Photo courtesy of Shinjuku Ward. TM & © TOHO CO.
Source: Shinjuku Ward press release
Official Site: https://furusato-shinjuku.jp/godzilla2025/
Shinjuku City (Mayor: Kenichi Yoshizumi) has launched a collaboration project with Godzilla for the hometown tax donation program starting in September 2025. This follows last year's initiative and highlights the connection between the city and Godzilla, who serves as a Shinjuku Tourism Ambassador. The project features numerous original collaborative rewards, including textiles and posters utilizing the traditional techniques of the city's two major local industries—the dyeing and the printing/bookbinding industry—as well as food products manufactured and processed within the city.
Photo courtesy of Shinjuku Ward. TM & © TOHO CO.
♦Collaboration Overview
Collaboration Period: Monday, September 1 - Wednesday, December 31, 2025
How to Apply: Vist the Shinjuku Ward Hometown Tax Donation Special Website
Photo courtesy of Shinjuku Ward. TM & © TOHO CO.
Collaboration Rewards
■ Dyeing: kimono, yukata, tenugui (hand towels), card cases, clasps, neckties, folding fans, tote bags, T-shirts, etc.
■ Printing & Bookbinding: posters, stamp books, accordion notebooks, etc.
■ Food: mala soup, drip coffee, mille-feuille, seaweed, etc.
♦The Two Major Local Industries of Shinjuku Ward
These businesses currently account for approximately 80% of Shinjuku Ward's manufacturing industry and approximately 90% of its product shipments, making Shinjuku Ward a veritable hub for disseminating information and culture.
Photo courtesy of Shinjuku Ward.
■ Dyeing
Dyeing workshops, essential for kimono production, were concentrated in the Kanda and Nihonbashi areas, the castle town's commercial districts. However, with the onset of urbanization in the Meiji era, river water essential for the process became polluted. Furthermore, the Great Kanto Earthquake at the end of the Taisho era caused extensive damage to the downtown area, leading many workshops to seek new lands along the Kanda and Myoshojikawa rivers, which are now part of Shinjuku Ward.
During the 1950s, as the period of rapid economic growth began, demand for formal kimonos increased, solidifying Shinjuku's reputation as one of Tokyo's three major kimono production areas, alongside Kyoto and Kanazawa. Even in the Reiwa era, numerous workshops continue to carry on the tradition at the foot of Shinjuku's skyscrapers.
Photo courtesy of Shinjuku Ward.
■ Printing & Bookbinding
Shinjuku is known as a city centered on publishing and printing-related businesses, which have been around since the Meiji era. The printing industry's concentration in particular can be attributed to the construction of a factory by Shueisha in Ichigaya Kagacho in 1886, the opening of Shinjuku Station and the Yamanote Line, and the subsequent opening of the Chuo Line. As a result, the city of Kyoto expanded westward, making it easier to secure labor. Furthermore, with the relocation of major publishers such as Hakubunkan and Nissin Printing, small and medium-sized printing factories also began to gather in Shinjuku Ward. This expanded to the area south of the Kanda River, bordering Bunkyo Ward, and became a major industry with approximately 800 businesses.
About Shinjuku
On March 15, 1947, the three former cityYotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi were merged to form Shinjuku City. This name was adopted not only because of its historical origin, but also because Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Shinjuku Station are famous throughout Japan and are universal.
The current Shinjuku City was formed on March 15, 1947 by merging the former Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi city. Yotsuya and Ushigome city had been created in 1878 as one of the 15 citycity Tokyo Prefecture, while Yodobashi city was still divided into Yodobashi-cho, Okubo-cho, Totsuka-cho, and Ochiai-cho within Toyotama-gun.
As urbanization progressed, the population of these four towns grew 62% in 1930 compared to 1920, and the administrative gap between the city and county sections became noticeable. This led to a movement to annex the city section, and in October 1932, the four aforementioned towns were annexed to form Yodobashi city. By this time, the area around Shinjuku Station was crowded with department stores, movie theaters, theaters, cafes, etc., and had transformed into a major shopping area, replacing Yotsuya and Kagurazaka, which had been famous as the uptown shopping areas since the Meiji era.
The Tokyo Air Raid of May to August 1945 completely changed the face of the city. The prewar splendor of the Shinjuku Station area, Yotsuya, Kagurazaka, and Takadanobaba was reduced to a burnt wilderness, and most of the citycommunity destroyed by fire. Before the war, there were 63,295 households in the three former city, but due to the evacuation of buildings during the war and the war damage, 56,459 households were lost, leaving only 6,836 households.
In the midst of this turmoil, our city is taking steps toward reconstruction. In March 1947, the three cityYotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi were merged to form the new Shinjuku City.