‘No State, No Masters’: Café Lavandería in Tokyo, Music, and Anticapitalism in a Cultural Environment

Abstract

This paper is part of a series of research that these authors are conducting to study the linguistic landscape of the Tokyo megacity. In this instance, our focus lies on Shinjuku city. However, our examination does not extend to the linguistic landscape of the city itself; rather, it zeroes in on a café situated at its core, the Café Lavandería. How did Café Lavandería contribute to the development of the Hispanic linguistic, sociolinguistic, and subversive landscape in central Tokyo? The research unfolds in various segments. Initially, contextualization introduces the reader to Tokyo and Shinjuku; subsequently, the significance of Café Lavandería and the subversive social and political movements in Japan are elucidated. Following this, the study’s foundation, including the photographic evidence and corresponding data, is presented. Lastly, an analysis of these data is conducted, culminating in an evaluation of Café Lavandería’s impact in Japan.