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Benten Street is an International Street (Yokohama)
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Benten Street in the port city of Yokohama, Japan had an international flavor.
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Yokohama is Japan's second largest city, and one of its major ports. About 30 minutes south of Tokyo by train, Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture on Japan's main island of Honshu. Over 3.5 million people live here.
Yokohama was a small fishing village until the end of the feudal Edo Period (1603-1867), during which Japan maintained a policy of national seclusion. In 1853, America and other Western nations demanded that the country open its ports to foreign trade. In 1859, Yokohama's port became one of the first ports to be opened, and Yokohama quickly grew into one of Japan's major cities. Even now, the Yamate residential area retains a Western flavor and is home to many expatriates from other countries.
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk, with the main trading partner being Great Britain. The city was officially incorporated in 1889. By the time the extraterritoriality of foreign areas was abolished in 1899, Yokohama was the most international city in Japan, with foreign areas stretching from Kannai to the Yamate Bluff area and the Yokohama Chinatown, one of the world's largest.
The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories and the growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama. This resulted in the construction of large residences by wealthy trading families at this place. The rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the creation of Kojiki-Yato, the largest slum in Japan at the time.
The Great Kanto earthquake of September 1, 1923 destroyed most of Yokohama and killed 23,000 people. Yokohama was rebuilt, and then destroyed again in World War II by more than 30 U.S. air raids ( apopular World War II song was Fred Coote's 1941 "Goodbye Mama, I'm Off to Yokohama." During the American occupation, Yokohama became a major base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the Korean War. U.S. naval activity moved to an American base in nearby Yokosuka after the occupation.
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