台南永樂鎮市場

[英文]Enclosed alley market, Tainan city$s Yongle town 永楽町. A 1930 Japanese source notes that Yongle$s market was lively, and retained much more of Taiwan$s traditional flavor than Taipei$s markets. The covering is to protect merchants, goods, and customers from Taiwan$s scorching sun. Medicine, food, clothing, hardware, and even opium were for sale in this busy market. One crate is labeled @Tainan@ in hand-written characters; also visible is an advertisement for @guo guang jin fei yao 国光金肺药 (Bright Nation Golden Lung Medicine). The Atlas of Imperial Japan editorializes that this market was unsanitary, a nest of disease and evil customs, and the abode of conservative petty merchants who lived in poverty (Nihon chiri taikei 1930, p. 134). The Hou 候 family, whose surname is on the box in foreground, underneath the rolls of fabric, went on to become among Taiwan$s wealthiest merchant houses. Here are their humble beginnings.