Departments
DANCHI
団地
housing complex
Japan’s postwar prosperity has been truly impressive. However, the country will always be poor in land. Japan is about the size of the U.S. state of California, but much of its interior is covered with mountains, and is therefore uninhabitable. Since the earliest times, Japan’s population has always been clustered around the coastal regions—meaning that land and housing have always commanded a premium.
Japan’s postwar population boom made the situation even worse. (The national population reached 100 million in 1967.) Civic planners and private investors responded to the challenge by building large apartment complexes just outside the major urban areas. At first glance, these blocks of communal housing look somewhat like the public housing built in the former communist nations of Eastern Europe.
Most of the residents of the danchi are middle-class company employees and their families. The locations of the danchi in the outskirts of a town or city usually mean that the salaried workers who occupy them must spend long periods of time commuting to and from work.
Most residents of the housing complexes don’t plan on staying there forever. Practically all of them hold the dream of someday moving to an independently standing house, as soon as they save enough money to make the investment.
DANGO
団子
dumpling
The dango is a simple, bite-sized confection made from rice flour. They are served either boiled or steamed. Sometimes dango are served on a takegushi 竹串(bamboo skewer). The dumplings are flavored in a variety of ways. Some dango are dipped in sweetened soy sauce and grilled over charcoal. Others are flavored with a coating of red bean paste and sugar.
Dango are frequently enjoyed at outdoor gatherings. During the annual cherry-blossom viewing (hanami 花見) season, dumplings can be found in many picnic baskets.
There is even a Japanese proverb that reflects on the relationship between cherry blossom-viewing and dumplings: Hana yori dango / 花より団子 (“Dumplings before flowers.”).