Scenery of Event Bar Eden Main Store and Kaname-cho
Scenery of Event Bar Eden Main Store and Kaname-cho
Recently, I started going to the Event Bar Eden main store in Kaname-cho, Ikebukuro, and I noticed many things.
This area is a mixture of houses and shops, and to me it looked like the scenery of Kumagaya City in Saitama Prefecture several decades ago. Even though I am in the center of Tokyo, I somehow feel like I have traveled back in time several decades ago. It is characterized by many old buildings remaining, and old business models such as public facilities, public baths, tropical fish shops, and greengrocer are still intact.
It is said that the main cause of the decline of local shopping districts is the entry of large stores into the suburbs, but as a non-economic expert, I cannot say for sure. However, there is no doubt that the vestiges of the former local shopping districts and residential areas remain strongly in the center of Tokyo.
Attempting to Give and the Soul of Reiwa
I recently read a book by Tencho Erai and was impressed by his emphasis on the importance of giving, which he describes as not only money and goods, but also liking on social media and greeting passers-by on the street.
I was happy to see so many people walking in the streets of Kaname-cho, so I thought about implementing this "gift." Therefore, I actively tried to greet people on the road, such as the elderly, children, and foreigners.
However, there was no response from 10 out of 10.
At that moment, I felt as if my soul had been forcibly pulled back from the Showa and Heisei eras, when I suddenly slipped back in time, to the Tokyo of Reiwa.
The scenery and buildings of Kaname-cho and the people there certainly leave traces of the old days, but their living souls belong to "Reiwa" and never to "Showa."
At the same time as being appalled by this fact, it seemed that I was strongly told that I was not already "Showa's self" but "Reiwa's self." And from tomorrow, I was pulled back to the fate of having to live the so-called "endless daily life."
EVENT BAR EDEN Kaname Town # gelaten Attempting to give showa retro?
池袋の要町に点在する古い建物や昔ながらの商いの様子は、まさに貴重な昭和レトロな風景を今に伝えています。特に、イベントバー・エデン本店の看板にある「要 田 公柴恭爆」という記号的な表現は、この地域独特の雰囲気を象徴するかのようです。 この地域の商店や公共施設には、熱帯魚屋や八百屋、昔ながらの公衆浴場など、現代の都市では失われつつある昔のビジネススタイルが残っています。こうした風景を目にすると、東京の中心部でもタイムスリップしたかのような感覚を覚えるのは自然なことです。 しかし、記事にもある通り、街の人々の交流は必ずしも昔のように自然でオープンではありません。えらいてんちょう氏が提唱する「贈与」の精神、すなわち金銭以外の「いいね」や挨拶といったささやかな善意の交換は、現代の都市生活者には意外と成立しにくい現実があります。この点は、令和という時代の社会的な距離感や生活リズムの変化を如実に表していると言えるでしょう。 このような背景から、要町の昭和レトロな景観は単なる懐古趣味にとどまらず、現代の都市生活者が抱える人間関係の希薄さや孤独感を映し出す鏡としても興味深いものとなっています。また、この地域の魅力を活かしながら、新しいつながりや交流の形を模索することが、今後のコミュニティづくりにとって重要なのではないでしょうか。 さらに、イベントバー・エデン本店のような地元に根ざしたスポットが、地域の歴史や文化を今に伝え、人々の気づきを促す拠点になる可能性もあります。単なる懐古趣味ではなく、暮らしの中で「令和の魂」を見つめ直すきっかけとして、要町の風景と人々の関係性に目を向けてみる価値は十分にあると言えます。