Chinatown

Today I went to Nagasaki City to distribute our free English magazine, Nagazasshi.

On the way I walked by Chinatown. Nagasaki isn't really a big city, you wouldn't expect it to have a Chinatown, granted, the Chinatown isn't that big either, only covering a couple square blocks. But what is big is China's history and influence in Nagasaki. In fact, Nagasaki is the only place in the world with a Chinese Confucius temple built by Chinese people. One of Nagasaki's famous foods, Champon (not mention one of Japan's famous foods-ramen), comes from Chinese cooking.

During the Edo era when Nagasaki was the only port in Japan open to foreign trade, along with the well known Portuguese and Dutchmen who came, many Chinese merchants traded here and stayed.

Along with food and Confucianism, the Chinese brought a lot of culture which still shines in Nagasaki through two big festivals: Kunchi- celebrating with the dragon dance and the Lantern Festival- where much of the city, but centered in and around Chinatown, is decorated in colorful, shaped lanterns.

The park in this picture is where the main events of the Lantern Festival take place.