[caption caption="Kyoto International Manga Museum (credit : Kyoto International Manga Museum)"][/caption]
If you have any interest in manga, Kyoto International Manga Museum is a must-visit. Nowadays, Japanese manga has been very popular around the world and this museum was built in order to give any contributions of life-long learning, tourism promotion, human development and creation of a new industry.
On April 2013, officials of Kyoto Seika University gave a proposal about Kyoto International Manga Museum to Kyoto City Government. It was planned to be built on the site of the former Tatsuike Elementary School and approved by the committee on the use of former primary school sites in Kyoto. Then they began to start their project. Kyoto International Manga Museum officially opened on November 2006.
[caption caption="Tatsuike Elementary School (credit : Kyoto International Manga Museum)"]
Former Tatsuike Elementary School, that was opened on Nov 1869, was built with the donation from residents of Tatsuike school district that hope for a great education. In the first years of its founding, this school played a siginificant role in Kyoto but due to decreasing number of students in recent years, it was merged with Umeya, Chikkan, Fuyu and Kasuga on April 1995 to become Gosho Minami Primary School.
[caption caption="Inside the Museum (credit : Kyoto International Manga Museum)"]
Kyoto International Manga Museum is a kind of paradise for manga readers. After you paid the entrance fee (800 yen/ adult), you could enjoy reading all mangas here. This museum has 300.000 item of collections, but 250,000 books, including historical works, is stored in Research Reference Room for conservation and research purpose. Majority of the manga here is provided in Japanese (most of the collection were donated by rental bookstore Okubo Negishi Books from 1970s – 2005). But don’t worry, they also porvide mangas in other languages and it is placed in Manga Expo section. Foody even read a volume of Dr. Slump (English series). They realize that 10% of visitors are international tourists and also to show that manga has reached ages and regions in the world. You could also donate mangas/comics, comic magazines, comic information magazines and animation information magazines published abroad to them (make sure the condition of those stuffs are great) by filling the donation first in their website http://kyotomm.jp
[caption caption="Wall of Manga (credit : Kyoto International Manga Museum)"]
Museum Guides :
- Manga Expo (1st floor)
- Manga Studio/ Portrait Corner (1st floor). Opens only on Saturday, Sunday, and National holidays
- Children’s Library (1st floor) . On weekdays, opens for public but on busy periods, only could be entered by children in elementary school age or under, and their parents/ guardians.
- Exhibition of 100 maiko illustrations (1st & 2nd floor)
- Tatsuike Memorial Room (2nd floor)
- Playhouse of Picture-Story (kami shibai) show (2nd floor, gallery 5)
- Object D’Art Hi No Tori (Pheonix) / (Atrium & 2nd Floor)
- Main Exhibition Room “What is Manga?” (2nd floor, main gallery). They provide mangas from 1945-2005.
- Research Reference Room (3rd floor, Research Room 2).
- Wall of Manga (1st floor – 3rd floor)
- 1st floor = shonen (boys) manga
- 2nd floor = shojo (girls) manga
- 3rd floor = seinen (young adults) manga
- Exhibition Rooms (2nd floor, Gallery 1,2,3,4 and 6)
- There was a exhibition of Osamu Tezuka’s blackjack on the day we got there. It’s very interesting to read one by one of doctors’ quotes based on the scenes in Black Jack manga.
- Workshop (only on Saturday, Sunday, and national holiday). Also
- available for groups of 5 people or more on weekdays with advanced reservation.
- Archives (basement), not open for public.
- Museum shop (1st floor)
- Museum cafe (1st floor)
- Footy enjoyed time here with drinking coffee and eating french fries, waiting for the late Foody. Hahaha.......
[caption caption="Super Big Courtyard (credit : Kyoto International Manga Museum)"]
And of course, a super big courtyard in front of Kyoto International Manga Museum. A lot of kids brought mangas and laid there while reading those. No other places that gave freedom like this, we thought.
