A Museum Where Imagination and Anima Are at Play

Kadokawa Culture Museum

Imagine. Associate. Fantasize.

We have been doing those things since childhood, no matter where in the globe we live.
A great deal of imagination is always coming into and going out of us.
Out of such imaginative minds sprang constellations, deities, Buddhist statues, and other minds created stories about monsters, Little Red Riding Hood, Kaguyahime (the Moon Princess), Superman, and Astro Boy.

Literature, architecture, painting, and music have resulted from combining these imaginations. Stationery, canvas, musical instruments, physical spaces , and other "tools" were ingeniously created to display these artistic expressions. Science and technology also contributed to their evolution. Museums were originally places to store and display the outcomes of the imaginations of these "muses" or goddesses of literature, science, and the arts.

Feel. Enjoy. Think.

We can never escape from our brains, minds, or bodies.
Our five senses are in action, responding to rhythms and figures, communicating in words, falling in love, and sharing wisdom.
Ancient people considered these acts of "anima." Modern people consider them to be the working of calculating neurons.

Kadokawa Culture Museum desires to go back to where these "imaginations, associations, and fantasies" came from, and show visitors what activates anima.

That is why we have created wonder-full buildings, made forests of books, and are displaying exhibits that give visitors wings of imagination. Cutting-edge technologies and fantasies of the 21st century are also incorporated. The powers of imagination, association, and fantasy - powers to enjoy, think about, and experience. A mixture of these is what this museum wishes to offer.

Although the world and Japan today are struggling with the effects of a permeating, invisible power, we are all trying to fight back and establish a new outlook on the future of humanity. Challenges are arising daily from a complex environment and networks, resulting in the mutation of genes and viruses. However, civilization and cultures have a history of turning invisible power into visible forms. For both local residents and global citizens, Kadokawa Culture Museum, located in a small corner of Higashi-Tokorozawa, shall devote itself to turning the invisible into the visible to the best of its ability.

Seigow MATSUOKA
Director
Kadokawa Culture Museum