adminText and pictures by Ulysses Aoki and Benedetta Ristori
B. Ristori After reading an article titled “The Tokyo neighborhood where people come to disappear”, written in 2019, today I decided to go to Minami-Senju district. Inside the big area of Minami-Senju there was the “San-ya” neighborhood. This name doesn’t exist anymore because it was changed in 1966.
U.Aoki Today was a beautiful day, surrounded with great people. Less about the grandiose monuments of the city, more about the smaller things. The paintings on a wall, how the light hits a window, how much move in and out of churches. And meeting people that are alike.
U.Aoki As the end of the trip inches closer, the urge to truly understand the city from the insides starts to hinder me. A local friend agreed to take me around the city, and we had a small tour of Rome.
B.Ristori The area was born as a large community of day laborers who physically helped build the modern metropolis that is Tokyo today. Most of those who were labourers, are now in their 80s or 90s. The area is changing fast, but gentrification is not complete as in other areas.
