Travel Spots

Tottori: Mizuki Shigeru Museum Reopens After Yearlong Renovation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:26 JST, May 4, 2024

SAKAIMINATO, Tottori — A museum in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, showcasing the achievements of mangaka Shigeru Mizuki (1922-2015) has reopened after a yearlong renovation.

Shigeru Mizuki was born in Sakai¬minato and became famous for his manga “GeGeGe no Kitaro,” which features many Japanese yokai monsters.

Due to the aging of the facility, the city government has been rebuilding the Mizuki Shigeru Museum, which opened in March 2003. The new facility is a two-story steel-frame building. It has a floor space of approximately 1,700 square meters, about 1.5 times that of the old facility. A temperature-controlled room has been installed to exhibit Kitaro’s original artworks and other drawings.

The permanent exhibition shows Mizuki’s life through his works, from his amateur days to his masterpiece war cartoon “Soin Gyokusai Seyo!” (Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths), which is a fictionalized account of his wartime experiences.

Numerous yokai figurines are also displayed in a dimly lit room that resembles a cave. When the museum opened on April 20, visitors were greeted by costumed yokai.

The museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the year. Admission is ¥1,000 for adults.