| Since the Edo period,Chinese experienced the transition from living scattered then inhabiting in Tojin Yashiki(Chinese Residence)together to assembling in Chinatown.This transition was not only accompanied by the temporal and spatial variation,from 17th to 19th century,from Nagasaki to Yokohama,Kobe,etc.but also implied the inversion of trade,cultural status in Japan between the Chinese and the westerners represented by the Dutch,as well as the change of bilateral relations and cognition between China and Japan.The paper is intended to outline the process and context of the evolution of Chinese agglomeration in Japan during 17th to 19th century,focusing on the backdrop and the predicament of the Chinese,and simultaneously pay close attention to the coexisting convert,from which the variation trajectory of Chinese-Japanese interaction can be sketched to some extent.In the early 17th century,an enormous numbers of Chinese diaspora came to Japan.They established the connection of kinship,geography and profession gradually,moreover they tied closely with the local residents at the early stage of the Chinese society in Japan.Hcwever,in pace with the revising of Japan's foreign policy and the change of relations between the Chinese and the local residents,the Japanese shogunate intervened in the Chinese management step by step,and a series of regulations and bans were issued.Finally,Tojin Yashiki was set up,through which Chinese experienced the changes from living scattered to inhabiting,under the governance of the Tokugawa Shogunate.Therefore,the 17th century is of the essence for the study on the evolution of Chinese agglomeration in Japan.Tojin Yashiki contributed to the creation of a watershed institution in 1689.Existing in the Edo period of Japan for nearly 180 years,it was an significant testimony of Chinese-Japanese economic and cultural interaction and a particular result of Japan's foreign policy together with Dejima.Tojin Yashiki was finally came to the end,while Chinatown,the integration of business and accommodation,replaced it as a new gathering community for overseas Chinese in Japan.From 17th to 19th century,the Chinese inhabiting form in Japan had undergone a series of crucial transition,accompanied with the mutual changes in politic,economy and culture aspects.The evolution of the agglomeration is one of the core issues in the study of overseas Chinese,as well as a viewpoint that cannot be ignored in the study of Chinese-Japanese relations.Branches of learning on the subject have been excavated and numbers of the academic writings and dissertations concerned the overseas Chinese in Japan have been published.The existing studies prominently concentrated on economic contributions and cultural influences.However,the research on the changes of Chinese overseas agglomeration,the underlying causes and impact of these changes is still a gap in the field.At the same time,it's a brand-new attempt to explore the Chinese-Japanese relations from the perspective of the transition from Tojin Yashiki to China town.Paradoxically,so far relevant studies have been few and limited in scope.This paper reviewed the previous studies on the related issues,such as the Chinese composition and activities,Chinese society in Japan,as well as the cultural interaction.On the basis of the predecessors' findings and the new approaches,the evolution of Chinese agglomeration in Japan during 17th to 19th century as well as the hidden agenda around the issue has evoked deep thinking.The background of generous Chinese flouring in Japan in the early 17th century and the situation of the Chinese diaspora in the local society were the precondition-prerequisite for the establishment of Tojin Yashiki.On the basis of the intercourse in history and the situation in both sides,endless stream arrivals of Chinese crossed to Japan since Edo period.Taking the geographical relationship as the link,the Chinese inhabitants forged the affiliation of the fellow region and depended on the Chinese temples to execute the initial autonomy.At that time,the Chinese were allowed to move freely around the city and scatter within the city wards as well as engage in trading activities.It's worth noting that in the course of the 17th century,Japan and China separately experienced country seclusion and dynasty change.Along with the change of bilateral situation,Japan's ideology and attitude toward Chinese even China also converted accordingly.Especially,as the problems of discipline,covert transaction and the dissemination of Catholicism were exacerbated,the shogunate strengthened the guard and control.Eventually,Chinese Residence had been built in 1689.The construction of Chinese Resident fostered a far different atmosphere by relegating the Chinese to a specified set of compounds and forbidding unauthorized out-and-in let alone wandering throughout the city.Chinese society 's autonomy had already gone and the form of its management had finally adapted itself to the principle of the shogunate,whilst the subject themselves had accepted Japanese authority over that of their Chinese counterpart.The establishment of Tojin Yashiki had both political and economic effect.Meanwhile it and the Chinese people exerted cultural influence on the local place,making them the foundation of absorbing Chinese culture.Under the disaster and turbulence,the buildings in Tojin Yashiki had been utterly destroyed.The decay of trade even lead it to decline.Finally Tojin Yashiki came to the end with the emergence of the alien settlements and the rise of Xindi.Refer to Tojin Yashiki,we cannot ignore its contrast and enemy of trade in Edo period,Dejima,the Dutch merchant Hall in Nagasaki.In the course of the competition between Tojin Yashiki and Dejima,the direction of Japan's cultural imitation had also changed from China to the West accordingly,which made the preferential treatment of Chinese in Nagasaki substituted by the Dutch.The different trends in Japan's attitude and management to the Chinese and the Dutch were closely related to the changes in Japan's national policies,and its relations with the East and West countries,and its attitude towards Eastern and Western civilizations in different periods.After the Japan's opening its ports in 1858,the Chinese in Japan formed tow flows:one was the internal transfer in Nagasaki,the other was the migration from Nagasaki to Yokohama,Kobe,etc.Since the Meiji period,the Chinese people in Japan were also building their new bases for overseas Chinese society in the new geographical regions.The Chinese people gathered to continue the mutual assistant of the fellow region groups in Edo period,and initiated the new business,forming the Chinatown in various places in Japan.Thus,the Chinese agglomeration transferred from Tojin Yashiki to Chinatown.Taking the temporal and spacial variation as the clue,this paper pays attention to the process of the development from Tojin Yashiki to Chinatown,which was also the formation process of a new civilization with the characteristics of mixed blood,economic reciprocity,cultural integration,East-West integration. |
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