News Renovated Meiji-era residence in Setagaya opens as manga gallery

Good news for once on the preservation of historical buildings:

A Western-style house in Tokyo, originally constructed during the Meiji Era in the 1880s, has been transformed into a manga gallery, a remarkable conversion made possible through the collaborative efforts of renowned manga artists, including Kazumi Yamashita and Rumiko Takahashi. The house, once the residence of Theodora Ozaki, a London-born translator of Japanese literature into English, will now serve as a platform to introduce manga culture. Yamashita, celebrated for her work "Tensai Yanagisawa Kyoju no Seikatsu" (depicting the life of genius professor Yanagisawa), initiated a preservation project when a proposal to demolish the ageing residence in Setagaya Ward emerged in 2019. Through crowdfunding and support from fellow manga luminaries like Takahashi (known for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Inuyasha") and Tatsuo Nitta (author of "Shizukanaru Don"), this historic house now celebrates the fusion of art, history, and creativity.

The residence will host exhibitions, starting with a charity event to display original illustrations by 38 manga artists, including Moto Hagio and Ryoko Yamagishi. Their works will be available for auction in person or online from Friday through March 12, with the proceeds used to restore the building. It houses a cafe and a shop to sell manga-related goods on the first floor and a gallery space on the second floor that will be open to visitors with reservations. "I was especially excited to see the works of Rumiko Takahashi and Tatsuo Nitta," said Yoshimitsu Nishimata, a manga fan who came to visit from Chiba Prefecture, adding he had learned about the residence and the exhibition from Yamashita's social media posts. The original building is said to have been built in 1888 by politician Saburo Ozaki for his daughter Theodora. She later married the politician Ozaki Yukio, called the "god of constitutional politics," also known for sending cherry blossom trees to Washington.

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