Are Shotengai All That Magical?

Finding something worth repeating is often a very difficult task. Sometimes it can be rich with cultural value, other times it repeated because it always has been. If it performs a meaningful function within society it will be repeated as a tradition. If the action has ceased its usefulness it may still continue as a traditional form of culture. When a tradition is carried on it sometimes loses its reason for existence. As a culture develops traditions tag along, integrating, and adapting to society. Constant revision can lead to an identity crisis or even the death of a tradition. Why continue something that has been out dated for several hundred years? Is it out of respect for religion, ancestors, or the general integrity of culture? Whatever it may be, a tradition is just that: tradition. When I think of tradition I become slightly sad. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with The Fiddler on the Roof. Thinking about Tevye, his issues with tradition (and a singing Kosher ghetto) is the image I have of tradition. The movie sums it up pretty well, things change but the sun will come out tomorrow (wrong musical?). Anyway, the point of this all is that at the end of the day all people have their own reasons for doing things. Be it a tradition they keep alive or something new, everyone is doing something that contributes to society. Today I have a survivor's story of a dying breed tradition. I would like to share with you, A bit of salvage ethnography.

The Shotengai is one of these survivors, barely. A shotengai is very much a street mall, not a strip mall, or an actual mall. I could be compared to a strip mall for its linearity, multitude, and diminishing popularity. However, it is one structure that I have only encountered in Japan. In a commercial district where cars are outlawed, various shops, restaurants, markets, and parlors line a single or intersecting streets. Some can stretch for upwards of a kilometer, others (smaller ones) could be as small as a four blocks squared. Most shotengai are covered by roof-like structures, giving them a closed in feeling. They have become tradition only through the consumption of goods, and the prosperity of the post war economy.
People have always wanted stuff (regardless of what), and when it is centralized to one area some can not help buying something. Much like the commercial districts of ancient Japan, a shotengai is avenue filled with entertainment, and necessities. Ideally a local merchant would thrive in this area, and perhaps they once did. Nothing in this life is guaranteed though, especially when dealing with goods.
I am not saying that there are no malls (there are), but personally I have encountered more shotengai. I would say that I feel that Japan's dense population has always played a key role in keeping the shotengai around. Since there are continual outlets and (most likely) a train stops nearby, access is easy. Opposed to the isolated confinement of a mall, a shotengai can accommodate foot traffic. Therefore a shotengai holds the greater potential for customers.

This holds true only for big thriving cities though.
Small cities and towns have shotengai, but are quickly losing customers. Much like their cousin the strip mall, the lifespan of said structures is completely dependent on the economy. Flexibility of a shop plays a key role as well. The older the shotengai, the older its owners are, and the less apt the owners are to change their image. When an owner's shop closes, it may remain closed for years. Many shops in Japan also provide a home to their owners on the second story. This is why a shop may not be sold directly after its death. Renting one such an establishment without living there can be even more expensive, hence the many ghost town shotengai's scattered throughout Japan.

I first learned what a shotengai was, through the anime Abenobashi Maho Shotengai (Gainax). This anime portrays Abenobashi Shotengai as one of these ghost towns. It takes place within the Osaka prefecture, making it very easy to relate with the infamous Shin Sekai (Photo)shotengai of Osaka city. Despite Shin Sekai meaning "New World," it is rather old and desolate. In Abenobashi Maho Shotengai two of the adolescents who grew up within its markets and shops, are sucked into an alternate dimension to ultimately discover the true (and oh so magical) history of the Shotengai. The series itself includes many cultural references, while dealing with very real issues that plague all dying shotengai.

For these reasons a shotengai is much like an elephant in your room, he can not be ignored forever. The economy may or may not address these issues. Shotengai may or may not get their second coming (a ShinShinSekai perhaps?). What is true is that shotengai are as much apart of Japanese culture as Sushi. Hell they even have Sushi in shotengai; the versatility of culture that these structures hold is truly vast.

(Desolate Shin-Sekai, Image Copyright: Troutfactorynotebook)