A Witness to Riverside History—Kishu An

Liu Yingfeng　/　photos Jimmy Lin　/　tr. by Geof Aberhart

September 2015

中文日本語

Every weekend, the banks of the Xindian River become a haven for Taipei residents seeking recreation and relaxation. In Guting, a little way back from the riverside park and the buzzing expressway viaduct, sits Kishu An. This classically Japanese building, nestled in a quiet corner at the south end of old Taipei, has been witness to almost a century of Taiwanese history.

“Kishu An,” a name redolent with Japanese flavor, was chosen by the founder, Tokumatsu Hiramatsu, who named it after his hometown of Kishu in western Japan. The Hiramatsu family moved to Taiwan in 1897 as the Japanese government established its presence on the island, setting up their own restaurant in Seimon-cho (now Ximending). As the number of Japanese in Taiwan grew, so too did the Hiramatsus’ business, leading them to open a new branch in Kawabata-cho, at what is now the end of Tong’an Street in the Guting neighborhood.

After two renovations, Kishu An finally became an impressive two-floored main building, an annex, and, in the centre of the courtyard, a villa. From Kishu An itself, a small bridge extended out to the riverside, enabling visitors to take an easy stroll to the pier for a boat cruise. This made it a popular recreational destination at the time.

Visitors continued to flow like the neighboring river, but after the Japanese lost World War II and Taiwan, the Hiramatsu family returned to Japan. Under the newly installed Kuomintang government, Kishu An became a residence for officials and slowly faded from the general memory. Then, in the 1970s, the Xindian Riverside became the site of the Huanhe Expressway, forever changing the face of this once-popular destination.

Protecting trees and uncovering the past

For decades the site lay unremembered, until in 2002 a movement to protect old trees once again uncovered the rich history of Kishu An.

The Taipei City Parking Management and Development Office had been considering paving the site and putting up a parking lot, arousing the concern of the Tong’an Forest Association. The public debate over the preservation of the trees on the site also happened to coincide with field surveys being made by students of National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, who were surprised to discover the past prominence of the rundown buildings there.

Lin Yuqun, who was the student in charge of the surveys, worked with his classmates to interview elderly residents, learning that the old Japanese structures had in the past been a restaurant, and later the home of an author by the name of Wang. They attempted to follow up on these leads, but too much time had passed and no-one could remember much more.

Then, one day, Lin was reading a short story by author Wang Wen-hsing when one short passage caught his eye: “Tong’an Street is a quiet little street, home to fewer than 100 families, the end of its winding path stretching to that turbid river.” After consulting with the author himself, Lin was able to finally prove that the author those old residents had remembered was none other than the author of Family Catastrophe, Wang Wen-hsing.

In 1946, Wang had travelled with his parents from Fujian to Taipei, and they had moved into the main building of Kishu An. The greater part of his young life was spent there, until moving out at age 27, and his impressions, memories, and experiences there laid the groundwork for his writing.

The survey team were astonished to discover the stories behind this old Japanese building, which were a vital part of having it preserved as a municipal historical site, according to Qiu Yixuan, executive project manager for the Taiwan Literature Development Foundation. As the researchers dived deeper, they brought more and more tales to the surface.

Fertile ground for literature

In addition to its historical and arboreal significance, Kishu An also marks the starting point of an area that has proven to be fertile ground for Taiwan’s literary and publishing world, an area that stretches to nearby Jinjiang, Xiamen, and Fuzhou Streets.

Exploring the area around what is now the Guting Metro station, one finds the Mandarin Daily News publishing company, and a ten-minute walk from there the site of the murder that inspired Edward Yang’s 1991 film A Brighter Summer Day. Between the 1950s and the 1970s, the area was home to three publishers—Yuan Liou Publishing, Inbooker, and Chiuko Publishing, located around nearby Xiamen Street and Tingzhou Road—as well as to authors Lin Haiyin and Yu Guangzhong in their early years. Other organizations to be located in the area have included the Blue Star Poetry Society, Hongfan Bookstore, TSSD News, and Literary Review.

In 2004, Kishu An was officially named a Taipei municipal historic site and an important literary site. No longer was this to be simply a rundown old building, but rather would be “transformed from ‘Tong’an Forest,’ in need of preservation, into ‘Taipei Literature Forest,” says Lin Yuqun, who later served as secretary-general of the Taipei South City Riverside Culture Foundation.

Reviving and revitalizing the arts

Since its listing as a historic site, Kishu An has grown into a vibrant literary space thanks to its atmosphere and place in history, emerging from yet another troubled period of its past. As recently as the late 1990s, it was still home to a handful of families, and in 1996 and 1998 the main building and villa were destroyed in a fire, rendering the efforts to restore them wasted.

In 2009, work began on constructing a new building, the “Kishu An Forest of Literature,” adjacent to Kishu An. Two years later the Taiwan Literature Development Foundation took up residence, molding the venue into a new hub for literature in Taipei. “Our hope is to revive and revitalize Kishu An,” says Qiu Yixuan. Over the nearly four years since, the foundation has published a series of alternative city maps. The map of Southern Old Taipei that they issued in 2014 showed local accommodations, cafes, and eateries, but this year they are returning to a literary theme, hoping to open a window onto literature for the public.

Since 2014, Kishu An has joined forces with other artistic groups in the city, including the Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park, Nanhai Gallery, and Kiwifruit Studio, to create the “South Taipei Line,” aiming to promote the development of art and culture in their communities.

After a year and a half of hard work, in June 2014 the renovation of Kishu An was completed. Some 70% of the original woodwork was retained. To commemorate the achievement, Wang Ming-hsia, the documentary filmmaker behind Type Founder and other works, had been asked to document the process.

In the film, Kiichiro Hiramatsu, the Taiwan-born son of Tokumatsu Hiramatsu, returns to the place of his youth after more than a half-century away. As the octogenarian Hiramatsu once again sets foot on the tatami-matted floors of his childhood home, memories of a youth spent weaving among the restaurant’s customers come rushing back.

What started as an effort to save old trees ended up uncovering the former life of Kishu An. Over a turbulent century for Taiwan, Kishu An entered the memories of many different people, combining literature, lifestyle, and memory. Today, it stands revived by the Xindian River, writing a new page in the history of Taipei City.

Located under lush trees by the banks of the Xindian River, Kishu An has been witness to a century of Taiwanese history.

The Japanese-era history of Kishu An was uncovered by interested local residents and graduate students from National Taiwan University. Under original owner Tokumatsu Hiramatsu, it was a high-class two-story restaurant with a small bridge to the neighboring pier. we see the fully restored Kishu An.

After renovations were completed in 2014, Kishu An was reopened with a series of events focusing on the community, literature, and collective memory, making it a hub for literature in the southern part of old Taipei. Pictured here, at the end of July 2015 a group of local schoolchildren held their end-of-year showcase at this classically beautiful location.

Since its resurrection, Kishu An has become part of an effort to bring together local cultural and arts groups, bringing an artistic atmosphere to the Tong’an Street area.