Shibaryotarokinenkan Memorial Museum

This facility opened in 2001 to carry forward the spirit of author Shiba Ryotaro, who penned 'Ryoma ga Yuku,' 'Kaido wo Yuku,' and countless other works before his sudden death in 1996. On roughly 2,600㎡ of grounds stand Shiba's own home alongside a memorial hall designed by architect Tadao Ando. Passing through the main gate reveals a small copse-like garden, and visitors can view his study — preserved exactly as it was while he wrote — through a window. The memorial hall's entire 11-meter wall is a bookshelf holding some 20,000 volumes. The hall screens footage of Shiba in life and hosts lectures and rakugo performances, with themed exhibitions on his work held twice a year. (Photos courtesy of the Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Foundation)