In 1859, after the port of Yokohama was opened to international trade. Western merchants began to come to Yokohama. They brought with them Chinese assistants to act as interpreters to facilitate their negotiations with the Japanese. The Chinese played the role of middlemen in the tea and silk trade as interpreters, money exchangers etc,,,
In those days, the Chinese also took jobs as chefs(cooking knife).tailors(scissors).and barbers (hair cutting scissors). known to be San be dao. However, the overseas Chinese who founded today’s Chinatown were predominantly involved in the restaurant business.






























