Sōgakudō Concert Hall

The Sōgakudō Concert Hall, in Taitō, Tokyo, is the oldest Western style concert hall in Japan, established in 1890 for the Tokyo Music School, now Tokyo University of the Arts. As the original building aged, Taitō ward acquired it in 1972 and it was designated an Important Cultural Property, and it was later relocated to Ueno Park, where a statue of its alumnus Rentarō Taki stands nearby. A new concert hall opened on the university campus in April 1998, designed with acoustic isolation, including rubber springs, to shield it from the vibration of the subway line running beneath it.