Kamagasaki Osaka Slum History & Truth

Kamagasaki [釜ヶ崎] is a neighborhood located in the South of Osaka in an area called Nishinari-ku. In this article, we will talk about this famous neighborhood known as a slum because of the homeless and unemployed residents.

Many reports and articles on the internet talk about this neighborhood Kamagasaki and call it the largest slum in Japan. In this article, I want to get as close to the truth as possible and show whether it is really a slum.

It is already known that the international media often exaggerate and generalize certain topics to generate more controversies and views. Is Kamagasaki really that depressing?

Table of Contents

Where is Kamagasaki Located?

Kamagasaki is an old name used from 1922 until 1966. After that year, the neighborhood was named Airin-chiku [あいりん地区], yet most people still call it Kamagasaki.

The name Kamagasaki is used to refer to the neighborhoods Taishi [西成区太子], Haginochaya [萩之茶屋], Sannō [山王], Hanazonokita [花園北], and Tengachaya [天下茶屋] located in Nishinari-ku [西成区].

The neighborhoods that make up Kamagasaki are located near the Shin Imamiya station on the Osaka Loop Line below the famous neighborhood ShinSekai, which also presents a more cosmopolitan environment.

Kamagasaki - Everything about the Largest Slum in Japan

Besides Shinsekai, you can find other nearby tourist spots like Tsutenkaku, Nipponbashi, and Abenobashi.

Some theories state that the neighborhood got its name Kamagasaki because the food distributed to the homeless was cooked in a kettle.

The name Kamagasaki carries the ideograms of [釜] kettle, cauldron, and iron pot along with [崎] promontory, cape, and point.

The History of Kamagasaki

The Kamagasaki neighborhood is a place where the poor and homeless have gathered since the post-war period, especially in the 1960s. But its history of poverty goes back well before World War II.

Since the Edo period, there were many wooden accommodations for tourists that extended from the current Denden Town neighborhood through the Tennoji, Namba, and Imamiya neighborhoods in Osaka. This place was called Nagamachi.

It is believed that the Nagamachi neighborhood had over 2800 wooden accommodations for rent, hosting more than 6000 people during the Meiji Era in 1886. This generated a certain reputation involving Osaka.

The neighborhood was seen as a security and urban planning problem; dirt dominated the area, and some even fell ill. During Osaka’s expansion in 1897, this neighborhood was divided and ceased to exist.

After many twists and turns involving the structuring of neighborhoods, in 1925 during Osaka’s second expansion, the southern region was named Kamagasaki, at the time a common neighborhood without any problems.

The city of Osaka was prosperous until it was affected by World War II. During this time, people from various parts of Japan came to Osaka to build doya (lodgings and accommodation areas).

For some reason, most of these poor people accumulated in the Kamagasaki area. In the 1950s, thousands of alleys with wooden shacks sometimes covered with tarpaulin emerged throughout the region.

Even with the removal of these precarious accommodations and the construction of proper apartments, more and more unemployed, drifters, and homeless people frequented the neighborhood in search of friendships and jobs.

The neighborhood was famous for having cheap lodgings and housing, as well as a good job supply. Jobs were announced through posters and loudspeakers. Determined people could find jobs in construction, goods transportation, and dock work.

In 1959, a survey was conducted stating that 40% of the residents were regular workers, 40% were day laborers or doing odd jobs, and only 20% were unemployed. It may seem reasonable in a time of crisis, but it did not solve the problem.

Kamagasaki is like a neighborhood or region that has not fully recovered from the economic and social crisis after World War II. Fortunately, today the neighborhood has changed and improved a lot compared to the past, but there are still many homeless, poor, and unemployed residents.

Who Lives in Kamagasaki?

A large part of the residents in the area are temporary workers and day laborers who do not have a fixed job but work and lead a normal life. Besides the residents, the neighborhood is home to many homeless people and street dwellers.

It is impossible to determine how many people live in Kamagasaki, as the place is frequented by homeless people, drifters, street vendors, and people who are constantly moving in and out.

It is estimated that over 30,000 people live in this neighborhood. They are generally elderly people addicted to alcohol, drugs, pachinko, sick, or abandoned by their families. Many are unemployed, but not due to a lack of jobs.

Many who live there have homes or families but do not want to return due to personal problems and shame. Others simply cannot leave their addictions and continue living on the streets.

Many also choose to live on the streets after suffering from a lot of stress at work and revolting, opting to never work again. Some wait sitting down without making an effort to find a job.

Despite being a sad place, both the residents and the unemployed who live on the street seem to be happy, always smiling, chatting, and laughing, unlike some places like Tokyo…

Why Does Kamagasaki Exist?

How can there be a slum and such a depressing neighborhood in such a rich country full of jobs? In fact, such things will always exist in any country. The country can be as rich as it wants, homeless people will accumulate.

Japan has few homeless people compared to other first-world countries. The government always invests in these people, trying to get them off the streets, but a large part does not accept help.

Religious and non-profit organizations frequently distribute food rations or soup, creating long lines of people in public parks. Many elderly people also receive help from social security.

The community in the neighborhood also always does things to help these homeless people, whether by providing food, odd jobs, or delivering cans and other items to help drifters with recycling.

Most people in Kamagasaki live this way by choice and not due to a lack of options as is the case in Brazil. One of the causes may be depression, where people lose the joy of life and end up in these conditions.

In fact, the place also becomes a meeting point and gathering place for homeless people because of its low accommodation prices and the community help and employment center Airin, which we will discuss further below.

The Osaka city government does not allow the name “Kamagasaki” to appear on official maps and discourages the use of the name in the media. Not to hide the existence of the place, but also to disincentivize its existence.

The government has long been fighting to end the poverty and accumulation of homeless people in these neighborhoods. Some of the measures to help the homeless in Kamagasaki by the community and the government are:

Nishinari Public Health Service;
City Ai Neighbour Hall;
City Ai Neighbourhood Dormitory;
City Imaike Living Hall;
Summer Festival in Kamagasaki;
Twilight Concert;
Energy Festival;
Evening Variety Show;
Kamagasaki May Day;
Come Here Festival;

The festivals held by the community, religious groups, and humanitarian aid groups are very popular in the region and are of great help to the unemployed living in these neighborhoods.

Is Kamagasaki a Slum in Japan?

The definition of a slum consists of a place where low-income people live in crude constructions made of low-budget and improvised materials. Is Kamagasaki really like that?

In this slum, there are no children or women, only homeless people who gather in buildings sleeping in their futons and passing the time in small groups in bars and some rarely using drugs. This is the idea that many have of Kamagasaki.

Despite the large concentration of homeless people, the neighborhoods that make up Kamagasaki are not necessarily poor neighborhoods full of poor people, crime, and drug trafficking like in Brazil.

In reality, walking through all these places called Kamagasaki, I realized that it is a normal residential neighborhood in Japan. The only difference is the gathering points of homeless people.

The property values in Kamagasaki are notably lower than those in the surrounding areas. In fact, the neighborhood attracts many tourists for its cheap accommodations called doya.

A large part of the neighborhood is filled with hotels and lodgings that help both the homeless and people who want to save money. Recently, many backpackers have been staying in this neighborhood due to the price and location.

Kamagasaki is not a dangerous neighborhood full of crimes, robberies, and drugs. The homeless people are generally loving, do not beg, and do not cause trouble. You can walk without fear, but you will be moved by the sad scenery in some spots.

Despite the old buildings and the poor environment, the place remains clean and organized, but be careful not to trip where the homeless set up their tents or lay their futons; it can be anywhere.

Aside from that, for me Kamagasaki is like many neighborhoods in Japan, with its restaurants, ramen shops, izakaya, vending machines, konbini, medical clinics, onsen, apartments, and traditional houses.

We should also remember that the 5 neighborhoods that make up the area called Kamagasaki are huge. The situation and the places where the homeless live are depressing, but I think it is unfair to crucify the entire neighborhood for that.

In fact, there are homeless people, roofless individuals, and unemployed people everywhere in Japan. In various cities, you may end up encountering a square or land filled with tents; it is not something exclusive to Kamagasaki.

Airin – Work and Welfare Center

This is one of the most famous buildings where there is a large concentration of unemployed and homeless people in Kamagasaki. At Airin Labor, people can find a job and a new life.

At first glance, it is still chaotic, an old and poorly renovated place, without paint, resembling an abandoned building. Despite this, the place is beautifully managed, with a spacious interior and an atmosphere of a market or temple.

There is a hospital, cafeteria, bathing room, and the bathroom is extremely clean. You can see some elderly people playing shogi throughout the day. The current Airin Labor Welfare Center was created in 1970 at the Osaka Expo.

Besides Airin Labor, we also have other communities that provide jobs and help the temporary residents of Kamagasaki. Not to mention some buildings, parks, and squares where the homeless usually stay.

Some humanitarian aid centers and places where homeless people gather are:

Sankaku Park
NPO Kama;
Haginochaya-minami Park;
Recycling centers;
Hello Work Airin Rodo;

One of the main ones is Sankaku Park, a triangular square where there is a famous television mounted on a large pole where homeless people with their tents watch during the mornings and nights.

Conflicts with the Police in Kamagasaki

In this neighborhood, conflicts with the police, protests, and riots also occur. The first was recorded in 1961 when supposedly an elderly worker was killed in a traffic accident.

The police officer who arrived at the scene assumed the man was dead, even though he was not a doctor, leaving the body for more than 20 minutes without calling an ambulance while talking to people at the scene.

This generated a riot in front of the police station that required more than 6,000 police officers to be stopped. Several conflicts with the police occurred due to the perception of human rights violations by the authorities.

The 24th riot occurred in 2008 and lasted six days because a worker in Kamagasaki was allegedly tortured by the police. Many claim that the police and local authorities do not treat them equally.

How to Combat the Problems of Kamagasaki?

As already mentioned, a lot has been done to end the poverty and homeless people in Kamagasaki. Still, these initiatives are not enough and sometimes only sustain this scenario even more.

It is no use changing the name of the place to create a good image, nor trying to distribute jobs to a huge line of people, or providing spaces that help the gathering of these people.

Japan has an almost zero unemployment rate, but unfortunately, companies are too demanding. Probably the history and situation hinder these unemployed people from Kamagasaki from finding a job.

The vending machines and bars in the region further encourage homeless people to gather and stay in a Comfort Zone, where they simply do not want to take a step forward in their lives.

This is not to mention the gigantic gambling trade pachinko, one of the causes that lead a structured person to become a homeless person who spends all their odd job money playing more pachinko.

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, there will always be something that ruins lives. Man and his greed for money and pursuit of pleasures end up harming themselves and others.

What do you think can be done to improve the image of Kamagasaki? I hope you enjoyed the article; it took a lot of work to write, so I strongly appreciate the comments and shares.