KAI, Yamanashi: Fans flocked to a museum that looks back at the history of Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty and other globally popular characters, on the day of its opening in Kai, Yamanashi Prefecture, on April 3.
Yamanashi Ichigo no Osama Museum: Sanrio Sogyosha Tsuji Shintaro Kinenkan honours Sanrio founder and honorary chairman Shintaro Tsuji, 98, a native of Kofu, the prefectural capital. The museum is the first to trace the history of the founder and the company.
Tsuji, who survived the Kofu air raids during World War II, founded Yamanashi Silk Centre, the predecessor to Sanrio, in 1960.
With hopes of world peace, he continued to develop gift items and other products, creating more than 450 characters, with the corporate philosophy of everyone getting along together.
The museum, whose name translates into English as the “Yamanashi strawberry king museum: Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji memorial hall”, consists of two log cabin-style wooden buildings with a total floor area of 568 sq m: the Sanrio history museum and the Shintaro Tsuji memorial hall.
Inside, exhibits include a giant Hello Kitty sculpture and an art installation featuring the company’s character plush toys on a tree-like structure about four metres tall.
There is an area that recreates Tsuji’s office, including the actual desk he used when working.
The museum also showcases the history of the Gekkan Ichigo Shimbun (The Strawberry News), first published in 1975. Tsuji continues to contribute essays to the magazine under pen name The Strawberry King.
At the opening ceremony, Tsuji took to the stage in a wheelchair and said: “I hope this town becomes a place where many children visit.”
Tsuji and guests, including Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki and Kai Mayor Takeshi Hosaka, were joined by Hello Kitty for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening.
A housewife in her 40s from Nanto, Toyama Prefecture, who visited with her husband and eldest son, walked around the museum while carrying a Sanrio character bag over her shoulder.
She smiled and said: “The content was richer than I expected, and it was great to learn about the characters while having fun.”
The museum is open from 10am to 5pm and is closed on Tuesdays, except on national holidays. Reservations are required to enter.
The facility was built in Kai because of Tsuji’s deep admiration for Yamagata Daini, a native of Kai and scholar from the mid-Edo period known as the “god of learning”.
According to city officials, after learning that Sanrio was searching for a site in the prefecture to build the museum, they suggested a location on a hill with views of Mount Fuji and highlighted the connection between Tsuji and Yamagata Daini.
Last October, the city launched a project in collaboration with organisations such as the local chamber of commerce and industry, East Japan Railway and Central Nippon Expressway.
The initiative aims to discuss both infrastructure and promotional strategies and finalise a basic concept by the end of this fiscal year.
According to a city official, the aim is to maximise the impact of the museum in the region. - The Japan News/ANN
