Tabata
Tabata
Station is
a train station located in the Tabata
area of Kita Ward of Tokyo. The
station, which consists of two island
platforms, is served by the JR East
Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku Lines.
The two tracks on the inside of
the platforms serve the Yamanote
Line, and the two tracks on the
outside serve Keihin-Tohoku Line.
During
the Meiji period, Tabata
was a quiet country village.
In 1889, after the opening of the
Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now the
Tokyo National University of Fine
Arts and Music) in Ueno, young artists
from across the country started
moving in, and soon there were quite
a few of them. At about the same
time, well-known writers also started
making Tabata their home, and with
them came young aspiring writers.
Tabata was now an area of artists
and writers, and
soon became known as the Tabata
Writers and Artists Village .
The Village flourished, especially
between the Taisho and Showa eras,
and remained an artistic
hot spot till 1927.
In
1927, the decline of Tabata as an
artistic community began with the
death of Akutagawa.
Akutagawa,
a famous artist known in the community
as the “king of Tabata”, committed
suicide at the young age of 35.
After his death artists and writers
slowly started moving out, and whatever
was left of Tabata was destroyed
during the World War II air raids.
All artistic traits of the place
disappeared.
Today
Tabata is a redeveloped place with
modern buildings, houses, and shops
lining the streets. A museum has
also been built in the area to
commemorate the works of the writers
and artists who once lived in Tabata
and made the area famous.
Tabata
Memorial Museum of Writers and Artists
The
Tabata Memorial Museum of Writers
and Artists
preserves and displays around 3000
cultural items by (and related to)
the former writers and artists who
lived in the area. These items include
precious pottery and paintings by
the artists, and the writers' original
drafts and letters. Around 150 of
these are displayed at a time in
rotation.
The
museum is a two-minute walk from
Tabata Station. It is open from
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day except
Mondays. Admission is free.
