Fragments of "Taishu Kappo Tsurunoya" (Menu Tags, Noren Curtain, Chairs)

2023/09/04

From September 20 to October 7, an exhibition titled "When Tsurunoya was in Mita" will be held at the Keio History Museum. While looking back at the much-missed "Taishu Kappo Tsurunoya," we will reflect on the history of Mita-dori as a student district. Although it has not been long since the Keio History Museum opened, this may be its most challenging exhibition yet.

The izakaya "Tsurunoya," located in the basement of the Kikai Kogu Kaikan on Mita-dori, may not be as famous as Ramen Jiro, but it was one of the last shops to retain the atmosphere of a student town in the Mita area, which has rapidly lost that character. I first entered the shop in 1998 as a first-year undergraduate, and on December 30, 2019, the day Tsurunoya closed, I was the last customer to leave. Although it was scheduled to relocate and reopen a few months later, I was driven by an urge to preserve the unique interior space in the records of Keio University history, so I obtained fragments of the pillars where the menu tags hung. Later, the reopening became a dream that would never be realized due to the sudden passing of the owner, Mr. Takashi Watanabe (Chi-san). The pennants on the walls that were destined for disposal are also currently kept in my laboratory.

I once discussed with Professor Emeritus Masayoshi Tarui, who was a regular, what it was about this shop that attracted Keio students and Keio University alumni. First, there was the food—simple, but prepared by a truly skilled chef. Then there were the personalities of the staff, who were blunt yet loved all customers equally and were loved in return. Furthermore, there was the unique space. Descending the stairs to the basement and taking a seat, one could see the entire shop from anywhere, creating an equal community of people bound by their love for the establishment—a community that existed for only one night at a time. This matched the academic culture of Keio University, where acting superior based on age or title is not in fashion. Would it be an exaggeration to say it was the very embodiment of "Banraisha," the salon for Keio students and Keio University alumni built by Yukichi Fukuzawa on the Mita Hilltop Square in 1876, with its philosophy of "Debate should be held, conversation should not be hindered" and "Stay if you are interested, leave if your interest is exhausted"? The dedication in the book by Professor Haruhito Takada of the Law School, which was kept in the shop—"No scholarship without Tsurunoya"—was truly a famous quote. I wonder how many intellectual collaborations were born while looking at these pillars where the menus hung.

I truly did not wish for these items to see the light of day so soon. Three and a half years have already passed in Mita without Tsurunoya.

(Takeyuki Tokura, Associate Professor, Keio Institute for Fukuzawa Studies)