A New Era

         1895 A.D. the street-houses of ' No sky' street area entered another stage—the Japanese troops were sent to Taiwan after The Jiawu War. As a result, a great number of immigrants moved back to the mainland, and the population of Lukang was reduced to 20,000 people. To consolidate their jurisdiction, the Japanese leaders introduced the Japanese architecture to Taiwan, attempting to eliminate the recognition held by Taiwan people for the mainland. The Japanese Colonial Period can be divided into the following periods:

  The Initial Period

        The Japanese leaders, in the name of improving public hygiene, implemented a reconstruction program, including the widening of the existing roads for a road network and building of a new sewer system to improve the sanitation of Taiwan’s traditional cities. Meanwhile, the Japanese architecture and building materials such as tatami became quite popular, which greatly differed from the street-houses of the Ching Dynasty. Lukang, however, was not covered in the reconstruction program due to the historic importance of Wu-Fu Street, which was protected by the Japanese law. Furthermore, ' No sky' street area was even more astounding to the Japanese people. Consequently, only a few sections of the roofs were demolished; the earlier street-houses remained largely intact.                                                     TOP

The City Reconstruction Program

         The street-houses remained intact until 1934, when the Taichung County Magistrate devoted himself to the promotion of the reconstruction program of Lukang. With great determination, he demolished the century-old roofs of ' No sky' street area and widened the streets, which means that most of the facades of the street-houses were demolished. From then on, the structure and the façade were quite different from those built during the Ching Dynasty. The structure of this time resembled that of the initial period as mentioned above, with the “Showa”-style façade, which was simpler and less fixed. The main building materials were still bricks despite the change of façade. The second floors of the stores were, as a rule, built from wood, which is adopted by some stores on The Chung Shan Road (new name for ' No sky' street area after the reconstruction program). The new western, more modern facades were built with cement and cramp irons, which were different from those built during the Ching Dynasty. (see Frontispiece)

        After the reconstruction program, the houses on ' No sky' street area were different from those built during the Ching Dynasty because of the adoption of modern styles and building materials. The thing that we have to know to gain a better understanding of the changes of the street-houses on ' No sky' street area is that ' No sky' street area was designed for business activities and the stores were built to facilitate the merchants to run their businesses. Therefore, the first compartment of the buildings was mostly the store and the second compartment was the residential area, which made it easier for the customers to shop. This rationale was followed by both the architecture of the Ching Dynasty and the Japanese Colonial Period. The cause for the difference between the two periods was the reconstruction program.