Iranians in Japan - Community Spaces

Community Spaces

Initially, public parks served as the most important gathering points for the Iranian community; Ueno Park and Yoyogi Park were the most commonly frequented by Iranian migrants. Many set up small stands selling imported Iranian products; Japanese and Iranian brokers also could often be found in the park, helping new arrivals find jobs in exchange for a fee. However, complaints from neighbours and negative media coverage of illegal drug and fake telephone card sales in the parks resulted in an increased police presence in the parks; immigration officers also began to conduct regular sweeps of the parks in order to find and arrest individuals lacking proper documentation. Iranians themselves increasingly avoided the parks, hoping to avoid being stereotyped and lumped together with the so-called "bad Iranians" who assembled there regularly. As a result, the importance of public parks in the Iranian community declined.

With the parks effectively closed off to communal gatherings, mosques began to take over some of the same functions. As in Iran itself, most Iranians in Japan are followers of Shia Islam. In the early days of their migration, Iranian migrants lacked the funds to establish their own mosque; as a result, they often used the prayer facilities at the Iranian embassy in Tokyo. Later, they established a mosque in Kodenma-chō, Chūō-ku; the management board was dominated by Iranians, but also had representatives of other nationalities. The mosque also serves as a community gathering point on non-Islamic holidays, especially Nowruz.