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Banda Street is a short one-way street in the Chinatown of Singapore, just behind the newly built Buddha Tooth-Relic Temple. The only building along the street today is a high-rise apartment block with some shops at the ground floor.
From the late 19th century to just before the Second World War, Banda Street and nearby Spring Street was a red-light district housing mostly Karayuki-san, or Japanese prostitute. For that reason, the Cantonese people called the street Fan Tsai Mei, meaning "end of the foreign brothels". In this respect, Banda Street is similar to Cintra Street in Penang.
Karayuki-san, meaning "miss-gone-overseas", are Japanese girls from impoverished parts of rural Japan who out of circumstance were forced into the flesh trade. They were a presence in many cities in Southeast Asia until before the Second World War.
References
Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names by Victor R Savage and Brenda S.A. Yeoh (2004), ISBN 981-210-364-3
Return to Street Names of Singapore
Return to Singapore Travel Tips
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