A Local Islander Street in Taichung

This picture shows one area of Taichung during the Japanese occupation. At the time, it was a common practice to call Taiwanese “local islanders” and Japanese “inlanders.” Because of this, those areas where Taiwanese were in higher concentration were called local islander streets. Even though both peoples were living in the same place, there was a strong sense of bias between them. Compared to those areas where the Japanese lived, the the local islander streets on the outskirts of the cities developed more slowly. The street pictured here has preserved local habits, with business still conducted the way it was in older times. Influence from China can be seen everywhere, such as the shop sign on the right “Baohua Zhai” copying the name of a famous restaurant in Beijing. For those who originated from Japan, the local islander streets might seem somewhat backward; however, the often free and leisurely ways of southern China and sight of the locals often attracted their attention, and quite a few Japanese enjoyed the cheaper prices found here.