In January in 1943 (18 in the Showa era),
'Ohashiza' under Tsutenkaku caught on fire.
It spread to the whole of Tsutenkaku and
its iron frameworks were bared. Finally Tsutenkaku
was taken to pieces and were delivered to
the government to make canons and cannonballs
because Japan was lacking iron under the
Second World War.
In March in 1945 ( Showa 20 ) Shinsekai and
the whole neighborhood suffered war damage
by the Air raids and were burned down completely.
In August in 1945 after the war had ended,
Shinsekai started reviving gradually. Notably
when cinemas began to boom, Shinsekai as
an amusing district began to get its second
wind and first-run cinemas, especially Toei,
Toho, Shochiku, Nikkatsu and Daiei, became
its center.
A lot of day construction workers were needed
becase of construction boom after war, therefore
Kamagasaki had appeared and became popular
as an inexpensive and openhearted city to
relieve their fatigue of the day. It became
popular as a district for the common folk.
A writer, Fumiko Hayashi who visited there
at that time, referred to Janjan Alley in
her novel " Meshi" which made it
very popular country wide.
It was around this time when people talking
about the reconstruction
of Tsutenkaku.
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| After the fire | Geiko's morning exercise |
