Kembang Jepun: A former home of Japanese geisha

Kembang Jepun: A former home of Japanese geisha

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

As the sky begins to turn red on the western horizon the oriental
ornamental lamps are switched on along Jl. Kembang Jepun. The
vehicles passing through the 730-meter-long street, flanked by
grand mansions, begin to disappear, replaced by pedestrians.
"Come on, let's start work now," shouted a burly man to five
young men loafing at the end of the road. The men, working for PT
Pusat Kya-kya Kembang Jepun (PKKJ Surabaya), place a barricade
with a no-entry sign in the middle of the road, blocking a 200-
meter section of Jl. Kembang Jepun. Some of them arrange flower
pots on the sides of the blockade. The same is done at the
eastern end of the road.

When darkness descends, dozens of other workers arrange 2,000
red chairs and 500 yellow tables in the middle of the road. Some
200 stalls selling food and drinks start to form a line on the
road which leads to Jembatan Merah (Red Bridge). "Come on, get
moving! Customers will arrive soon," shouted Suwono, a fruit
juice seller. Not long after, a group of people start arriving to
enjoy the food and atmosphere.

This is an everyday scene on Jl. Kembang Jepun, one of the
most well known streets in Surabaya. Its name is derived from the
word kembang (flower) and Jepun (Japan). It is purportedly the
place where Japanese women once worked as geishas in the 1930s.

"Ever since then, Surabayans have called it Kembang Jepun,"
Sukadar, an elderly community leader, told The Jakarta Post.

Sukadar said that activities in the area started at the time
of the Sriwijaya kingdom. The area, located along Surabaya's
Kalimas river, was once a residential area where foreign traders
who moored their ships there lived.

During the Dutch colonial era in 1811, the area was divided
into Chinese, Arab and Malay quarters. The road, previously named
Handelstraat (Trader Street), was the main street in the area.
Government buildings and the tax office were located in the area,
as well as a police station which faced Jembatan Merah.

From an administration center, it later developed into a
trading hub. Major traders and barons from Europe lived on the
western side of the bridge, while Chinese and Arabs who arrived
in 1411, lived on the eastern bank.

The trading activities subsequently spurred the presence of a
number of hotels and lodgings, along with the arrival of sex
workers from Japan. Locals later called it Jl. Kembang Jepun.

Along with the growth of the city and the completion of
Tanjung Perak Port in 1910, other trade centers emerged and
Kembang Jepun was forsaken.

"There are many stores remaining there, one of them the Kiet
Wan Kie restaurant, is still open until now," said Sukadar.

Following the country's independence on Aug. 17, 1945, Jl.
Kembang Jepun's role diminished, especially as the city grew and
the center of activity shifted toward the central part of
Surabaya on Jl. Tunjungan, Jl. Raya Darmo and Jl. Pemuda.

"There's no relationship between Japanese residents and Jl.
Kembang Jepun anymore," said Arvil Syahadad, spokesman for the
Japanese Consulate in Surabaya.

Arvil tells how he was once asked by a Japanese staffer at the
consulate the meaning of Kembang Jepun.

"What's the meaning of Kembang Jepun? Why does it sound
Japanese?" Arvil said quoting the staffer. "I had difficulty
explaining it," he quipped.

According to Sukadar, when the Dutch expelled the Japanese
forces in 1945, many Japanese soldiers had already left for
Japan.

"Since that period, the role of Jl. Kembang Jepun has
changed," he said. Many Surabayans use the place for trading
only. "If there are female hostesses there, they would not be
Japanese, but local women," said Sukadar.

Despite the changes, the remnants of history cannot simply
vanish. A senior journalist in East Java, Sugeng Irianto, said
that there were shops along the street which still showed Chinese
or Japanese influence.

"There is a shop selling large candles usually used in
temples, and Chinese cakes," said Sugeng, who once worked in an
office on Jl. Kembang Jepun.

In the 1960s, there was once a former Japanese soldier who was
found by local residents. The soldier and his family had
purportedly lived in an underground tunnel.

"The soldier thought that it was still war time," said Sugeng.

Steeped in history, Jl. Kembang Jepun is now a place for city
residents to relax and dine in the evening.