The Japanese immigrant village in Taiwan was established during the Japanese colonial period between 1895 and 1945. The purpose of establishing this village was to provide suitable land for the Japanese immigrant to settle in Taiwan. The land that the government intended to establish as immigrant villages was to undergo a land and forestry survey to verify the land was vacant and assess its suitability to act as immigrant village land. The immigrant villages could be divided as privately conducted or publicly conducted. It could also be divided by occupation, a majority being farming immigrants, but also with fishing, mining, forestry and industrial immigration. The total number of Japanese immigrants during the colonial period was 500,000 people.
The purpose of establishing the villages was to resolve JapanâÂÂs overpopulation and to use Taiwan as a testing ground for expansion into the South Seas.
The immigration process was divided into four major periods.
The initial privately conducted immigration period 1895âÂÂ1908, where the first immigrant village was established;
The publicly conducted period by the Karenkà  Prefecture 1909âÂÂ1917, which introduced around 1700 immigrants into Eastern Taiwan;
The privately conducted period by Taità  Prefecture 1917âÂÂ1932, where the immigrants mainly settled in Taitung (å°æ±);
The later publicly conducted immigration period 1932âÂÂ1945, with its development based in Western Taiwan.
When Japanese colonial rule ended in October 1945, all Japanese immigrants were sent back to Japan but limited in the resources they could bring home. They were only permitted to take one set of winter and summer clothing, one blanket and with cash of no more than 1000 Yen.
In 1899, the Japanese entrepreneur Katakinsaburou (è³Âç°éÂÂä¸ÂéÂÂ) privately recruited immigrants to move to Taiwan. The Kata immigrant village (è³Âç°移æ°ÂæÂÂ), established in Wuquan City (å³堨åÂÂ) of modern-day Hualien County, was not only the first immigrant village established in Eastern Taiwan, but also the first Japanese immigrant village in the world. There were around 133 families and 385 residences in the village. However, due to its geographic location and the fact of being a privately administrated village, locals lacked trust in the residents. Moreover, the immigrants could not achieve self-sufficiency and so several died and others returned to Japan. Hence, the first period of the Japanese Immigration was not so successful.
This was the first publicly conduct immigrant village in 1909, after the government had already started actively promoting the immigration process. The Yoshino Immigrant Village (Ã¥ÂÂéÂÂ移æ°ÂæÂÂ) was located in Hualien Qijiao creek (è±è®ä¸Âè ³å·Â), where sugarcane was the main product. This was originally the land of a group of aboriginals (é¿ç¾ÂæÂÂ). For the purpose of promoting immigration, the government provided three years of free medical service, free land usage as well as subsidies for various expenses. The government also built clinics, primary schools, Japanese shrines and other public facilities.
The Japanese immigrant villages were designed in the same way as traditional Japanese villages. The houses were made of bamboo and wood with a layer of hay serving as the roof. Tatami mats also covered the floors. The immigrantsâ main products were tobacco, sugar and rice. In order to increase the income of the immigrants, the Japanese government imported tobacco leaves to plant. They were then able to sell the tobacco leaves to tobacco factories and earn income. Since Eastern Taiwan had an ideal climate and terrain for growing sugarcane, the immigrants also planted this crop and produced sugar from it. The village also grew âÂÂYoshino riceâÂÂ, which was the only rice the Japanese emperor consumed.
Although all Japanese immigrants were sent back to Japan after Japanese colonial rule ended, several immigrant villages still exist. These include Yoshino village (Ã¥ÂÂéÂÂæÂÂ), Toyota village (è±Âç°æÂÂ) and Hayashita village (æÂÂç°æÂÂ). These villages are open to the public to see how life was for Japanese villagers in Taiwan during this period.