Ginza Cafés, circa 1930

Ginza Cafés, circa 1930

The Plantain is said to have been the first café-bar in Ginza, established there in 1911 near the Ebisu Beer Hall. During the 1920s their numbers more than doubled and they became the favorite haunts of writers, intellectuals, students, aspiring artists, and assorted denizens of the demi-monde. The hostesses and café girls, like Kimie in During the Rains, became the icons of Ginza, often associated with the media-hyped version of the scandalous modern girl who transgressed "traditional" mores by asserting an independant and often erotic spirit.

Ginza Cafés, circa 1930	The Plantain is said to have been the first café-bar in Ginza, established there in 1911 near the Ebisu Beer Hall. During the 1920s their numbers more than doubled and they became the favorite haunts of writers, intellectuals, students, aspiring artists, and assorted denizens of the demi-monde. The hostesses and café girls, like Kimie in During the Rains, became the icons of Ginza, often associated with the media-hyped version of the scandalous modern girl who transgressed "traditional" mores by asserting an independant and often erotic spirit.