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{{Short description|District in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan}}

:''For other uses of Harajuku, see the [[Harajuku (disambiguation)|disambiguation page]]

{{Other uses}}

{{Infobox district

| name = Harajuku

| official_name = Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme

| image_skyline = JRE-Harajuku-Station-07.jpg

| image_caption = [[Harajuku Station]] (left), with [[Meiji Shrine]] forest as background

| native_name = 原宿

| settlement_type = Urban area

| pushpin_map = Japan Tokyo city#Japan Tokyo#Japan

| coordinates = {{Coord|35.6685|139.7054|format=dms|type:city_region:JP|display=inline,title}}

| native_name_lang = ja

| map_caption = Location of Harajuku in Tokyo

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = {{flag|Japan}}

| subdivision_type1 = City

| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Tokyo}}

| subdivision_type2 = [[Special wards of Tokyo|Ward]]

| subdivision_name2 = {{flag|Shibuya}}

}}

[[File:Omote-sando03s3200.jpg|thumb|[[Omotesando Hills]], [[Jingūmae|Jingumae]]]]

[[File:Cat Street, Ura Harajuku 2.jpg|thumb|[[Cat Street, Tokyo|Cat Street]], [[Ura-Harajuku]]]]

{{Nihongo|'''Harajuku'''|原宿||{{IPA|ja|haɾa(d)ʑɯkɯ||Ja-Harajuku.oga}}}} is a district in [[Shibuya]], Tokyo. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from [[Harajuku Station]] to [[Omotesandō, Tokyo|Omotesando]], corresponding on official maps of [[Shibuya, Tokyo|Shibuya ward]] as [[Jingūmae]] 1 [[Japanese addressing system|chōme]] to 4 [[Japanese addressing system|chōme]]. In popular reference, Harajuku also encompasses many smaller backstreets such as Takeshita Street and [[Cat Street, Tokyo|Cat Street]] spreading from [[Sendagaya]] in the north to [[Shibuya]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web|title=JNTO Official Guide|url=http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/___location/regional/tokyo/harajuku_omotesandou_aoyama.html|publisher=[[Japanese National Tourism Organization]]|access-date=25 March 2014}}</ref>

Harajuku is known internationally as a center of Japanese [[youth culture]] and fashion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Time Out Tokyo|url=http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/6454/50-things-to-do-in-Harajuku|work=50 Things to do in Harajuku|access-date=25 March 2014|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906214851/http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/6454/50-things-to-do-in-Harajuku|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shopping and dining options include many small, youth-oriented, independent [[boutique]]s and cafés, but the neighborhood also attracts many larger international chain stores with high-end luxury merchandisers extensively represented along Omotesando.

[[Image:Harajuku-eki-april-2002.jpg|thumb|200px|Harajuku Station at night]]

[[Image:Harajuku bridge 02.jpg|thumb|200px|Street performers on the bridge by Harajuku Station]]

'''Harajuku''' (原宿) is the common name for the area around [[Harajuku Station]] on the [[Yamanote Line]] in the [[Shibuya|Shibuya ward]] of [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]].

[[Harajuku Station]] on the [[East Japan Railway Company|East Japan Railway]] (JR East) [[Yamanote Line]] and [[Meiji-jingumae Station|Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station]] served by the [[Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line]] and [[Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line]] also act as gateways to local attractions such as the [[Meiji Shrine]], [[Yoyogi Park]] and [[Yoyogi National Gymnasium]], making Harajuku and its environs one of the most popular destinations in Tokyo for both domestic and international tourists.

==Misconception==

For external observers, it has been primarily known as a hangout for teens and contains the department store [[Laforet]], which has many trend-setting brands for young people. But the majority of shoppers are from Saitama, Chiba, or other areas outside of Tokyo.

==OriginHistory==

===Pre-Edo period===

Harajuku became famous in the 1980s due to the large numbers of [[street performers]] and wildly dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when [[Omotesando]] was closed to traffic. Those movements lead to the vibrant "Hokoten Band Scene". This was stopped at the end of the '90s and the number of performers, [[Visual Kei]] fans, [[rockabilly]] dancers and [[punk]]s has steadily decreased since. Today on Sundays you can see many [[Gothic Lolita]] and many foreign tourists taking pictures of them on the way to [[Meiji Shrine]]. Some foreign tourists are surprised to see all these Japanese youth dressed up in sometimes shocking outfits.

[[File:Watermill at Onden.jpg|thumb|Watermill at Onden, (tributary of the [[Shibuya River]]) by [[Hokusai]], part of the ''[[Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji]]'' series]]

In the pre-[[Edo period]], 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]], [[Minamoto no Yoshiie]] mustered his soldiers in this area and the hill here is called Seizoroi-saka (current Jingūmae 2 [[Japanese addressing system|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.

Near the train station there is the [[Meiji Shrine]], which is famous for the large number of people who come to visit every year, as well as [[Yoyogi Park]]. Also nearby are [[Takeshita Street]], a street lined with fashion boutiques and various goods mostly for young teenagers, and [[Omotesando]], a very long street with cafes and upscale fashion boutiques popular with residents and tourists alike.

In the [[Edo period]], 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 [[Japanese addressing system|chōme]]), there were many mansions of shogunate retainers.

==Urahara (backstreet Harajuku)==

The area known as "Ura-Hara" (backstreet Harajuku) has become well-known for independent casual fashion designs, footwear and so on. The more playful styles are exposed globally in publications such as [[Fruits Magazine|FRUiTS]].

The livelihood of the farmers consisted mainly of rice cleaning and flour milling with the watermill at the [[Shibuya River]]. 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 [[Mount Haruna|Mt Haruna]]'' remaining.

Its origin goes back to the early '90s, with the opening of [[Bounding Hunters]] and following gathering of fashionable on the residential backstreet of Omotesando. The street is called "cat-street" for the fact that there are many cats crossing the street. The streets are heavily crowded on the weekend when teens gather to shop and hang out with their friends. Local landmarks include the headquarters of [[NHK]].

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

==Harajuku as an icon==

[[File:TogoShrine.JPG|thumb|[[Tōgō Shrine]]]]

Harajuku is a popular iconic ___location in the entertainment world, both inside and outside of Japan. The [[United States|American]] singer [[Gwen Stefani]] references Harajuku in several of her songs and incorporates four female dancers dressed like Americanised [[Harajuku Girl]]s into her background act. A song is even dedicated on her album, [[Love.Angel.Music.Baby]], titled 'Harajuku Girls' and the word "原宿" (''Harajuku'') is depicted on the stage surface during her [[music video]] for ''Hollaback girl''. Her use - what critics call her appropriation - of Harajuku girls and Harajuku fashion has been criticized by many Asian-Americans for perpetuating stereotypes of submissive Asian women. [http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2005/04/09/geisha/] Stefani has been known in interviews to tell people not to talk to her four dancers, as they are not allowed to answer questions.

At the start of the [[Meiji period]] in 1868, the land around Harajuku Village was owned by the shogunate. In November of the same year, the towns and villages of [[Shibuya, Tokyo|Shibuya Ward]], including Harajuku Village, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Prefecture.

In 1906, [[Harajuku Station]] was opened as a part of the expansion of the [[Yamanote Line]]. In 1919, with the establishment of [[Meiji Shrine]], Omotesando was widened and reordered as a formal approach route.

==Harajuku in music==

The [[Scotland|Scottish]] group [[Belle & Sebastian]] also refers to Harajuku in their album [[Dear Catastrophe Waitress]]. A winter-themed special edition of ''[[Takeshi's Castle]]'' (known as ''[[MXC]]'' in the United States) contained a scene filmed at the station where [[Hayato Tani]] (aka "Captain Tenneal") gives one of his pep-talks to the contestants. Well known pop-artist, Gwen Stefani, also dedicates an album and fashion line to Harajuku and its subcultures in her song "Harajuku Girls".

In 1943, the [[Tōgō Shrine]] was built and consecrated in honor of [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Marshal-Admiral]] [[Marquis]] [[Tōgō Heihachirō]].

In the final period of the [[Pacific War]] 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 (Tokyo)|Washington Heights]] was constructed on land now occupied by [[Yoyogi Park]] and the [[Yoyogi National Gymnasium]]. 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 [[1964 Summer Olympics|Tokyo Olympics]] were held at nearby [[Yoyogi National Gymnasium]].

In 1965, the name of the area in the [[Japanese addressing system|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]] [[Harajuku Station]]. Prior to 1965, Onden, referred to the low-lying area close to Meiji Street and the [[Shibuya River]] 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===

[[File:Takeshita Street in December 2018.jpg|thumb|Takeshita Street]]

Coming into the 1970s, fashion-obsessed youth culture experienced a transition, from [[Shinjuku]] to Harajuku, then to [[Shibuya, Tokyo|Shibuya]]. Palais France, a building that sold fashion clothing and accessories, furniture, and other goods, was constructed on Meiji Street near the exit of Takeshita Street. 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, Takeshita Street became known for teenage street dancing groups called [[takenoko-zoku]].

From 1977, a Sundays-only pedestrian precinct was established by closing local roads. This produced a surge in people gathering close to entrances of [[Yoyogi Park]] 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,<ref>{{cite web|title=0Terebi Last days of Harajuku Hokoten (Japanese only) |url=http://www.ntv.co.jp/don/contents03/2010/06/1998628.html |date=28 June 2010 |publisher=0Terebi|access-date=22 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305035412/http://www.ntv.co.jp/don/contents03/2010/06/1998628.html|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> the Sundays-only pedestrian zone was abolished.

===1990s to present===

[[File:Yoyogi dancers.JPG|thumb|[[Rockabilly|Rockabillies]] dancing in [[Yoyogi Park]] on a Sunday in March 2014]]

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.]], [[Forever 21]], [[Uniqlo]], [[Topshop]] 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]] (the "Harajuku Backstreets").

In 2006, [[Omotesando Hills]] opened, replacing the [[Dōjunkai]] apartments on [[Omotesandō|Omotesando]].

In 2008, the [[Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line]] opened, providing alternative metro access linking Harajuku to [[Shibuya]] and [[Ikebukuro]].

===2019 New Year's Day terrorist attack===

{{Main|2019 Tokyo car attack}}

During the early morning of January 1, 2019, a 21-year-old man named Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove his [[Kei car]] into the crowd of pedestrians celebrating New Year's Day on Takeshita Street. The man claimed his actions were a terrorist attack, and later stated that his intention was to retaliate against the usage of the [[Capital punishment in Japan|death penalty]]. The man attempted to flee from the scene but was soon apprehended by authorities in a nearby park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://japantoday.com/category/crime/8-injured-as-man-rams-car-into-pedestrians-in-Harajuku-in-%27retaliation-for-execution%27|title=8 injured as man rams car into pedestrians in Harajuku in 'retaliation for execution'|website=Japan Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/31/asia/tokyo-new-years-eve-car-incident-harajuku-intl/index.html|title=Tokyo car attack: Driver hits New Year's revelers in Harajuku|author=Euan McKirdy and Junko Ogura|website=CNN|date=January 2019}}</ref>

==Sightseeing and local landmarks==

[[File:Classicloli.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Aristocrat (fashion)|Aristocrat]] and [[Gothic clothing|Gothic]] [[Lolita fashion|Lolita]] styles on display at [[Jingu Bashi (Tokyo)|Jingu Bashi]] in 2007]]

[[File:Kawaii monstar cafe.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Kawaii Monster Cafe]]

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]] and associated subcultures. [[Jingu Bashi (Tokyo)|Jingu Bashi]], the pedestrian bridge between [[Harajuku Station]] and the entrance to the [[Meiji Shrine]], used to act as a gathering place on Sundays to showcase some of the more theatrical styles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lonely Planet Online Guide|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/tokyo/sights/architecture/jingu-bashi|publisher=Lonely Planet|access-date=28 March 2014}}</ref> Another gathering place was the lower part of Omotesandō avenue, which used to be pedestrian-only ("Hokosha Tengoku") on Sundays.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/909573/japans-wild-creative-harajuku-street-style-is-dead-long-live-uniqlo/|title=Japan's wild, creative Harajuku street style is dead. Long live Uniqlo — Quartz|first=Marc|last=Bain|website=qz.com|date=22 February 2017 |access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>

Other local landmarks include:

* [[Meiji Shrine]], a large [[Shinto]] [[Jinja (shrine)|shrine]] located in an evergreen forest and dedicated to the deified spirits of [[Emperor Meiji]] and his wife, [[Empress Shōken]]

* [[Yoyogi Park]]

* [[Yoyogi National Gymnasium]], designed by [[Kenzo Tange]] to host swimming and diving events at the [[1964 Summer Olympics]]

* [[Omotesando]]

* [[Ura-Harajuku]]

* [[Laforet|Laforet Harajuku]]

* [[Omotesando Hills]]

* [[Tōgō Shrine]]

* [[Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Museum of Art]]

* [[Nezu Museum]]

==Former landmark buildings==

[[File:Aoyama Dojunkai Apartment building.JPG|thumb|Since-demolished [[Dōjunkai]] Apartments on [[Omotesando]]]]

* [[Dōjunkai]] Apartments, a 1927 building replaced in 2005 by [[Tadao Ando]]-designed [[Omotesando Hills]]

* 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.

* [[Tomodachiga Yatteru Cafe]]

==Transport==

===Rail===

* [[Harajuku Station]] (JR East [[Yamanote Line]]), including the Imperial Station.

* [[Meiji-Jingūmae Station|Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station]] ([[Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line]], [[Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line]]).

===Road===

* Meiji Street

* Omotesando Street

* Gaien-nishi Street

==See also==

*''[[Fruits (magazine)|Fruits]]'', magazine covering Harajuku street fashion

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==

* {{wikitravelparCommons category|Tokyo/Harajuku}}

* {{Wikivoyage-inline|Tokyo/Harajuku}}

* [http://www.photosaga.com/Japon%20kids/index.htm Harajuku Teens]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160423092809/http://www.gojapango.com/tokyo/harajuku.htm Harajuku photos and guide]

* [http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3006.html Japan-guide: Harajuku]

{{Shibuya}}

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{{Neighborhoods of Tokyo}}

{{Shopping districts and streets in Japan}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Neighborhoods of Tokyo]]

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[[Category:Districts of Shibuya]]

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[[Category:Shopping districts and streets in Japan]]

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