30th Anniversary Collection Commemorative Exhibition of the Setagaya Literary Museum
Setagaya Line: A Story of 100 Year
Saturday, October 18 - Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Concurrent exhibit: Muttoni Collection
*Admission may be restricted during busy times.
Exhibition Overview
Embark on a small journey through 100 years of literary works on the Setagaya Line.
The Setagaya Line launched in 1925 as a branch line of the Tamagawa Electric Railway (now Tokyu Railways). With the closing of the main line between Shibuya and Futako-tamagawaen in 1969, the line became an independent route only traveling through Setagaya City. Today, 100 years after its establishment, the Setagaya Line continues to operate as a two-car streetcar service in Setagaya over the 5.0 km distance between Sangen-jaya and Shimo-takaido.
Many authors have spent their lives along the route of the Setagaya Line, and the scenery thereof is depicted in countless literary works.
For example, Sangen-jaya is where the young authors Fumiko Hayashi, Sakae Tsuboi, and Taiko Hirabayashi began living together in a tenement house in 1925, when the Setagaya Line was launched. Sangenjaya actually appears as the location for the strange communal life of the women in The Yellow House by Mieko Kawakami. In The Town Where I Wasn’t by Tomoka Shibasaki, the main character revisits the places written around the end of WWII in the diary of Unno Jūza, considered the father of Japanese SF who was a longtime resident of Wakabayashi. Hoei Nojiri and Hiromi Kawakami described scenes of the flea markets held in winter in Kamimachi and Setagaya. Yamashita and Matsubara served as the models for the Tsukifunecho series written over a 20 year period by Atsuhiro Yoshida. And Chūya Nakahara, Chiya Fujino, and Shion Miura wrote about the area around Shimo-takaido Station. Though there are only ten stations on the Setagaya Line, each community has its own stories that repeatedly overlap.
This exhibit introduces the countless stories that take place along the Setagaya Line woven to date in 2025 over the 100 year period since its founding, including episodes from the lives of the authors.
Venue
Setagaya Literary Museum, 1F Exhibition Room
Closed
Mondays (or the following weekday that is not a holiday if Monday is a holiday)
Open
10:00 am - 6:00 pm (exhibition and museum shop admission closes at 5:30 pm)
Admission fees ・Revised October 1, 2025
- General admission: 220 yen (180 yen)
- High school and college students: 170 yen (130 yen)
- Age 65 and older, elementary and middle school students: 110 yen (90 yen)
- Persons with a Disability Certificate: 110 yen (90 yen) (free for persons of university age or younger)
* The fees in parentheses ( ) indicate group discounts for groups of 20 or more and discounts under the Setagaya Arts Card, etc.
* Payment at the reception desk is accepted in cash, credit card, and Setagaya Pay.
* Most credit cards are accepted with the exception of smartphone based contactless IC cards, transportation IC cards, and some forms of e-money.
* Please bring the appropriate documentation to receive each discount.
* Free admission for persons with a Disability Certificate of university age or younger.
* Free admission for up to one person accompanying a person with a Disability Certificate
* Free admission for elementary and middle school students residing or studying in Setagaya City on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
* You may access this exhibition at any time during the special exhibition period using its ticket stub. However, access to this exhibition may be restricted during times of congestion.
* Free admission for age 65 and older on Friday, November 21.
* Free admission on Saturday, November 29 and Sunday, November 30.
* Free admission on Monday, February 23, 2026 (holiday)
Organiser
Setagaya Arts Foundation, Setagaya Literary Museum, Setagaya City
Cooperation
Tokyu Corporation, Tokyu Railways, Train and Bus Museum, Setagaya Line 100th Anniversary Commemorative Project Executive Committee
Support
Setagaya City Board of Education
