Annotation: "This scene seems to be occurring in a neighborhood, with many small shops to the side, likely owned and operated by the....."

From collection Atago

This scene seems to be occurring in a neighborhood, with many small shops to the side, likely owned and operated by the neighborhood’s residents. Neighborhood Tokyo explains how Japan has one of the highest rates of self-employment, but, at least in the United States, there has been a recent decline in this trend as globalization and industrialization automate some jobs, a common fear for those who performed the roles that machines are now able to (Bestor 15). Aside from the mere noise pollution and disruption caused by the presence of new technological advances, seeing the traditional neighborhood and new technology juxtaposed makes me wonder if Meiji era industrialization became a source of competition for these smaller scale local shop owners and if this marked the beginning of the declining trend mentioned in that text. FO