Decades of war are over, but some Chinese are very sensitive to the cultural symbols of Japan, which has historically been considered a colonizer. A Japanese-themed place had to close.
As reported Insider, the anger of Chinese web users has led to the temporary closure of a shopping street in northeast China that was built to resemble ancient Kyoto.
The Japanese-themed Tang Little Kyoto project was forced to shut down just one week after its launch on August 21, after web users flooded Weibo, the country’s Twitter-like platform, with posts accusing the location of a form of “culture invasion” by Japan, according to Kyodo News.
This Japanese-style township is located an hour’s drive from the city of Dalian, in China’s coastal Liaoning province. This area is specially designed to resemble the winding road on the slopes of Ninnenzaka and Sannenzaka that leads to the iconic Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto.
Web users are angry that traditional Japanese goods are being promoted over Chinese products.
“The existence of this Kyoto shopping street is a betrayal of our local trade for the sake of Japanese businesses,” wrote a Weibo user with ID LengYanYiDing.
Some have argued that the local presence was a form of “Japanese occupation,” referring to the Japanese occupation of the area during the 1930s and 40s. Weibo users also reposted messages saying Japanese culture is a “demon” that needs to be “cast out.”
“Now, shall we open the ‘Japanese Style Way?’ What about our ancestors who died under the Japanese butcher’s knife and the heroes who fought valiantly against Japan? This extravagant project does not show our national pride. It forgets our roots and the sacrifices of our ancestors,” wrote a Weibo commenter with ID Mo Hong An.
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