk in Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, 2022

Most of the Chinese members of Nagasaki Chinatown are of Fuzhounese descent. Nagasaki and Fuzhou established ties as sister cities in 1980 to recognize the historical connections between the two cities and Fuzhounese immigrant community.^[1]

History

This area was originally the location of the warehouses of Chinese merchants, who traded goods to Japan from the 15th to 19th centuries. They lived in the 'Chinese residence' (Tojin yashiki) a little to the south-east (today's Kannaimachi 館内町).

The Chinese traders came to Nagasaki because it was the only open port in Japan during the Tokugawa period. The Tokugawa government allowed only Nagasaki to stay open to Chinese and Dutch traders, closing off the rest of Japan to prevent European political influence and the spread of Christianity.

Strict rules were placed on these Chinese traders, forcing them to stay within the precincts of the Tojin yashiki at night. Anyone found outside the area during prohibited times was arrested by the local guard.