London has its Bloomsbury, Paris its Montmartre and New York its Greenwich Village.

In Japan's capital, however, it's Tabata that is synonymous with the artistic lifestyle -- a name that might not possess the same symbolic undertones as its Western counterparts but which, during the Meiji and Taisho eras, was known as "the Montmartre of Japan."

This year marks the 100th anniversary since painter and Tochigi native Hoan Kosugi set up his easel in Tabata and started a tradition in the Kita Ward district that was to continue for almost four decades.