Originally, the area was known as and was a swamp. After the
Meiji Period, the area became a duck sanctuary. As the Yodobashi Purification Plant was built in 1893, the ponds were filled in. In 1920, a girls' school was built there, and the surroundings were developed into a residential area. Prior to
World War II, the district was one of the areas open to non-mainland property owners (primarily from the colonies in
Taiwan and
Korea), who mainly operated , predecessors to today's
love hotels. Kabukichō was quickly redeveloped after the war, mainly due to the efforts of the
overseas Chinese in Japan who bought land left unused after the expos and greatly developed them. The "three most renowned overseas Chinese of Kabukicho" include the founder of
Humax,
Lin Yi-wen, who started his business with a
cabaret; Lin Tsai-wang, who built the Fūrin Kaikan; and Lee Ho-chu, owner of the Tokyo Hotel
Chinese restaurant. In 2002, it was estimated that 70% of the land in Kabukichō was owned by foreign-born Japanese residents and their descendants. , a portrait photographer who took pictures and sold prints back to his subjects for a modest , documented the citizens of Kabukichō during this transition period in the 1960s and 1970s. His portraits of Kabukichō residents received critical attention and praise from fellow photographers, and are today exhibited in museums like the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1971, , a former mattress salesman, opened "Club Ai", the first
host club in Kabukichō; at its peak, Aida's company reported billion in annual revenue. By 1999, the area had been named "Asia's largest adult entertainment district", and tabloids were regularly running candid photographs of drunken Kabukichō patrons fighting and being arrested. However, starting in 2003, joint citizen and police patrols began enforcing business licensing, and the 1948
Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act was more strictly enforced as well starting in April 2004, forcing adult-themed businesses to start removing customers at midnight in preparation to close by 1 AM. Kabukichō leaders attributed the change in enforcement to Tokyo Governor
Shintaro Ishihara and the
Tokyo bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Today, the Kabukichō district has all the hallmarks of a red-light district, with over three thousand bars, nightclubs, love hotels, massage parlours, and hostess clubs. However, there are no red lights in the literal sense with prostitutes in the windows
as in Amsterdam. With increased tourism from China and South Korea, tourists can now be seen in Kabukichō even during daytime. After several large hotels opened in the district, the Kabukicho Concierge Association was formed to recommend businesses that would be safe for foreign patrons, as the area is notorious for the practice known as , where some businesses add exorbitant
hidden fees to bring the final bill well beyond the initial advertised prices. File:Miranoza+Shinjuku Theatre+Shinjuku Odeon May1959.jpg|Tokyu Mirano-za (1959) File:Shinjuku Theatre+Shinjuku Koma Feb1960.jpg|Shinjuku Koma, looking north from the east end of Cinecity Square (1960) ==Geography and statistics==