Photo/Illutration The "Maihime no Ma" room at the former residence of Mori Ogai in Tokyo's Taito Ward, in which the novelist wrote "Maihime" ("The Dancing Girl") (Nobuo Fujiwara)

A traditional Tokyo ryokan inn closely associated with novelist Mori Ogai (1862-1922) made the tough call to close at the end of May due to the crippling effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic on business.

The Suigetsu Hotel Ohgaisou, in the capital's Taito Ward, which opened about 80 years ago, preserves the former residence of the literary giant on its site.

The dwelling where Ogai wrote one of his greatest works, "Maihime" ("The Dancing Girl"), a magnet for his fans from all over Japan, will close its doors for good on May 31.

"We decided (to close) while we still have the energy to pass down Ogai's former residence to future generations," said proprietress Misako Nakamura, 63.

The Suigetsu Hotel managed to persevere through the recession that followed the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

But in March this year, reservations plummeted to about 10 percent year-on-year after patrons started self-isolating because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"Even though we don't have customers, we have to pay the salaries of our 100 staff members and utility bills, and we reached the breaking point," Nakamura said.

Ogai returned to Japan in 1888 after studying in Germany. He married Toshiko, the eldest daughter of Noriyoshi Akamatsu, a baron and vice admiral, the next year and moved into the Tokyo residence, one of the houses that the Akamatsu family owned.

Once he settled there, Ogai went on to pen "Maihime" and "Utakata no Ki" ("A Record of Foam of the Waves").

Just one year later, however, Ogai divorced Toshiko and moved to the Sendagi district in the capital.

The residence passed through the hands of other owners, surviving the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) and the Great Tokyo Air Raid (1945).

In 1946, the Suigetsu Hotel's first proprietor, who was operating a ryokan inn adjacent to Ogai's old residence, bought the property.

The old residence has been open to tourists, with a first-floor room facing the garden, called "Maihime no Ma," used as a dining room and for other purposes.

Nakamura started working at the inn after her husband, Kikuyoshi, now 71, who had served as the ryokan's manager, became its fourth-generation proprietor in 1998.

The couple is now considering preserving Ogai's old abode on the ryokan's grounds or relocating the structure elsewhere.

"We will operate until the end of May even if we bleed red ink since it is the culmination of everything we have been doing," Nakamura said. "I want to thank as many people as possible who have supported me since I started working here and feeling my way through it."

Related News