Waseda and Kagurazaka

A barber’s wall mirror opens a walk through one of Tokyo’s most distinctive neighborhoods. Kanō Sakujirō leads us up Kagurazaka, past noodle shops and booksellers, crowded temple fairs, cafés, theaters, and the houses of its geisha quarter. His eye for everyday commerce captures a city changing rapidly after the Great Kantō Earthquake.

The walk is also a journey through memory. Familiar lanes recall student poverty, friendships among writers, the beginnings of modern Japanese theater, and vanished cherry blossoms along the Edogawa. Waseda, his “home of the heart,” brings the account back to the university song and the farmland that once surrounded its buildings.

First published in the Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun in June 1927, Waseda and Kagurazaka combines urban observation with literary autobiography. This complete English translation includes notes on historical places, food, entertainment, and uncertain shop-name readings, while preserving the author’s lively judgments and recollections. AI-assisted translation.