KINOSUKE OZU and the Shinjuku Black Market: Streetscapes from 1943 to the Postwar Reconstruction Period

KINOSUKE OZU and the Shinjuku Black Market: Streetscapes from 1943 to the Postwar Reconstruction Period

In May 1943, Kinosuke Ozu moved to Kakunohazu, Shinjuku, and eventually became the leader of the Shinjuku black market. He was called the "nighttime town councilor" in contrast to Kihei Suzuki, the "daytime town councilor," and it is said that his presence dominated the atmosphere of the town day and night.

At the time, Japan was at the end of the Pacific War. The control of goods was becoming increasingly severe, and under the rationing system, the common people were having a hard time obtaining food. When the war ended, the rationing system further collapsed, and the cities were enveloped in hunger and chaos. Under such circumstances, the black market became an important infrastructure for the survival of the common people. At the Shinjuku black market, which was managed by Ozu, merchants called out in a booming voice, "Today is the first day of the black market, and we are offering a great deal: mackerel from the Ito coast for 10 yen each and horse mackerel for 10 yen for 20 fish! and people lined up in long lines from early in the morning.

However, the rationed fish was often on the verge of spoiling, and people's desperate need for fresh fish tells a story of the food situation during the chaotic postwar period. Not only fish, but also rice, vegetables, and clothing were sold on the black market, as well as supplies from the Occupation Forces and "bakudan," moonshine liquor.

While people like Kinnosuke Otsu supplied people with goods through the gaps in the regulated economy, he also played a role in maintaining order in the city. His presence symbolizes the Shinjuku of that time, when the boundary between the underworld and the surface society was blurred. On the eve of Kabukicho becoming the "town that never sleeps," its energy was already pulsating amidst the bustle of the black market.