Pamphlet from Tokyo's First Planetarium

Last month in this column I noted that the first planetarium in eastern Japan and the second in Japan was installed in November Showa 13 (1938) at the To-Nichi Astronomical Hall inside the To-Nichi Kaikan in Yurakucho, built by Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, predecessor of The Mainichi Newspapers. Amateur astronomer Seiji Ogawa, who saw that piece, has sent a copy of the pamphlet issued at the opening — a document precious both historically and to astronomy fans.

Ogawa once volunteered at the Goto Planetarium in Shibuya, photographed auroras, and collects and researches old astronomical materials, preserving documents not even held by the National Astronomical Observatory and providing them to its archive.

The pamphlet is a B5 bi-fold. The cover title reads "November at the Astronomical Hall," with a feature on "The Great Andromeda Nebula" and a large photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy. The inside spread opens with the bold headline "Viewing the Skirmish Line of Stars" — very much of the militarist era. For November's stars it describes Venus as evening and morning star, the Andromeda Galaxy, the twin open clusters between Cassiopeia and Perseus, the globular cluster in Hercules, the Pleiades in Taurus, the cross of the Milky Way and Cygnus, and Orion's layout in the night sky.

That year, like this one, was apparently a good year for celestial shows: soon after opening, on November 8 came the year's second lunar eclipse, and on the 22nd a partial solar eclipse, explained in detail. The planetarium (celestial projector) apparently projected those events as well.

Admission to the To-Nichi Astronomical Hall was 50 sen for adults and 25 sen for children. In an era when soba cost 10 sen, anpan 5 sen, the Yamanote Line's minimum fare 5 sen, pencils 3–5 sen, and a new teacher's starting salary 50 yen, today's prices would put planetarium admission at roughly 1,500–2,000 yen — somewhat steep. Yet soldiers, students, pupils, and children received group discounts by head count, up to 40 percent off. Soldiers were clearly favored; one reads that planetaria were widely used to teach servicemen posted elsewhere to read the stars for place and time.