Jan. 22, 2011
Recycling revisited as a long-maintained custom in Japan
Recycling campaigns have spread to various areas of Japan as Japanese people are becoming aware of the importance of preserving the environment, but this is not a new trend in Japan.
A flea market in Setagaya in the western part of Tokyo has a history of more than 400 years, dating back to the 16th century. The Setagaya Boroichi rummage sale, held twice a year, has become so popular that it has been designated as an “intangible folk cultural asset” by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Setagaya was a castle town when the predecessor of Boroichi started at a “rakuichi” tax-free area established by a warlord who ruled the region. The town was always thronged with shoppers, travelers and other people, but the Setagaya Castle was destroyed later and the town lost its prosperity.
The tax-free market changed to a year-end fair only for local farmers. But the custom was maintained by local people, in a less brilliant manner, throughout the Edo era.
The current Boroichi market is organized mainly by an association of local shop owners for two days in the middle of January and in the middle of December. On the first day of sale this year, which fell on a weekend, many people flocked to the Boroichi shopping street, which is less than one kilometer long. The street almost looked like a jam-packed train. “How many today’s turnout is? We have no idea at all,” said an old man at a staff’s office. “Maybe, between 40,000 to 50,000 and 200,000. That’s all we have to say,” he said smilingly.
The street was lined by about 700 roadside stands. Most of them were miscellaneous goods and curio dealers, but ordinary people were also seen displaying their items, mainly old clothes and toys and secondhand tools. A curio dealer said, “We open exactly at this place every year, and customers come and see us every year.”
The Edo era, which was ruled by the Tokugawa shogun government, has been generally believed to be a dark feudal society, but the idea has come to be challenged by some historians, who argue the era was rather a vivid period with people having fun in various ways and living their life in a manner which was friendlier to the environment. One of unique businesses in the Edo era involved paper collection as paper was a precious item at that time. Paper collectors bought scraps of paper and made paper again for sale. Secondhand stores were also seen in every town. These may be indications that the Edo era was a recycling-oriented society with amounts of waste reduced as much as possible.
In today’s Japan, almost all municipalities urge residents to separate combustibles and others in garbage collection services. Some of them are even more precise, separately collecting wastes which are recyclable as resources, such as steel and aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboards.
Recycling is becoming an important business in a new dimension for Japan as a resources-poor country. Business concerns are eager to find a more effective means of recycling rare metals used as components in cellular phones and other electronic tools.
Japanese know very well that any resources are not inexhaustible. Flea markets, including Boroichi in Setagaya, are expected to be even more popular in an environment-conscious atmosphere in the years ahead.
Recycling revisited as a long-maintained custom in Japan
Recycling campaigns have spread to various areas of Japan as Japanese people are becoming aware of the importance of preserving the environment, but this is not a new trend in Japan.
A flea market in Setagaya in the western part of Tokyo has a history of more than 400 years, dating back to the 16th century. The Setagaya Boroichi rummage sale, held twice a year, has become so popular that it has been designated as an “intangible folk cultural asset” by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Setagaya was a castle town when the predecessor of Boroichi started at a “rakuichi” tax-free area established by a warlord who ruled the region. The town was always thronged with shoppers, travelers and other people, but the Setagaya Castle was destroyed later and the town lost its prosperity.
The tax-free market changed to a year-end fair only for local farmers. But the custom was maintained by local people, in a less brilliant manner, throughout the Edo era.
The current Boroichi market is organized mainly by an association of local shop owners for two days in the middle of January and in the middle of December. On the first day of sale this year, which fell on a weekend, many people flocked to the Boroichi shopping street, which is less than one kilometer long. The street almost looked like a jam-packed train. “How many today’s turnout is? We have no idea at all,” said an old man at a staff’s office. “Maybe, between 40,000 to 50,000 and 200,000. That’s all we have to say,” he said smilingly.
The street was lined by about 700 roadside stands. Most of them were miscellaneous goods and curio dealers, but ordinary people were also seen displaying their items, mainly old clothes and toys and secondhand tools. A curio dealer said, “We open exactly at this place every year, and customers come and see us every year.”
The Edo era, which was ruled by the Tokugawa shogun government, has been generally believed to be a dark feudal society, but the idea has come to be challenged by some historians, who argue the era was rather a vivid period with people having fun in various ways and living their life in a manner which was friendlier to the environment. One of unique businesses in the Edo era involved paper collection as paper was a precious item at that time. Paper collectors bought scraps of paper and made paper again for sale. Secondhand stores were also seen in every town. These may be indications that the Edo era was a recycling-oriented society with amounts of waste reduced as much as possible.
In today’s Japan, almost all municipalities urge residents to separate combustibles and others in garbage collection services. Some of them are even more precise, separately collecting wastes which are recyclable as resources, such as steel and aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboards.
Recycling is becoming an important business in a new dimension for Japan as a resources-poor country. Business concerns are eager to find a more effective means of recycling rare metals used as components in cellular phones and other electronic tools.
Japanese know very well that any resources are not inexhaustible. Flea markets, including Boroichi in Setagaya, are expected to be even more popular in an environment-conscious atmosphere in the years ahead.
