Visited July 2026 The former residence of Shintaro Suzuki, a scholar of French literature. The extremely lavish study — or rather, a building on the level of a small library — survived the fires from the WWII air raids, and the books were protected. The reason: when returning home from studying in France, Suzuki shipped a huge number of books by sea (while personally traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway), but the ship caught fire and the books were lost. Disheartened, Suzuki prioritized fire resistance and built the study in reinforced concrete, which was rare at the time. The windows also have shutters, and the entrance has a door like a small safe. Right as you enter the study, there's a display of early Japanese translations of “Jules Verne”, a name that even I, who know little about literature, recognize. I was told the stained glass was designed by Shintaro himself, but I couldn't get a good photo of it.

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This is a memorial hall managed and operated by Toshima City. Prof. Shintaro Suzuki and his son, Prof. Shigebumi Suzuki, actually lived in this building. I'm told the study building survived the fires of war and protected the books inside. In Prof. Shigebumi's time, seasonal events such as mochi pounding, as well as gatherings of architecture scholars, were often held in this building. The garden seen from the engawa (veranda) of the Japanese house was truly lovely. It is now a memorial hall, and the kitchen and bath from those days are gone, but you can see the study building, the hall, the living room, and the neat garden. Admission is free. Prof. Shigebumi lived with shosei (live-in students). You can get a glimpse of what that was like on “note文文日和”, so please take a look there too if you like.

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A Japanese-Western style building standing in a quiet residential area, a 5-minute walk from Shin-Otsuka Station. Admission is free. You can see the study where French literature scholar Shintaro Suzuki wrote, as well as the rooms where Suzuki lived.

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This memorial hall displays books, letters, and other items connected to Shintaro Suzuki of French literature fame, in a beautiful Showa-era building. It's a few minutes' walk from Shin-Otsuka Station on the Marunouchi Line, in the middle of a residential area. I happened to be able to join a gallery talk partway through and heard some fascinating stories.

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This is the former residence of Shintaro Suzuki, a researcher of French language and literature, standing on a south-facing slope between Kasuga-dori and Sakashita-dori near Shin-Otsuka Station. Shintaro Suzuki (1895-1970) studied 19th-century French Symbolist poets and medieval literature, and left a great legacy as a scholar of French literature. The former residence consists of three buildings: the study building built in 1928 (Showa 3), the living room (chanoma) and hall building built in 1946, and the zashiki (tatami reception room) building, built in the Meiji 20s and relocated in 1948 from the Suzuki main family home in what is now Kasukabe City in the prefecture. The interior is well maintained, and you can learn about the lifestyle of the time. The living room and zashiki are wonderful, but the oldest building, the study, has the atmosphere of a treasure house of knowledge and is worth seeing. Shintaro Suzuki was also known as a collector of rare books on French literature, and apparently more than 10,000 books are housed here as well. I was moved that such a valuable building is preserved in a corner of an ordinary residential area. Perhaps because it isn't well known, there were hardly any other visitors, but if you like the Yasuda Kusuo House in Nezu or the Former Asakura Family Residence in Naka-Meguro, I'm sure you'll find it fascinating. It's free and uncrowded, so do go.

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