DORAEMON: robocat for the ages

Kenichi Sato / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

A museum showcasing the work of Fujiko F. Fujio, the late manga artist who created such characters as Doraemon and Obake no Q-taro, opened in Kawasaki earlier this month.

The Fujiko F. Fujio Museum features about 50,000 original drawings, a desk and other items used by the artist, whose real name was Hiroshi Fujimoto, until his death in 1996.

The three-story museum was constructed on the former site of the Mukogaoka Yuen amusement park in the city's Tama Ward. The park closed in 2002.

Entering the museum, visitors are welcomed by popular manga characters painted on the white walls, including Q-taro and Korosuke from Kiteretsu Daihyakka.

Written at the entrance is a warning that mice are not allowed as Doraemon, the animated, catlike robot with secret tools who travels back through time from the 22nd century, is afraid of mice.

"We opened the museum to show the artist's original drawings to the public. We hope visitors will allow enough time to really enjoy the exhibits," said Zensho Ito, the curator of the museum and also the president of Fujiko Production.

Doraemon is known for pulling amazing gadgets out of his pocket, such as the "takecopter" (bamboo helicopter), "super gloves" and the "dokodemo door," (anywhere door) that allows instantaneous travel to anywhere the user wishes.

Original color drawings are shown in the first-floor exhibition area, featuring an entrance modeled after the dokodemo door. The second floor holds the artist's original drawings in a room softly lit to preserve the original drawings, and visitors are sure to be enchanted by the vivid pictures of the manga stories they loved as children.

His workspace is recreated faithfully, with his books and toys filling the shelves in the high-ceilinged room. These mementos show the artist's diverse and wide-ranging interests.

Visitors can also enjoy a Doraemon-shaped vending machine dispensing character goods or eat French toast shaped like "ankipan," one of Doraemon's secret items. Ankipan is bread on which a note can be written and when it is eaten, you automatically memorize the contents of the note.

The artist's family proposed the museum to the Kawasaki city government 12 years ago. However, financial difficulties prevented the city from acting on the proposal. In the end, Fujiko Production, which owns the Doraemon properties, and the family built the museum at a cost of about 1.7 billion yen on land provided by the city government, later donating the museum to the city.

With public and private cooperation, the museum is operated by the production company at an annual cost of about 200 million yen. "It's not easy to stay in the black, but we'd like to continue to manage the museum to display the anime culture and give something back to people who enjoy the cartoons," Ito said.

In the outdoors area, visitors can see statues of various characters such as Doraemon, his wishy-washy friend Nobita and Paman.

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The Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, about 10 minutes by shuttle bus from Noborito Station on the Odakyu or JR Nanbu lines, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for Tuesdays and the year-end and New Year holiday periods. Reservations are required. Admission is 1,000 yen for adults, 700 yen for middle and high school students and 500 yen for younger children (those under 4 are free). Tickets are available at Lawson convenience stores. For more information, call (0570) 055-245, or visit http://fujiko-museum.com.