JP\/5\/JAPAN<\/p>\n
Kembang Jepun: A former home of Japanese geisha
\n
\nID Nugroho
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Surabaya
\n
\nAs the sky begins to turn red on the western horizon the oriental
\nornamental lamps are switched on along Jl. Kembang Jepun. The
\nvehicles passing through the 730-meter-long street, flanked by
\ngrand mansions, begin to disappear, replaced by pedestrians.
\n\"Come on, let's start work now,\" shouted a burly man to five
\nyoung men loafing at the end of the road. The men, working for PT
\nPusat Kya-kya Kembang Jepun (PKKJ Surabaya), place a barricade
\nwith a no-entry sign in the middle of the road, blocking a 200-
\nmeter section of Jl. Kembang Jepun. Some of them arrange flower
\npots on the sides of the blockade. The same is done at the
\neastern end of the road.<\/p>\n
When darkness descends, dozens of other workers arrange 2,000
\nred chairs and 500 yellow tables in the middle of the road. Some
\n200 stalls selling food and drinks start to form a line on the
\nroad which leads to Jembatan Merah (Red Bridge). \"Come on, get
\nmoving! Customers will arrive soon,\" shouted Suwono, a fruit
\njuice seller. Not long after, a group of people start arriving to
\nenjoy the food and atmosphere.<\/p>\n
This is an everyday scene on Jl. Kembang Jepun, one of the
\nmost well known streets in Surabaya. Its name is derived from the
\nword kembang (flower) and Jepun (Japan). It is purportedly the
\nplace where Japanese women once worked as geishas in the 1930s.<\/p>\n
\"Ever since then, Surabayans have called it Kembang Jepun,\"
\nSukadar, an elderly community leader, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Sukadar said that activities in the area started at the time
\nof the Sriwijaya kingdom. The area, located along Surabaya's
\nKalimas river, was once a residential area where foreign traders
\nwho moored their ships there lived.<\/p>\n
During the Dutch colonial era in 1811, the area was divided
\ninto Chinese, Arab and Malay quarters. The road, previously named
\nHandelstraat (Trader Street), was the main street in the area.
\nGovernment buildings and the tax office were located in the area,
\nas well as a police station which faced Jembatan Merah.<\/p>\n
From an administration center, it later developed into a
\ntrading hub. Major traders and barons from Europe lived on the
\nwestern side of the bridge, while Chinese and Arabs who arrived
\nin 1411, lived on the eastern bank.<\/p>\n
The trading activities subsequently spurred the presence of a
\nnumber of hotels and lodgings, along with the arrival of sex
\nworkers from Japan. Locals later called it Jl. Kembang Jepun.<\/p>\n
Along with the growth of the city and the completion of
\nTanjung Perak Port in 1910, other trade centers emerged and
\nKembang Jepun was forsaken.<\/p>\n
\"There are many stores remaining there, one of them the Kiet
\nWan Kie restaurant, is still open until now,\" said Sukadar.<\/p>\n
Following the country's independence on Aug. 17, 1945, Jl.
\nKembang Jepun's role diminished, especially as the city grew and
\nthe center of activity shifted toward the central part of
\nSurabaya on Jl. Tunjungan, Jl. Raya Darmo and Jl. Pemuda.<\/p>\n
\"There's no relationship between Japanese residents and Jl.
\nKembang Jepun anymore,\" said Arvil Syahadad, spokesman for the
\nJapanese Consulate in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Arvil tells how he was once asked by a Japanese staffer at the
\nconsulate the meaning of Kembang Jepun.<\/p>\n
\"What's the meaning of Kembang Jepun? Why does it sound
\nJapanese?\" Arvil said quoting the staffer. \"I had difficulty
\nexplaining it,\" he quipped.<\/p>\n
According to Sukadar, when the Dutch expelled the Japanese
\nforces in 1945, many Japanese soldiers had already left for
\nJapan.<\/p>\n
\"Since that period, the role of Jl. Kembang Jepun has
\nchanged,\" he said. Many Surabayans use the place for trading
\nonly. \"If there are female hostesses there, they would not be
\nJapanese, but local women,\" said Sukadar.<\/p>\n
Despite the changes, the remnants of history cannot simply
\nvanish. A senior journalist in East Java, Sugeng Irianto, said
\nthat there were shops along the street which still showed Chinese
\nor Japanese influence.<\/p>\n
\"There is a shop selling large candles usually used in
\ntemples, and Chinese cakes,\" said Sugeng, who once worked in an
\noffice on Jl. Kembang Jepun.<\/p>\n
In the 1960s, there was once a former Japanese soldier who was
\nfound by local residents. The soldier and his family had
\npurportedly lived in an underground tunnel.<\/p>\n
\"The soldier thought that it was still war time,\" said Sugeng.<\/p>\n
Steeped in history, Jl. Kembang Jepun is now a place for city
\nresidents to relax and dine in the evening.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp5japan-1447899208",
"image": ""
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