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.