"Tourism Niigata" Published by Niigata City around the 1950s-60s (Showa 30s)
[Introduction to Niigata Antiquarian Books] 🧐
"Tourism Niigata"
Around the 1950s-60s (Showa 30s)
Published by Niigata City
Includes a greeting from Niigata Mayor Kotaro Watanabe at the beginning.
A valuable official tourism PR pamphlet compiled by the newly formed Niigata City, which had reached a population of 325,000 and an area of 208 square kilometers following the Great Showa Consolidation. 📖
[Commentary on Contents, etc.] 🧐
⚫︎ This book is an official booklet published by Niigata City as it entered the era of high economic growth, intended to widely promote not only its famous sites and historical landmarks but also its own progress as a modern city.
The opening includes a greeting from the then-mayor, Kotaro Watanabe, and the enthusiasm with which the administration sought to promote the charm of their hometown with prestige is palpable.
⚫︎ The greatest pleasure of flipping through such an "old booklet" lies in mentally superimposing the "Niigata of the past" trapped within its pages with its "current appearance," and reflecting on those changes.
For example, the "racecourse" featured in the magazine was located in the Sekiya district of Chuo Ward at the time, and it is depicted as being bustling with families on weekends, but it has since relocated to the Toyosaka district of Kita Ward.
Also, the sight of the "Niigata Station," which was proudly completed in 1958, is a magnificent "cross-section of history" that feels like a different era to those who know the current Niigata Station, which has been elevated and reborn in a modern style.
⚫︎ It is not just the guide to famous sites that is appealing, but also the way the atmosphere of the era resides in the details.
There is a unique sense of nostalgia that can only be conveyed through monochrome or early color photographs, such as retro bonnet buses and auto-rickshaws running on the Bandai Bridge, or the night view of the Furumachi shopping district with its neon lights.
⚫︎ The latter half of the booklet includes a warm, hand-drawn style "Sado/Niigata Illustrated Guide Map" and a page introducing the "City Recommended Souvenirs" of the time.
You can catch a glimpse of everything from classic items still loved today, such as Okesa Senbei and Sasa Dango, to the evolution of packaging design at the time, making it a composition that allows you to re-experience the travel mood of that era right up to the very last page.
📖 A "cross-section of history" told by paper—a volume packed with more than just descriptions of tourist spots; it is filled with the changes in the city and the "cutting edge of Niigata" that the people of that time were proud of.
I believe there is a luxurious time unique to old booklets to be found here, flipping through the pages as if checking the answers between the present and the past. 😌
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