is a district in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from

Harajuku Station is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station takes its name from the area on its eastern side, Harajuku. Lines This station is served by the circular Yamanote Line. It is also adj ...

to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of

Shibuya ward Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...

Jingūmae is a district of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. As of October 2020, the population of this district is 12,446. The postal code for Jingūmae is 150–0001. Places of interest Cultural Shrines * Tōgō Shrine * Aoyama Kumano Shrine (青山熊野� ...

1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular reference, Harajuku also encompasses many smaller backstreets such as

Takeshita Street is a pedestrian shopping street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants in Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan. Stores on Takeshita Street include major chains such as The Body Shop, McDonald's, and 7-Eleven, but most of the businesses are s ...

and Cat Street spreading from

Sendagaya is an area within Shibuya ward, one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo. Introduction Sendagaya is nestled in an urban green area in Shibuya ward between Shinjuku ward and Shinjuku Gyo-en (Shinjuku Imperial Gardens) to the north (an area in Senda ...

in the north to

in the south. Harajuku is known internationally as a center of Japanese

youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...

and fashion. Shopping and dining options include many small, youth-oriented, independent boutiques and cafés, but the neighborhood also attracts many larger international chain stores with high-end luxury merchandisers extensively represented along Omotesando.

on the

East Japan Railway The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East)

Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line ( ja, 山手線, Yamanote-sen) is a loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban ...

and Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station served by the

Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. On average, the line carries 1,447,730 passengers daily (2017), the second highest of the Tokyo Metro network, behind the Tozai Line (1,642,378).Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

also act as gateways to local attractions such as the

Meiji Shrine , is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto. History A ...

Yoyogi Park is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...

and

Yoyogi National Gymnasium Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its suspension roof design. It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming ...

, making Harajuku and its environs one of the most popular destinations in Tokyo for both domestic and international tourists.

History

Pre-Edo period

In the pre-

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the area that came to be known as Harajuku was a small post town on the Kamakura Highway. It was said that in the

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power ...

, Minamoto no Yoshiie mustered his soldiers in this area and the hill here is called Seizoroi-saka (current Jingūmae 2 chōme). It is said that as the ''Igagoe'' reward for delivering Ieyasu Tokugawa safely from Sakai to Mikawa in the 1582 Honno-ji Incident, Onden-mura (隠田村) together with Harajuku-mura (原宿村) were given to the Iga ninja in 1590. In the

, an Iga clan residence was put in Harajuku to defend Edo, due to its strategic location south of the Koshu Road. Other than the mansion of the Hiroshima Domain feudal lord Asano (current Jingūmae 4 and 5 chōme), there were many mansions of shogunate retainers. The livelihood of the farmers consisted mainly of rice cleaning and flour milling with the watermill at the

Shibuya River The is a river which flows through central Tokyo, Japan. The river is 2.6 km in length originating close to Shibuya Station and passing through Shibuya and Minato wards before merging with the Furu River near Hiroo and flowing into Tokyo ...

. However, due to the poor quality of the land, production never succeeded and the villages never prospered. It is said that local farmers often performed rain-making invocations at local shrines in an attempt to improve their fortunes. There are also the tales ''Oyama-Afuri Shrine of Tanzawa'' and ''Worship on the day trip to Mt Haruna'' remaining.

Meiji Restoration to the end of the Second World War (1868 – 1945)

At the start of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

in 1868, the land around Harajuku Village was owned by the shogunate. In November of the same year, the towns and villages of

Shibuya Ward Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...

, including Harajuku Village, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Prefecture. In 1906,

was opened as a part of the expansion of the

. In 1919, with the establishment of

, Omotesando was widened and reordered as a formal approach route. In 1943, the Tōgō Shrine was built and consecrated in honor of

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

Marshal-Admiral Marquis

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

. In the final period of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

in 1945, much of the area was burned to the ground during the Great Tokyo Air Raid.

1945 to 1970

During the postwar occupation, military housing in the area named Washington Heights was constructed on land now occupied by

and the

. Shops that appealed to the US soldiers and their families, such as Kiddyland, Oriental Bazaar, and the Fuji Tori, opened along Omotesando during this period. In 1964, swimming, diving, and basketball events for the Tokyo Olympics were held at nearby

. In 1965, the name of the area in the Japanese address system was officially changed from Harajuku to Jingumae. The name Harajuku has persisted due to the earlier naming of the nearby

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

. Prior to 1965, Onden, referred to the low-lying area close to Meiji Street and the

while "Harajuku" referred to the northern end of Omotesando, the plateau around Aoyama, currently known as Jingu-mae block 2, a large area of Jingu-mae block 3, and the plateau extending behind Togo Shrine in Jingu-mae block 1. The area from Harajuku station to the area surrounding Takeshita Street was called "Takeshita-cho".

1970s and 1980s

Coming into the 1970s, fashion-obsessed youth culture experienced a transition, from

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

to Harajuku, then to

. Palais France, a building that sold fashion clothing and accessories, furniture, and other goods, was constructed on Meiji Street near the exit of

. In 1978, the fashion building Laforet Harajuku was opened; thus, Harajuku came to be widely known as a fashion and retail centre. In the 1980s,

became known for teenage street dancing groups called

takenoko-zoku Takenoko-zoku (竹の子族, lit. "bamboo shoot tribe") describes a type of dance group active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s in Tokyo, especially in Harajuku. The teenagers, mainly girls but often with one boy leading, were colorfully dressed ...

. From 1977, a Sundays only pedestrian precinct was established by closing local roads. This produced a surge in people gathering close to entrances of

to watch Rock 'n' Rollers and other new bands performing impromptu open air gigs. In the peak period, crowds of up to 10,000 people would gather. In 1998, the Sundays only pedestrian paradise was abolished.

1990s to present

In the 1990s and 2000s, with the rise of fast fashion, there was an influx of international fashion brand flagship store openings including

Gap Inc. The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap (stylized as GAP), is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The c ...

, Forever 21, Uniqlo,

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...

and H&M. At the same time, new independent fashion trend shops spread into the previously residential areas of Jingumae 3 and 4 chome, with this area becoming known as

Ura-Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Ura-Harajuku, or Ura-Hara, is the common name given to the network of smaller Harajuku backstreets spreading perpendicular to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 3 chō ...

. (The "Harajuku Backstreets"). In 2006,

Omotesando Hills is a shopping complex in central Tokyo built in 2005, in a series of urban developments by Mori Building. It occupies a two hundred and fifty meter stretch of Omotesandō, a shopping and (previously) residential road in Aoyama. It was designed ...

opened replacing the former Dojunkai apartments on Omotesando. In 2008, the

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

opened providing an alternative metro access linking Harajuku to

and Ikebukuro.

2019 New Year's Day Terrorist attack

During the early morning of January 1, 2019, a 21-year-old man named Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove his

Kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...

into the crowd of pedestrians celebrating New Year's Day on

. The man claimed his actions were a terrorist attack, and later stated that his intention was to retaliate against the usage of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. The man attempted to flee from the scene but was soon apprehended by authorities in a nearby park.

Sightseeing and local landmarks

Harajuku is a retail fashion and dining destination in its own right, but still earns much of its wider reputation as a gathering place for fans and aficionados of

Japanese street fashion Japanese street fashion refers to a number of styles of contemporary modern clothing in Japan. Created from a mix of both local and foreign fashion brands, Japanese street fashions tend to have their own distinctive style, with some considered t ...

and associated subcultures.

Jingu Bashi Jingu may refer to: People *Empress Jingū (c. AD 169–269) * Toshio Jingu (born 1948), a Japanese fencer Other uses *Jingu Stadium, Tokyo, Japan *Jingū, a name for Shinto shrines connected to the Imperial House of Japan *Busanjin District, So ...

, the pedestrian bridge between

and the entrance to the

used to act as a gathering place on Sundays to showcase some of the more theatrical styles. Another gathering place was the lower part of Omotesandō avenue, as it used to be pedestrian-only ("Hokosha Tengoku") on Sundays. Other local landmarks include: *

, a large

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

located in an evergreen forest and dedicated to the deified spirits of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

and his wife,

Empress Shōken , born , was the wife and adviser of Emperor Meiji of Japan. She is also known under the technically more correct name . She was one of the founders of the Japanese Red Cross Society, whose charity work was known throughout the First Sino-Japanese ...

. *

, designed by

Kenzo Tange is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

to host swimming and diving events at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

. * Omotesando *

* Laforet Harajuku *

* Tōgō Shrine *

Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Museum of Art The is a museum that opened in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, in January 1980. It presents rotating exhibitions of Ukiyo-e from Ōta Seizo V's collection of over 12,000 pieces. See also * Woodblock printing in Japan References External links *Ōta M ...

Nezu Museum Nezu may refer to: * Nezu Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan * Nezu Station, a railway station in Tokyo * Nezu (''My Hero Academia''), a character in the manga series ''My Hero Academia'' * Nezu, a character in the manga series ''Akira'' Peo ...

Former landmark buildings

* Dojunkai Apartments, a 1927 building replaced in 2005 by Tadao Ando designed

* Drive-in Route 5 (Now LaforetHarajuku) * Octagonal Pavilion (the only Korean BBQ restaurant in Harajuku district in the 1960s; presently the Octagonal Building) * Palais France * Harajuku Central Apartments (demolished) * Hanae Mori Building (demolished) * Omotesando Vivre * Mother and Child Department Store Harajuku Carillon (Now Forever 21) * WC Harajuku Wego store by Chinatsu Wakatsuki * P.G.C.D. Head Office * Menard BilecHarajukuLuseine Store * N's game Omotesando branch * Resona Bank Harajuku Branch (Now I.T.'S. International) * Kokudo Head Office * Bureau of Transportation Hospital (Now the Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government) * Kawaii Monster Cafe is designed by designer Sebastian Masuda and presents a variety of unique menus.

Transport

Rail

(JR East

) * Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station (

)

Road

* Meiji Street * Omotesando Street * Gaien-nishi Street

In popular culture

* Scottish band

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

referenced Harajuku in their song " I'm a Cuckoo" on their 2003 album Dear Catastrophe Waitress with the line "I'd rather be in Tokyo / I'd rather listen to

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

-o / And watch the Sunday gang in Harajuku / There's something wrong with me / I'm a cuckoo". * In 2004 and 2005,

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

appearing in concert on her

Harajuku Lovers Tour The Harajuku Lovers Tour was the first solo concert tour of American recording artist Gwen Stefani. The tour began through October to December 2005, to support of her debut studio album ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Although Stefani emba ...

and in music videos with her

Harajuku Girls The Harajuku Girls are four Japanese and Japanese-American backup dancers featured in stage shows and music videos for Gwen Stefani during her solo pop/ dance-record career. The women also act as an entourage at Stefani's public appearances. The ...

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

s attracted much attention and some controversy highlighting aspects of stylized Harajuku teen fashion. * Musical entertainer

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kiriko Takemura (Japanese: 竹村桐子, born January 29, 1993), known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ), is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's ''kawai ...

has been described as the "Harajuku Pop Princess" in reference to her costumes inspired by Harajuku street styles. * Harajuku is used as the setting in the 2017 anime series,

Urahara ''Urahara'' is an anime television series based on the webcomic ''PARK Harajuku: Crisis Team!'', which is written by Patrick Macias and illustrated by Mugi Tanaka. The anime adaptation was co-produced by EMT Squared and Shirogumi and aired f ...

. * "Harajuku" is the title of a 2018 movie about a 15-year old girl who wants to run away to Tokyo from her home in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. IMDb.com
Harajuku 2018 movie

References

External links

*
Harajuku photos and guide

{{Authority control Internet memes Neighborhoods of Tokyo Districts of Shibuya Shopping districts and streets in Japan