Residents have vociferously welcomed the restoration of a red triangle-shaped roof of the railway station that was a symbol of Kunitachi, Tokyo. The former JR Kunitachi Station building has been reinstated at almost the same site for the first time since it was dismantled 14 years ago.
The old station building, which featured a white wall and a large red roof, was constructed in 1926. Seibu Group founder Yasujiro Tsutsumi (1889-1964) built the station as a new station of the Chuo Line as he developed the area with a view to making Kunitachi a town of universities and donated it to the then ministry of railways. The old station building, which as the gateway to the town had continued to see the development of the community for long years, was decided to be rebuilt due to the elevation construction of JR Chuo Line. At the time, it was the second oldest wooden station building in Tokyo.
As the decision to dismantle the station building was informed in the 1990s by East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) to the Kunitachi municipal government, residents who lamented the decision launched preservation movement.
"The sentiment for preservation rose as all of us pondered what a loss of a usual cityscape would mean to us," said Tsutomu Ito, chairman of the citizens group named Akai Sankaku Yane no Kai (the association of red triangle-shaped roof), as he reflected on the time of the group's establishment.
The enthusiasm of the movement promoted the city to turn toward favoring preservation of the station building. The city designated the building as its intangible asset and kept dismantled materials at a city-owned land lot. The city had acquired the land for reinstatement of the old station from JR East with funds consisting of its own fund and donations from residents before the restoration work started in 2018.
The old station building imparting the atmosphere of a Taisho era (1912-1926) was reinstated in front of JR Kunitachi Station. Seventy percent of the pillars and other materials were those used at the time of initial construction while a ticket office plus a baggage and parcel office were reinstated inside the building. The latter office is used as a reference room to display a tourist information center and dismantled tiles and pillars.
An opening ceremony for the reference room scheduled for April was canceled due to the expansion of new coronavirus infections. The room was closed temporarily thereafter but was reopened on June 1. Many citizens visited the room every day and view the triangle-shaped roof, which symbolizes Kunitachi as an academic town, nostalgically and proudly.
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