Nakamuraya and Telephone Callers - Humanity in Shinjuku at the End of the Meiji Era

Nakamuraya and Telephone Callers - Humanity in Shinjuku at the End of the Meiji Era

At the end of the Meiji period (late 1868), before Shinjuku was ready to become a downtown area, Nakamuraya, a bakery, moved to the area from Hongo. At that time, Shinjuku was in the process of modernization, retaining the vestiges of an old post town. Telephones were rare, and only a limited number of merchant families in the area owned them. The author's house had a telephone, which was rare, and the number was called "107 in Bancho. Since there were no telephones in the neighborhood, people in the town would call the author's house when they had business, and across the street, "Mr. Nakamuraya, you have a phone call! and shouted across the street. The sight of Mrs. Kuromitsu rushing to the phone in response to this call, taking off her tusk and rushing to the phone, was a scene that was full of human kindness.

This incident symbolizes a time when the concept of privacy was rare and the entire community complemented each other's lives. Telephone charges were not based on a frequency system, the burden of use was small, and sharing was accepted as natural. In addition, sugar bags called "sanbaku" were given at Bon and year-end as a token of appreciation, and the spirit of mutual assistance was deeply rooted in the community. Despite the wave of modernization, people in Shinjuku were still connected directly with each other, and warmth was still alive in their daily lives. Nakamuraya eventually became a place for cultural exchanges and became deeply engraved in the history of the city, but its foundation was based on such simple and emotionally rich exchanges.