[Mori Ogai's Former Residence – Kanchoro Today]

Sendagi Station on the Tokyo Metro Line is located in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. To reach today's destination in this town with many slopes, you must first climb up “Dango-zaka Hill.” This Dango-zaka Hill is the slope that was the model for Edogawa Rampo's mystery novel “The Case of the Murder on D. Hill,” in which the famous detective Akechi Kogoro, created by Rampo, made his first appearance in the work. The area is also known for its many literary giants. The Mori Ogai Memorial Museum stands at the end of Dango-zaka Hill.

Born in 1862 in the town of Tsuwano in present-day Shimane Prefecture, Mori Ogai studied hard from childhood and moved to Tokyo at the age of 14 to pursue medicine. He then went to Germany to study, where he was exposed to Western literature and thought. After returning to Japan, he began his literary activities while working as a military doctor. Ogai's works are known for his unique writing style and deep insight that fused Western and Japanese cultures, and he became famous for works such as “The Dancing Girl.” In his later years, he focused on writing historical novels and died of lung cancer at the age of 59.

Mori Ogai spent half of his life here on Dango-zaka-ue, where he lived with his family for 30 years until his death. He named it “Kanchoro” because he could see Tokyo Bay from his study on the second floor, and it seems that the study also functioned as a salon where poetry gatherings were held.

Today, a quiet and dignified memorial museum stands here, transformed into a new building designed by Fumio Toki. From the back alley, you can see a large ginkgo tree in the garden, which reminds us of the ancient Kanchoro, and a stone from the Sannin Jogo (a joint review of works by Mori Ogai, Koda Rohan, and Saito Ryokuu in a magazine). The exterior walls are said to have been designed to express a sense of modernity within the image of the historical cityscape of Germany, where the young Ogai studied. Most of this architecture was entirely handmade by craftsmen, and brick cutting for the exterior walls was a labor-intensive process, but it also provided an important opportunity for young people with dreams and the desire to pass on their architectural skills.

The land has been extended by land reclamation, and although the view of Tokyo Bay is not very good, the Sky Tree can be seen across the street from the back gate, neatly nestled between the buildings, making it a bit of a view spot. Kanchoro is a modern memorial museum, retaining only a few traces of its original appearance in places, and introducing the life of Mori Ogai.

Mori Ogai Memorial Museum
https://moriogai-kinenkan.jp/english/ogai-english.pdf

References
https://www.city.bunkyo.lg.jp/b014/p004367.html
https://mindmeister.jp/posts/moriogai