Ginbura

[Anohito]

I considered posting this in the Nihongo Forum, but it is not a question about learning Japanese, since I know what the word means. While transcribing my 1983-84 diary, I encountered an entry in which I used the word "ginbura". I did a little research on the internet and it is evident that the word is still known. In fact, I easily found at least three web sites in which the word is part of the URL (see below). I am not sure, though, that people actually use the word. Do any of the Japanese native speakers or non-Japanese living in Japan know if this word is still used, or do you think that it has gone out of fashion?

http://www.ginbura.net/
http://www.ginbura.com/
http://www.artginbura.com/

 

[epigene]

Hi, Anohito-san!!

Yes, Ginbura is still known, although it's because people in my generation are still alive!!

I'm pretty sure that there are young people who've never heard of it.
The people who used it most frequently are people in my mother's generation or older, when Ginza was "the only" fashion street in Tokyo and all of Japan. Now that the fashionable areas have scattered into Shibuya, Aoyama, etc., we don't hear anything similar any more. There's no "Shibu-bura"...

However, the merchants of Ginza are trying to strike back at the competition, and the street is undergoing renovation in the style of Fifth Avenue in New York, with Tiffany, Hermes, Louis Vuiton, etc., setting up shop there. Matsuya Ginza has transformed into one of the most fashionable department stores in Tokyo, and many chic boutiques and shops have opened, catering to more mature consumers than those strolling in Shibuya or Shinjuku. With this change, the word Ginbura has come back as well.

Personally, I do like Ginza more than Shibuya and Shinjuku where I go often for shopping (the reason being proximity), because the streets are wider and there are less shops for the younger folk blaring out jpop.

 

[Anohito]

Thank you epigene,

I suspected that younger people would not know the word. Slang words usually become less common or even disappear. I think there was (and maybe still is) a phrase that is similar and uses the name of an area and the word "meguri". So "Shinjuku meguri" would mean "touring/wandering around Shinjuku".

I looked at the Matsuya web site, and even though it is in Japanese only, I can tell that the restaurant floor of the Ginza branch still has two restaurants familiar to me from "the old days", Shinjuku Tsunahachi and Aster.

I used to go to various areas for various reasons, depending on what restaurant I wanted to eat at, what concert I wanted to go to, or where I wanted to shop. For example, Nihonbashi is not an entertainment area, but I used to go there to shop at Mitsukoshi or Takashima (sometimes Maruzen). I tried to find some interior pictures of Takashimaya, but did not find any. I suppose the inside of the store has been "modernized". Even though only the first floor still had very much of the older look, with all the stone, I loved it, especially the old-fashioned elevators. It is probably very different now. I did accidentally learn the the Tennyo Magokoro (I hope I spelled that correctly) statue is still in Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi. I am glad that it is still there.

Your reference to the shops blaring music (yes, I remember those!) reminded me of another music situation. I noticed that some restaurants used to play Western Rock music over the public address system at a fairly loud volume even though it was obvious that nearly all of the customers were Japanese adults!

 

[epigene]

Hi Anohito-san!

The use of "meguri" is conventional Japanese and has been around for a long time. You can use it for any locality or point of interest, such as Yokohama-meguri or misaki-meguri (wandering around a cape).

Matsuya has been renovated so thoroughly it looks totally different. Tsunahachi and Aster remained probably because they are still very prestigious restaurants.

Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya in Nihonbashi have remained intact, despite minor renovations on the upper floors. The ancient elevators are still there, to the delight of tourists and old-timers. I'm pretty sure they intend to remain that way and preserve the buildings as historic sites (as birthplace of department store retailers and mercantilism in general in Japan).

Maruzen underwent total overhaul, demolishing the entire building and remaining closed for a couple of years until it reopened last year. It has returned as one of the biggest bookstores in Japan with extensive selection of foreign language books. Although I haven't been there since it reopened, I've heard the bookstore is wonderful for browsing and looking around for selections not found elsewhere.

Nihonbashi is undergoing major renovation. The expressway that loomed over the real bridge is scheduled to be demolished and moved elswhere. Nihonbashi Bridge dating back to Edo Period will be restored, and the area will be redeveloped as a new Tokyo center to bring back its historical and cultural heritage.

 

[Anohito]

I suspected that the "meguri" formulation was standard Japanese, but I was not certain. It has been a while since I was in Japan.

I am very glad to hear that Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya have made efforts to retain their historic look. Not only is it the right thing to do, no doubt it will draw tourists and interested Japanese.

Even while I was stationed in Japan, there was much bitter criticism of the expressway over the actual Nihonbashi. It is good that efforts will be made to restore a more authentic look to the bridge and the immediate area.

Now that you mention it, I may have read something a while back about the Maruzen reconstruction. I used to go there once in a while, but other stores, such as Kinokuniya in Shinjuku and Jena in Ginza, were more convenient.