龍口町塵芥燒却場

August 21st, 2024

Ryukocho Incinerator (龍口町塵芥燒却場) was one of three large-scale material waste disposal facilities constructed in Taipei from 1932 to 1933. Located immediately across from Taipei Botanical Garden (臺北植物園) and completed in January 1933, it featured a set of four natural draft carbonization furnaces manufactured by Iwamoto Industrial Co. Ltd. (岩本工業株式会社), a Japanese firm based in Ishikawa and still in operation today. More than 50 of these incinerators were built around Japan, with an unknown number operating in Taiwan, but this appears to be the only remaining site still in existence anywhere in former Empire of Japan.

In the long grass in front of the old incinerator.

The operation of the incinerator is known with some detail thanks to the many records kept by colonial officials¹. Sanitation workers, after completing their rounds in the early morning hours, would have pushed rickshaws along a reinforced concrete ramp to dump refuse directly into the furnaces from above. A tall chimney, 120 feet in height, created negative pressure to keep the fires burning—and the aroma of burning garbage aloft—but it was knocked down long ago. At least some waste was reprocessed into charcoal briquettes which were then made available to local residents.

A closer look at the furnaces and the scaffolding now supporting this precarious structure.

Another look at the front of the incinerator.

Less is known about the post-war history of this incinerator, although local historians have pieced together a likely timeline². All three incinerators in Taipei operated until at least the late 1950s, and possible into the 1960s. After this facility went out of service it was eventually converted into residences by squatters, a common practice in the Taipei of decades ago. People would have moved into the former office, a building located in what is now the empty lot in front of the incinerator, as well as building new structures inside and around anyplace that could accommodate four walls and a roof. Tiles can be found in various parts of the forecourt as well as inside one of the furnaces itself, suggesting someone may have been living in there at some point!

This deity appears disfigured, possibly a victim of fire.

Although this wasn’t originally an entrance, someone has knocked down part of the external wall to make an entrance of sorts.

Inside the incinerator. The installation of a tiled floor suggests this might have once been a residence.

Skulking around the dark reaches of the former incinerator.

The view from within the incinerator. A garbage chute can be seen overhead.

This end of the former incinerator is used for storage.

Another perspective on the old incinerator.

By most accounts this facility was almost completely lost until 2005, when its original function was recognized. Although it isn’t mentioned anywhere, I wonder if this was a consequence of the aggressive urban renewal campaigns sweeping through the city at that time. In any case, the squatters left sometime after a fire struck in 2010, and their crude shacks were demolished to to more clearly identify which parts of the site were original. Perhaps it was this blaze that scorched the idols now serenely resting in the furnace doors?

Faint traces of a Japanese phrase remain: “Patented Iwamoto Method” (特許岩本式).

Traces of the shanty town that once occupied the forecourt of the incinerator can still be seen. Tiled floors are underfoot in many areas, and a few walls still stand.

The Ministry of Culture formally designated this historic public sanitation facility a heritage property in 2014. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to have been much effort put into restoring the site and opening it to the public in the decade since then. Flimsy barriers were erected at the perimeter and more recently some metal scaffolding has been installed to prevent total collapse, but if there are plans for this site, I haven’t been able to locate any. Why not convert this site into a small museum to public health history in Taipei? The area is already rich with potential for self-guided walking tours.

The view from beneath the reinforced concrete ramp.

From the perspective of the base of the ramp leading to the top of the incinerators.

Ascending the ramp, as sanitation workers would have done nearly a century ago.

Overlooking the main body of the incinerator from the ramp.

The other two incinerators built around the same time have both been destroyed, but remnants of one may remain. While Dalongdong Incinerator (大龍峒町塵芥燒却場) is completely gone, it seems plausible that the ramp leading to the second floor of Xinyi Market (臺北市公有信義市場) is a relic of the original Da’an Incinerator (大安塵芥燒却場).

Steel supports have also been installed behind the old incinerator. No evidence of the former chimney can be seen here, but this is where it likely stood.

Two more discarded gods outside the incinerator grounds: Guanyin and Kṣitigarbha (地藏).

A passing shot from back in 2014, when I had no idea what this place was.

Finally, if you plan to visit, please be cautious about the state of the site. The brick walls of the incinerator could collapse at almost any minute, and the reinforced concrete ramp isn’t looking so sturdy either. The site is quite overgrown; expect mosquitoes and beware of snakes!

Many of the technical details for this piece were gleaned from a Japanese language journal article, Iwamoto-type MSW incinerator discovered in Taipei City, published in 2015. ↩
This post from a local school demonstrates the use of historic maps to solve puzzles like this one. ↩

Warning: this location is abandoned, hazardous, or otherwise neglected and may be unsafe and even dangerous! Exercise appropriate precautions when visiting.

警告：此處已廢棄或長期無人管理，可能存在潛在危險。造訪時請務必提高警覺，並做好相關安全防護措施。

Map

Address: 台北市中正區和平西路二段104巷內

Heritage Status

Historic Building (歷史建築)

Recorded On

November 2nd, 2014
September 14th, 2023
August 21st, 2024

Sources

Mizutani Satoshi & Yen Chia-Jen, Iwamoto-type MSW incinerator discovered in Taipei City, Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 2015 『台北市で発見された岩本式焼却炉について』、2015