Akihabara: How a Radio Market Became the Anime and Game District

A Station at the Crossing of Three JR Lines

Akihabara stands in Chiyoda Ward, in the northern part of central Tokyo, and does not appear on the map as a separate administrative unit: officially it is the neighborhoods of Sotokanda and Kanda-Sakumacho, while the shopping street with its signs runs along Chuo-dori. At Akihabara Station, three JR lines converge—Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku, and Sobu—as well as the Hibiya subway line and the Tsukuba Express, which runs north toward Ibaraki. Because of this hub, the station name has long displaced the official names of the surrounding neighborhoods, even among Tokyoites themselves.

Why the Station Has Two Different Exits and Two Different Districts Around It

• The Denkigai exit (電気街口, "electric town exit") leads to Chuo-dori—the main shopping street with signs, arcades, and electronics stores.
• The Showa-dori exit (昭和通り口), on the other side of the tracks, faces a wide avenue and more business-oriented buildings; it is used by most passengers transferring to the Hibiya line.
• Between the Denkigai exit and the central exit, a wide passage runs directly under the tracks: for its sake, the elevated track supports were spaced farther apart, freeing up about 1,800 square meters.

Four Specialties of One District

Akihabara changed its profile four times in less than a century. Right after the war, a black market sprang up near the station: traders who had been driven from their stalls in the Kanda-Sudacho area were relocated under the Sobu line tracks in 1949 by order of the occupation administration. There they began selling radio parts and vacuum tubes—first to students of the neighboring technical school, the future Tokyo Institute of Technology. Thus, under the elevated tracks, "Akihabara Radio Store" and "Akihabara Radio Center" opened—some of these shops are still in business today. In the 1950s and 60s, the parts market grew with home appliance stores: the country was buying its first refrigerators and televisions, and Akihabara became a showcase of this prosperity. With the spread of personal computers in the 1980s and 90s, the district reoriented itself to them.

How and When the Last Turn Happened—Toward Anime and Games

• The computer boom of the 1990s brought people to the district who were passionate not only about hardware but also about games and animation on discs—the future audience of today's Akihabara.
• By the mid-2000s, stores were noticeably reorienting toward anime, games, and figurines, and media attention to this crowd accelerated the district's transformation into a tourist attraction.
• At the same time, redevelopment was underway: in the 2000s, high-rises of the Akihabara Crossfield complex rose on the site of old buildings, and offices now coexist with figurine and radio parts shops.

秋葉原: What the Written Form Actually Means

原 — значение: field, plain, original — онъёми: ゲン — кунъёми: はら — 10 штрих(ов). 原 means "field, plain": this character closes the written form 秋葉原 and originally referred to the empty lot left after a great fire—not at all to autumn leaves, which seem to be read in the first two kanji of the name.

From the Fire to the Current Pronunciation

Individually, the three characters of the name read as "autumn," "leaf," and "field," and a translation like "field of autumn leaves" suggests itself. But the real story is different. After a fire in the winter of 1869, an empty lot was cleared here as a firebreak, and in 1870, by imperial decree, the fire deity was moved here from the palace shrines—the new temple was called 鎮火社, "shrine of fire suppression." The townspeople, out of habit, assumed that the shrine was dedicated to Akiba Gongen—a widely known Edo deity protecting against fires—and began calling the shrine "Akiba," and the empty lot around it "Akiba's field." Hence "Akihabara" took shape, although the reading itself fluctuated for a long time: the station, opened in 1890 as a freight station, was called "Akihanohara" and only received its current pronunciation in 1907. Today the district is often shortened to "Akiba"—a direct reminder of that very shrine.

Write 原 along the guides—the character for "field, plain," which ends the name Akihabara.

The Electric Town Today

Today Akihabara still calls itself 電気街 (denkigai), "electric town," although the sign has long ceased to be only about electronics. In the same multi-story stores, game consoles, collectible figurines, cards, and retro gaming equipment are sold, and in the alleys and on upper floors, maid cafes operate—part of the district's appearance, not a separate specialty. Some postwar radio parts shops still hold on in the alleys and under the Sobu line tracks: their clientele has barely changed over the decades; floors with other goods have simply grown up nearby. The district has left its mark on language in another way: since the 2000s, the press and conversation have called Akihabara the territory of "otaku"—passionate collectors of anime and games. The abbreviation "Akiba-kei" has become established for the fashion and tastes of this crowd.

Pedestrian Zone on Weekends

On Sundays, the central Chuo-dori street is closed to cars—this is called 歩行者天国 (hokousha tengoku), "pedestrian paradise," a tradition since 1973. The closure was canceled during rain and earlier, but on June 8, 2008, a stabbing attack with casualties occurred on this same street, and the authorities canceled the pedestrian zone for several years. It was restored in 2011, first as a trial, and since then the weekend closure of Chuo-dori has again become part of the district's life.

FAQ

What is Akihabara and where is it located?

Akihabara is a district near the station of the same name in Chiyoda Ward, in the northern part of central Tokyo. There is no separate ward with that name on the map: officially it is Sotokanda and Kanda-Sakumacho, and all the commercial life runs along Chuo-dori. The name has become attached to the station and has displaced the official names of the surrounding neighborhoods, even among Tokyoites themselves.

Why is Akihabara called the anime and game district?

Because this is already the fourth specialty of the district in less than a century. First there was a postwar black market for radio parts, then home appliance stores, in the 1980s and 90s personal computers. The computer boom brought in customers passionate about games and animation on discs, and by the mid-2000s stores were reorienting toward anime, games, and figurines.

How is "Akihabara" written in Japanese and what does it mean?

In kanji it is 秋葉原—individually the characters read as "autumn," "leaf," and "field," but the literal translation "field of autumn leaves" is misleading. The name comes from a shrine that, after the fire of 1869–1870, townspeople mistakenly believed was dedicated to the fire deity Akiba Gongen, and from the empty lot around it—"Akiba's field." The station only received the stable reading "Akihabara" in 1907.

Why is Akihabara shortened to "Akiba"?

Because "Akiba" is the original name of the shrine that gave the whole district its name: "Akihabara" literally means "Akiba's field." The abbreviation predates the district's current fame and has survived all its changes of specialty—from radio parts to anime and games.

What was sold in Akihabara before anime?

First, radio parts and vacuum tubes: after the war, traders who had been driven from street stalls were relocated under the Sobu line tracks, and the first shops like "Akihabara Radio Center" opened there. In the 1950s and 60s, home appliance stores were added—refrigerators, televisions, washing machines—and in the 1980s and 90s the district shifted to personal computers.

How do I get to Akihabara and what is there to see besides shops?

Akihabara Station is served by three JR lines—Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku, and Sobu—the Hibiya subway line, and the Tsukuba Express going north toward Ibaraki. Around the station, the business high-rises of the Akihabara Crossfield complex coexist with alleys of radio parts shops that have been operating since the mid-20th century—two layers of one history in a single district.

Sources

• Kotobank: dictionary entry 秋葉原
• Nippon.com: feature on Akihabara
• Wikipedia: article "Akihabara"
• Kotobank: 秋葉原