Exploring Tabata's Slopes and Temples

【Tokyo, Kita City: Exploring Tabata's Slopes and Temples, a Place Associated with Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Akagami Nioson】

⛩️Tabata Hachiman-jinja Shrine
📍Location: 2 Chome-7-2 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

☸️🕉️Togakuji Temple
📍Location: 2 Chome-7-3 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

⛩️Akagami Nioson (Stone Statues of Kongorikishi)
💞Recommended Reason: The unique sight of red paper talismans tied to the stone statues for health prayers is exclusive to this location. Seasonal yellow flowers add a tropical ambiance to the area.
📍Location: 2 Chome-7-28 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

✒️Tabata Memorial Museum of Writers and Artists
💞Recommended Reason: 'Until the mid-Meiji era, Tabata was a quiet rural village with woodlands and farmland. However, with the opening of Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in Ueno, young artists began to settle here. In 1900, painter Kosugi Hoan moved into a boarding house, and in 1903, ceramic artist Itaya Hazan built a kiln in Tabata. This attracted other artists like sculptor Saburo Yoshida, metal artist Hideaki Katori, and painter/printmaker Kanemitsu Yamamoto, who also moved to Tabata. A social club called "Poplar Club" was established, making Tabata an 'Artists' Village' during the Meiji era.
In the Taisho era, novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa moved here in 1914, followed by poet and novelist Saisei Murou in 1916. They were joined by poet Sakutaro Hagiwara, novelist Kan Kikuchi, novelist Tatsuo Hori, and novelist Inako Sata, turning Tabata into a 'Writers' Village' from the Taisho era to the early Showa era.'
Free Admission. Check the website for opening status.
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Last admission at 4:30 PM)
Closed: Mondays (if Monday is a holiday, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday), the day after holidays (if the day after a holiday is Saturday or Sunday, closed the following Tuesday), year-end and New Year holidays (December 29 - January 3), and temporary closures for exhibition changes.
📍Location: 6 Chome-1-2 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

A signboard marks the site of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's residence. Memorials are also located in Yokosuka City, where he had ties with the Naval Academy, and in Sumida City, Tokyo, where his elementary school was located.

🚶🏻Yorakuji Slope
📍Location: Kita City, Tabata 1-chome
💞Recommended Reason: 'Yorakuji Slope
The name of the slope originates from Yorakuji Temple located at the bottom of the slope. According to the "Tokyo Prefecture Village Records," it is described as "located northwest of Yorakuji Temple, descending southward, with a length of 25 ken and a width of 1 ken and 3 shaku." Near this slope lived painter Sentaro Iwata, lacquer artist Yang Cheng, metal artist Hideaki Katori, and writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa wrote in his letters, "Tabata is filled with yellowish-white leaves wherever you go. Walking at night, you can smell the scent of autumn."
March 1993, Kita City Board of Education'

🚶🏻Kaminosaka Slope
📍Location: Kita City, Tabata 1-chome
'Located near the South Exit of JR Tabata Station, accessible through narrow and complex residential streets from "Fudo Slope."
Kaminosaka Slope
The origin of the slope's name is unknown. On the west side of the slope was Ryunosuke Akutagawa's residence. He lived here from 1914 and created numerous works. Near this slope also lived metal artist Hideaki Katori, lacquer artist Yang Cheng, and painter Sentaro Iwata.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa composed a waka poem about his residence:
"My garden is filled with clusters of green branches of withered yamabuki, where the drizzle falls."
March 1997, Kita City Board of Education'

🚶🏻Higurashi Slope
'Higurashi Slope (Higurashizaka) is a slope approximately 180 meters long located in Nishinippori 4-chome, Arakawa City, Tokyo. It starts near the main gate of Kaisei High School on Tokyo Route 457 (commonly known as Dokanyama Street), curves left midway, and ascends alongside the Kaisei Academy grounds.'