I visited on a Sunday in February. This Ota City facility preserves and opens to the public part of the former residence of journalist Tokutomi Soho, and displays Tokutomi Soho's book collection, letters, and favorite belongings. Inside, an elderly staff member was enthusiastically explaining the exhibits to visitors. Admission is free. For some reason, there was a notice about emergencies posted on the entrance door. (Maybe staff aren't always on site?) The Sanno Sodo Memorial Hall is inside Soho Park and surrounded by a beautiful garden. It's also very quiet. Autumn or spring might be the best time to visit.

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A memorial hall in Soho Park that preserves part of Tokutomi Soho's former home. I came because I'd heard the autumn leaves were beautiful, and stopped by the memorial hall too. The exhibition space isn't very large, and it was free. Tokutomi Soho was apparently called one of the three great journalists of the Meiji era. Soho was active for a long time, from the Meiji era to the postwar Showa era, and was an influential figure from newspapers and publishing to politics. I learned about all this for the first time on this visit and became very interested. The former home preserved inside the memorial hall is only part of the whole: on display is the 2nd-floor engawa (veranda) where most of the 100-volume “Kinsei Nihon Kokumin Shi” was written, along with related items. Besides the building, there were exhibits related to Katsu Kaishu, with whom Soho had ties, panels on Shibusawa Eiichi and Inoue Kaoru, whom Soho assessed, Japan's first general-interest magazine “Kokumin no Tomo”, and displays showing Soho's spirit of hospitality. When I asked to confirm whether photography was allowed, a man ended up guiding me, but he seemed to be a staff member rather than an expert. The explanation was a bit rough, but it was much appreciated for someone hearing it all for the first time. According to the pamphlet, there's a gallery talk by a curator and a guided tour of Soho Park once a month.

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It's inside Soho Park, partway up German-dori toward Nishi-Oi‼️ There's Tokutomi Soho's residence and more, admission is free, and the people inside give explanations, so I had a meaningful time🎵🎵 Whichever direction you come from, you have to climb uphill, so it might be tough for elderly visitors. Even from the park entrance, you still have to go further up through the park or along the side road around it……. There's accessible parking for people with disabilities at the park, so that's taken care of👏

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This is the Tokutomi Soho memorial hall in Soho Park, about a 1-minute walk from the Ozaki Shiro Memorial Hall. The younger brother, Tokutomi Roka, is more famous, but the elder brother, Tokutomi Soho, is also known as the author of the 100-volume Kinsei Nihon Kokumin Shi. Admission is free; inside there's a room preserving the 2nd floor of Tokutomi Soho's former home and an exhibition room of materials, and the guide explains things carefully. I'm grateful for the many interesting stories I heard, such as a group photo of the Tokutomi brothers' large family, what Soho Park was like, the monthly tours by a curator, and other memorial halls in Ota City. I hear the autumn leaves in the park are also wonderful, so I'm looking forward to autumn.

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This place used to be Tokutomi Soho's residence, then company housing for the Shizuoka Shimbun, and now Ota City has bought it. Tokutomi Soho's residence I've heard that Soho-san once said to my mother, “I'll give this lively young lady a tanzaku,” but she wasn't interested and said, “Don't want it.” Shizuoka Shimbun company housing The house was wooden and looked run-down, but it was apparently spacious. The windows were the nostalgic kind, with clear glass fixed into wooden frames with white putty. When I was a kid, there was a plump lady caretaker who was always sweeping up fallen leaves with a broom and burning them in a bonfire. The mother from the house next to ours often made bonfires too. Back then people made bonfires everywhere, but these days they're apparently banned. My grandpa rented the concrete book storehouse at the back to keep his books. Around that storehouse, fallen leaves piled up about 1 m deep. Inside the leaf pile it was moist all year round, swarming with insect larvae, and it was a fun place. Bought by Ota City I remember hearing the grown-ups say it would be terrible if an apartment building went up in front of our house, but around the time I got married, Ota City took over management, and of the house only the entrance and part of the study were kept and preserved inside a building. Because they cut the undergrowth regularly and clear away the layers of fallen leaves, the numbers of insects, butterflies, cicadas, and turtles have dropped sharply. What I especially don't see anymore is the “aodaisho” (Japanese rat snake); I haven't seen one lately. Having aodaisho around is actually helpful because they prey on crow chicks. The city also cleans up the leaves that fall on our side of the house, which is a big help. Just me rambling to myself.

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