• Footbridge was built in 1929 in Tokyo

Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A footbridge built in 1929 in Tokyo, with connections to a famous writer, is in danger of being dismantled.

At the entrance to the footbridge near Mitaka Station, there is a commemorative plaque with the silhouette of writer Osamu Dazai descending the footbridge with a hat, a cane and dressed in a kimono.

Next to the commemorative plaque, a man is seen sitting as a tribute to the author who once wrote in his autobiographical novel he was “no longer human.”

Dazai was seen as the most melancholic writer of the first part of the twentieth century. He wrote: “The artist is a friend to the weak.  That’s his first motivation and his ultimate goal.  It’s a plain, simple truth, but it’s something I’d forgotten.  And it’s not just me. Everybody has forgotten that.”

On the sides of the footbridge are signs indicating that the footbridge must be dismantled due to aging problems. The bridge is owned by the JR East railway company.

Visitors admire the view from this vantage point of Mitaka City, passing trains and, in the distance, the admirable view of the mountains near Hachioji and Takao.

The glory of the writer Osamu Dazai, who has an international reputation, has allowed the city of Mitaka to keep some elements of the bridge thanks to an agreement with JR East.