ROPPONGI HISTORY
Roppongi History -
after World War II Roppongi hosted several facilities of the
United States Army and Allied government. This
part of Roppongi's history set the association with
foreigners.
The name "Roppongi", which appears to have been
coined around 1660, literally means "six trees". Six very old and
large zelkova trees used to mark the area; first three were cleared,
and the last was destroyed during the Pacific War. Another legend
has it that the name comes from the fact that six daimyo lived
nearby during the Edo period, each with the kanji character for
"tree" or a kind of tree in their names. Roppongi was not
extensively populated until after the Meiji Restoration, although
the area was trafficked for centuries and served as the site of the
cremation of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada's wife in 1626.
In 1890, the Third Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army was
moved to a site near Roppongi (now home to the Pacific bureau of
Stars and Stripes). The influx of soldiers led to the area's rise as
a nightlife district, briefly interrupted by the Great Kanto
Earthquake which flattened the area in 1923. Roppongi was
administratively part of Azabu Ward from 1878 to 1947.
After World War II, during which the area was again destroyed, this
time by aerial bombing raids, the United States Army and Allied
government officials occupied several facilities in the area,
beginning Roppongi's reputation as a foreigner neighborhood. Several
large US military installations were located in the nearby area,
with Hardy Barracks probably the most significant. In large part due
to the US military presence, the area soon became crowded with
Western-oriented shops, bars, restaurants, prostitution
establishments and "hostess bars."
Starting in the late 1960s, Roppongi became popular among Japanese
and foreigners alike for its disco scene, which attracted many of
Tokyo's entertainment elites. Contributing to the international
scene was the location of several foreign embassies and foreign
corporate offices in the Roppongi area. However, many dance clubs
shut down in the recession following the market crash of 1989.
The Roppongi area received a major economic boost in 2002–2003 when
the Izumi Garden Tower and the Roppongi Hills high-rise complexes
were completed. These projects brought high-end office and
condominium space to Roppongi for the first time. The Tokyo Midtown
project, which was completed in 2006, and includes the first Tokyo
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, continued this trend.
Roppongi at night time looking towards
Tokyo Tower
(Article
based on
Wikipedia article and used under the
GNU Free Documentation License)
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