Yotsuya Kakuuchi「Suzuden」・ 四谷の角打ち「鈴傳」

My first visit to Suzuden in the Yotsuya neighborhood in the southeastern part of Shinjuku ward in Tokyo was in July, 2024, after I gave a guest lecture at Sophia University's Institute of Comparative Culture about my ethnographic research of a tachinomiya「立ち呑み屋」standing bar in Osaka. My colleagues from the University thought a nearby tachinomiya would be an appropriate setting for the after-party. At the time, I was tired and hot from the lecture, and sweating after a 10-minute walk in my sports jacket carrying a heavy backpack containing artifacts and gear. I was also hungry and thirsty. We were lucky to be amongst the last customers to squeeze our way into the shop and make it to the counter. It was almost closing time. I could tell that this place was special. It had that tradtional vibe that I am so fond of in my drinking establishments. The nihonshu was excellent and the last remaining snacks of the evening were tasty. I really didn't have time to take in the full experience of Suzuden or take photographs. But I knew I had to return.

And I did return the very next afternoon, although this time I was too early. The tachinomiya was not open yet. I looked around Suzuden's liquor store (the original and main part of the business) and felt like a kid in a candy shop with all the bottles of nihonshu, shochu, whiskey, wine... I asked a staff member to recommend a nice bottle of nihonshu and was shown a premium sake from a famous brewery in Niigata; the brewery made this particular brand only to be sold at Suzuden. I bought two bottles. I talked with other staff members a bit and asked permission to take photos. Despite a displaying "No Photographs" sign, they gave me permission. I was able to go downstairs to see their sake cellar (described on their web site as a "underground refrigerated storage room, divided into three temperature zones [which] was built [by the family's previous and 6th generation chairman] with the sole desire to provide our customers with sake in the best possible condition, without degrading its freshness or flavor"); it was chilly and a little dark and a very much appreciated cool respite from the hot humid weather outside.

I was able to return to Suzuden in Janaury, 2025. I made sure I went in the evening so I could enjoy the tachinomiya. But before I went again I had done a little more research. Tachinomiya literally means "to stand and drink," and this style of drinking goes back to the Edo Period (1803-1868). It is different from an izakaya「居酒屋」in that one can sit down and eat at an izakaya. There are no chairs or stools at a tachinomiya; one is expected to stand while imbibing, which might limit the amount of time a customer stays at a tachinomiya (although I have seen this "rule" broken many times). Specifically, the drinking area at Suzuden is a kakuuchi「角打ち」, a place where customers can drink right at the liquor store. The kakuuchi is a specific type of tachinomiya that is inside a liquor shop rather than a regular drinking establishment like an izakaya or restaurant. There are some differences in terms of modern business licesnses (since 1948) as well. As a part of a liquor store, a kakuuchi has a Liquor Retail License combined with a basic or simplified food permission (canned food, simple snacks, oden, etc.), whereas an izakaya has a license based on food service hospitality regulations.

Before I started drinking, I looked around the sake shop again and bought two more bottles of the same nihonshu I purchased before. The staff was kind enough to wrap the bottles and keep them in a refigerator until I left. While drinking and eating, I was able to interact with more staff members and customers. I also formally met the founding family's 7th generation owner/chairman/represetative director and his sister, the executive vice presdient. I was took many photographs. It was a great evening.

A couple months later I made a small photo album of the photos I had taken in the previous two trips and sent it to Suzuden. They seemed very happy and signed off their thank you letter with "from your friends at Suzuden."

I returned to Suzuden for my fourth time in July, 2025. It had been a year and a half since I had been there. A few of the staff members remembered me. There were some other employees I hadn't met before. I bought two more bottles of my favorite nihonshu. The owners (I include the brother and sister with this term; they are definitely the bosses, but they work on the floor as well, greeting customers, serving drinks and washing dishes as needed) absolutely remembered me. And they gave me a real VIP treatment. The first drink and food orders were on the house. They gave me a shop towel. And they kept coming back to check up on me and talk. (Other customers wondered who the hell I was...) The kakuuchi technically opens at 5:00 PM. I had arrived at the shop a little after 4:30. I was the first to be allowed in the kakuuchi 15 minutes early. But many other people came early as well. The place was completely packed before the official 5:00 opening time. I told the owners that it was a good thing I got there early so I could get a spot at the counter. The sister told me, "you will always have a spot here."

Suzuden is 176 years old; it opened in 1850 (when Tokyo was still Edo) at the same spot where it is now in. The shop has gone through many changes and has weathered the years well, living though historical and challenging times such as the arrival of Commodore Perry and his black ships, the Meiji Restoration, Great Kanto Earthquake, Tokyo air raids, and COVID-19 pandemic. Suzuden has its own history and stories. I am not sure what I can add to that with more of my own simple words. (I apologize for the large amount of text here...)

What I present here are three batches of photos from the three times I visited and took photographs. This is the first time I am documeting Suzuden on VAoJ. This post starts with the most recent photos and then goes back through time. I hope to show the reader/viewer the development of my research, fieldwork, experiences and relationships with Suzuden. I am going to let the photos speak for themselves.

July 2026 ・ 2026年7月

January 2025 ・ 2025年1月

July 2024 ・ 2024年7月

On my way home to Osaka on the shinkansen...
新幹線で大阪の自宅へ帰る途中です...

***

This photo in January, 2025 is of a photographer from the Asahi Shimbun also documenting Suzuden.

I have already questioned what words I could add the to story of Suzuden. I have attempted to offer my own multimodal visual ethnography. But of course there is so much more to know. Not to worry, I will not leave my readers/viewers high and dry. Suzuden has been documented many times before. And so I am including here links to some of the words and photos (probably more illustrative and perfect than my own ethno-photographic attempts) of others that have been motivated to share the stories and history, usually in the context of enjoying sake along the way. I am also including links to more general descriptions of tachinomiya, often from a Kansai perspective. If you have suggestions for additonal links and/or comments and questions, please contact me. And explore VAoJ!

A sample of other online sources about Suzuden:
「鈴傳」に関するその他のオンライン情報源の例：

Suzuden Specialty Sake Shop Official Website
地酒専門店 鈴傳（すずでん） 公式サイト
http://suzuden-sake.com/

東京・四谷《スタンディングルーム鈴傳》
江戸時代から続く角打ちの聖地【前編】
｜新しい酒に出合える角打ちの名店①
Yotsuya, Tokyo: Standing Room Suzuden
A Mecca for *Kaku-uchi* (Shop-front Drinking) Dating Back to the Edo Period [Part 1] (2024)
A Renowned *Kaku-uchi* Spot Where You Can Discover New Sake ①
https://discoverjapan-web.com/article/121369

東京・四谷《スタンディングルーム鈴傳》
日本酒が進む呑兵衛好みの味つけ【後編】
｜新しい酒に出合える角打ちの名店①
Tokyo, Yotsuya: Standing Room Suzuden
Flavors that go perfectly with sake, a favorite of sake lovers [Part 2] (2024)
| A famous standing bar where you can discover new sake ①
https://discoverjapan-web.com/article/121378

創業170年、江戸より続く東京・角打ちの名店 四谷「鈴傳で一杯。」
"A drink at Suzuden in Yotsuya"—a renowned Tokyo *kaku-uchi* (standing bar) with a 170-year history dating back to the Edo period. (2024)
https://otokonokakurega.com/meet/secret-base/101139/

四ツ谷「スタンディングルーム鈴傳」#225　・　おんな類の酒場放浪記　(BS – TBS)
初回放送：2015年7月10日(金)
Yotsuya "Standing Room Suzuden" #225 *Onna-rui no Sakaba Hōrōki* (BS-TBS)
Original broadcast: July 10, 2015 (Fri)
https://bs.tbs.co.jp/onnasakaba/shop/225.html

男の聖地 角打ちに憩う: 全国名物立ち飲み酒屋特選 (ポスト・サピオムック)
Unwinding at the "Kaku-uchi": A Sanctuary for Men—A Selection of Famous Standing Bars Nationwide (Post-Sapio Mook, 2016)
Information about the mook: https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/news/141920
Available at Amazon.jp: https://www.amazon.co.jp/男の聖地-角打ちに憩う-全国名物立ち飲み酒屋特選-ポスト・サピオムック-小学館/dp/4091031684

Related Miscellaneous Sources on Japanese Tachinomiya and Kakuuchi:
日本の立ち呑み屋・角打ちに関するその他の関連資料

創業150余年なんばの老舗角打ち・シバチョウ本店をご紹介 Introducing Shibacho Main Store, a long-established standing bar in Namba with over 150 years of history. (2021)
https://ebisubashi-magazine.com/namba-shibacho-kakuuchi/

The Ultimate Local Experience: A Guide to Osaka’s Kaku-uchi Scene (2026)
https://osakaa.net/experience/osaka-kakuuchi-guide/

The Oldest Kakuuchi in Namba: Going Deep at SHIBACHO (2026)
https://www.osaka.com/drink/the-oldest-kakuuchi-in-namba-going-deep-at-shibacho/

Expoloring Osaka's Standing Bars Sober: A Guide to Friendly Fuse osaka.com/eat/exploring-osakas-standing-bars-sober-a-guide-to-friendly-fuse/

The standing bars of Osaka: Cheap, cheerful and nostalgic (2018)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2018/11/10/food/standing-bars-osaka-cheap-cheerful-nostalgic/

Kansai Tachinomiya Dive Bar Guide
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1386385474945319

Hanshin Tigers farm team game against Orix Buffaloes, August 13, 2026 @ Nippon Steel SGL Stadium Amagasaki (inside Zero Carbon Base Ball Park) ・ 2026年8月13日 阪神タイガース対オリックス・バファローズ（二軍戦）＠日本製鉄SGLスタジアム尼崎（ゼロカーボンベースボールパーク内）

The Nippon Steel SGL Stadium Amagasaki opened on March 1, 2025 as the home ball park for the Hanshin Tigers farm team, known as 二軍 (ni-gun, 2-gun), the second army, the second string players, the Japanese minor league and/or the farm... It is located inside the Zero Carbon Base Ball Park, and as the name might suggest, the park is commitmented to environmentalism, social contributions and SDGs. It is a quite nice and eco-friendly space where people can hang out to wait for the game to start. The park (but not the stadium) with its walking and jogging paths and multi-use plaza is open to the public on non-game days as well. While the park and stadium have many barrier-free accommodations (rest rooms, elevators, wheel chair user seating) they are still a lot of steps and stairs that are steep. And the stadium seats are on the small side...

Zero Carbon Base Ball Park website: https://zerocarbon-bp.hanshin.co.jp/

I arrived an hour before the stadium opened for the game. The park had friendly, mellow festival vibes. The day up until that time was cloudy and cooler, but the (soothing line of) clouds soon gave way and the sun's piercing heat hit hard...

2-gun team manager Katsuo Hirata (平田 勝男 no.78) welcomes you...

The current Hanshin rookie players and maybe a future one...

The outside food trucks: tako-yaki and Beef tongue rice bowls...

Pre-game activities still going on before the game...

Views of the stadium from my seat way up high at the end of the first base seats...

The stadium can seat 4,400 people. There are seats on the first and third base sides. There are standing only spaces in parts of the outfield. Most of the empty seats were filled by the time the game started...

The wheel chair user seat section above the Hanshin dugout (there were 3 sections like this in total in the stadium)...

The starting line-ups...

The sweets food booth with Dippin' Dots! My daughter's favorite...

The curry, player bento and fried foods booth... Although 2-gun had its own "gourmet" program, it was much smaller than the Koshien menus...

As per usual, I ate the カツカレー (katsu kare--), or pork cutlet curry; in Japanese, katsu also means "win!" I have a long streak at Koshien Stadium (home of the first team Hanshin Tigers) that when I eat the katsu curry, the Tigers win...

There were only 3 beer girls and 1 chu-hai girl to tend to the thirsty crowd. The waiting time to get a beverage was a little long. Here, the chu-hai girl navigates the steep stairs with her heavy box containing cans of chu-hai and lemon flavored ice near my seat...

We shouldn't forget that there was a baseball game going on, although on a very smaller scale... The atmosphere of the stadium was very different from Koshien. People were not as raucous. At times the stadium seemed dead quiet. That is not to say that fans were not paying homage to the players. But there was no real organzied cheering. Some pockets of people attempted to sing familiar cheer songs. But other groups were singing different chants in different parts of the stadium at the same time. The dissimilarity of this stadium and the scene at Koshien was striking...

Masahiro Tateishi (立石正広 no.9) was up to bat and the fans were excited. He was probably the biggest name player in the game. The Hanshin Tigers drafted Masahiro Tateishi in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball draft on October 23, 2025. There's a lot of hope that he will be a strong player and a super-star.

While he started out well when on the first team, he quickly and unfortunately started to decline. He was recently sent back down to the farm team with hopes he can work hard and improve. The fuzzy picture shows him striking out. For the night he went 0 for 4 (3 strike outs and one ground out to first)...

Struggling veteran Kento Itohara (糸原健斗 no.33) was put in as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 8th inning during the tied game...

He struck out swinging... At the end of 9 innings, the game ended in a 2-2 tie... (In the big league games, a tied game will go up to 12 innings before being concluded as an official tied game; this is because most fans take the train to the game and need to return home on the train before they stop running; 2-gun games stop after the completed 9th inning.).

Win or lose, the Hanshin tigers team lines up on the first base line and bows to the fans after the game.

Game summary: https://service.smt.docomo.ne.jp/portal/sports/baseball_f/schedule_live.html?game_id=2021040932#tab-record

For the record, I don't necessarily think my katsu curry winning streak has ended: The Tigers did not lose, and this was only the farm team...

I must admit, this is probably the worst baseball game I have ever seen. The players were mediocre at best. There is definitely a difference in experience and talent between the farm and first team players. Still, there is more to Japanese baseball (and baseball in general across borders) and the Hanshin Tigers than the actual game, rules and outcome. There is a spirit of support, respect and love for, what an anthropologist might refer to as, a performative cultural event - a combination of rituals that reconfirm important collective and individual beliefs. There is a a spririt of hope that the farm players will improve, move up to the first team and help the Tigers win. The stadium was packed, and most fans stayed until the end of the game. I always tell my students that the Hanshin Tigers are an important part of local Osaka (and Kansai) culture (and that they should go to a game at Koshien whether they like baseball or not). This experience at the farm certainly confirmed this claim. GO TIGERS!

Bonus 1!

The game also influenced me to do something that I should have done years ago: Watch Field of Dreams... I had never seen this 1989 classic film until today (the day after the 2-gun game). And it was great, once again capturing much more than the game. If you haven't seen it, you should...

Field of Dreams, Universal Studios (1989) Phil Alden Robinson, Director

Field of Dreams Official Trailer #1 (1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut06d4dptWo

Watch the film: https://ok.ru/video/11487319034521

Bonus 2!

「Summer ball park 甲子園」 

haiga by Kuniharu Shimizu 清水国治

August 9, 2026.

Shimizu sensei's haiga evokes the Japanese High School Baseball Tournament that is going on now at Koshiem Stadium. Whether it be at Koshien or Nippon Steel SGL Stadium, the line between light and shadow, hot and cold and win or lose is a part of, and transcends, the spirit of baseball...

See Shimizu sensei's work here: https://seehaikuhere2.blogspot.com/

Wow! How often do I get to end my show with a haiku like my hero Yoshida Rui (吉田類)?

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