Kansai International University Kobe Yamate Campus is located in the center of Kobe.
What is your image of Kobe?Being a port town.Chinatown in Motomachi.That's right, there's a foreigner's house...
Being a port city is one of the characteristics of Kobe.Many people moved here from abroad.
Ijinkan, one of Kobe's representative tourist destinations, is a residential area for foreigners who moved to Kobe when the port was opened.Being a place of residence means that there is a “life” there.Not only food but also various cultures were brought to Kobe and took root.
“Bread” may also be a feature of Kobe. Since the Port of Kobe opened in 1868, a bakery opened the following year.Even now, the consumption of bread is extremely high in Japan, and there are many hideaway bakeries around the Yamate Campus.
Now, let's take a walk from Ijinkan to Kansai University of International Studies Kobe Yamate Campus.It might be nice to walk while visiting bakeries.The Kobe Muslim Mosque is located between Sannomiya and Motomachi.The first Muslim mosque built in Japan.Muslim is a place of worship for Muslims.The Kobe Muslim Mosque was built in 1935 and is the first Muslim mosque in Japan.After the opening of the country, Japan actively deepened exchanges with the rest of the world.Muslims still live nearby.Halal restaurants are also available.
Further west from the Kobe Muslim Mosque, if you walk steadily uphill, you will find the Center for Overseas Emigration and Cultural Exchange.This building was called "National Immigration Camp" where Japanese who were trying to immigrate to South America lived before their departure.From this camp, many Japanese went to Brazil.
Did you think, "Oh, did Japanese go to Brazil?"Brazil is geographically one of the farthest countries from Japan.However, from the past to the present, there have been many people coming and going between Japan and Brazil.Nearly 200 million people of Japanese descent live in Brazil.By the way, do you know the "Akutagawa Prize"?The 1st Akutagawa Prize winner, Tatsuzo Ishikawa's "Sobo" tells the story of a Japanese who went to Brazil.
On a different note, the National Immigration Center accepted immigrants from all over the country who wished to travel to Brazil and taught them the basics of living abroad. Starting with the first Brazilian immigrants in 1908, many immigrants from all over Japan came to Brazil from Kobe.The immigration camp ended its mission in 1 and was closed.Prior to 1971, the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Brazil, the building received calls from Brazil calling for the preservation of the building.
In the center, there is a "Museum of Emigration" that traces the history of Japanese immigrants to Brazil, and anyone can visit it.In addition, the "Kansai Brazilian Community", a Japanese-Brazilian community that represents Kansai, is active in the building.
Meriken Park in Kobe Port has the "Kobe Port Immigrant Ship Boarding Monument", which tells us that many Japanese immigrated to the world in the past.If you go to Meriken Park, be sure to look for the monument standing in the park overlooking the sea.
In addition, overseas Chinese have lived in Kobe since ancient times.If you go down the slope from the Exchange Center, you will find the Kobe Chuka Dobun School.In the neighborhood, there is a temple "Kantei Mausoleum" where Chinese culture remains.If you go down the slope as it is, you will arrive at "Nanjing Chinatown".If you pay attention to the surrounding buildings and buildings, you can see not only Japanese-style buildings but also Chinese-style buildings here and there.
There is also the "Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum" to learn about the history of overseas Chinese in Kobe.
You should also notice that there are many Asian restaurants that are not just for overseas Chinese.Nagata Ward, Kobe City is the base of the chemical shoes industry.Korean residents in Japan live here.
You can also find Vietnamese restaurants in town.Vietnamese people also live in Kobe.This is because the "Settlement Promotion Center" in Himeji accepted boat people who had escaped the fires of the Vietnam War.
In this way, the history of Kobe cannot be told without mentioning foreign residents.
Kobe has taken in cultures from all over the world and transformed the "difference" into "richness."If you follow the route I wrote here around noon, you will probably arrive at Chinatown in the evening.For dinner, you can happily decide whether to eat in Chinatown or go to Harborland and go to a Brazilian restaurant.
I see, so you can say that it is a multicultural town.Campus life in Kobe allows you to directly experience this kind of "multiculturalism."
However, learning about "symbiosis" at university is not just about "delicious".
Then, what kind of foreign culture is alive?What is life like for foreigners?What kind of society would it be to live with foreigners?
Next time, let's take a step deeper into coexistence with foreigners from a different angle.
Faculty of Sociology Department of Sociology Kosuke Yamamoto
