View source for Nakasu

{{for|the neighbourhood in Tokyo|Nihonbashi Nakasu}}

{{short description|Red-light district in Fukuoka, Japan}}
{{Expand Japanese|中洲|date=March 2013}}
{{nihongo|'''Nakasu'''|中洲}} is the [[red-light district]] which exists between the sandbank of the {{nihongo|Naka River|那珂川|[[Naka River (Fukuoka)|Nakagawa]]}} and the {{nihongo|Hakata River|博多川|[[Hakatagawa]]}} in [[Fukuoka, Fukuoka|Fukuoka]] City, [[Fukuoka Prefecture]], [[Japan]]. It is named after a popular, but very short-lived, entertainment quarter of [[Edo]], which existed in the late 18th century. The name "Nakasu" can be translated as "the island in the middle", as Nakasu is an island between two rivers.

==Overview==
Nakasu is the largest red-light district in the western Japan area after [[Osaka]]. The number of restaurants and stores, including adult-entertainment establishments, is approximately 3,500; over 60,000 people reportedly visit Nakasu every night.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} Nakasu is also home to a number of fashionable restaurants. Notable features in Nakasu includes the view of [[neon sign]]s from the {{nihongo|Fukuhaku Deai Bridge|福博であい橋}}, and {{transliteration|ja|[[Yatai (food cart)|yatai]]}} stalls along the Naka River. Once, fans of the local baseball team, [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]], dove from the Fukuhaku Deai Bridge into the river after the team won the championship.<ref>{{cite news |last1=山下 |first1=康太 |title=「飛び込み防止！」であい橋は厳戒体制～ソフトバンクCS決戦の舞台裏 |url=https://www.data-max.co.jp/2010/10/19/cs_1.html |access-date=27 September 2024 |work=NetIB News |publisher=DATA MAX Co., Ltd. |date=October 19, 2010}}</ref> The nearest subway station from Nakasu is the [[Nakasu-Kawabata Station]] of the [[Fukuoka City Subway]].

==History==
[[Image:中洲.jpg|thumb|Nakasu at night]]
In 1600, [[Kuroda Nagamasa]], a {{transliteration|ja|[[daimyō]]}} of the Fukuoka-[[Han (country subdivision)|Han]], created Nakasu to connect between current [[Chūō-ku, Fukuoka|Chūō-ku]] and [[Hakata-ku, Fukuoka|Hakata-ku]] by building two bridges over the rivers at the sandbank: Higashi Nakajima Bridge and Nishi Nakajima Bridge (currently Shōwa Street).<ref name=nakasu>{{cite web |author1=www.asocie.jp |title=中洲十八橋梁物語～双子都市・福岡博多を結ぶマップ |url=http://www.asocie.jp/map/maga/028.html |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050410053759/http://www.asocie.jp/map/maga/028.html |archive-date=10 April 2005 |trans-title=Yashihidei Bridge Story }}</ref> Present day of Nakasu has 18 bridges in total: 7 of them are built at the side of the Chūō-ku, and 11 at the side of the Hakata-ku. Nakasu previously featured Tamaya, a [[department store]] of long standing, and movie theatres, although the center of commerce has moved to the [[Tenjin, Fukuoka|Tenjin]] and Daimyō districts in Chūō-ku.<ref name=nakasu/>

A shopping complex, [[Canal City Hakata]], in neighbouring Sumiyoshi district, was established in 1996. On March 29, 2002, the Nakasu Special Investigators, a squad of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police, was formed to prevent crime.<ref>{{cite web |author1=www.nakasu.org |title=中洲観光協会・中洲町連合会//中洲インフォメーション：詳細 |trans-title=Nakasu Information |url=http://www.nakasu.org/info/info_02.html |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208124327/http://www.nakasu.org/info/info_02.html |archive-date=8 February 2012}}</ref> A huge commercial complex, the "gate's" was opened in 2006, at the site the Tamaya was located.

==In popular culture==

*The 2012 video game ''[[Yakuza 5]]'' features a fictional district called Nagasugai, based on Nakasu. This is where main series protagonist [[Kazuma Kiryu]] comes to start a new life as a taxi driver under the alias of Taichi Suzuki.

==Sources==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Nakasu}}
*[http://kyushu.com/fukuoka/localities/nakasu/ Nakasu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926233716/http://kyushu.com/fukuoka/localities/nakasu/ |date=2011-09-26 }} {{in lang|en}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111119115506/http://www.nakasu.org/ Nakasu Tourism Association, Town of Nakasu Joint Association Homepage] {{in lang|ja}}


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{{Prostitution in Japan}}
[[Category:Geography of Fukuoka]]
[[Category:Red-light districts in Japan]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Fukuoka]]
[[Category:Yakuza]]