Next opening of the new Kadokawa Culture Museum by Kengo Kuma

The new Kadokawa Culture Museum or "Kadokawa Musashino Museum" is part of the larger City of Tokorozawa Sakura complex in Saitama Prefecture, is housed in a project designed by Kengo Kuma will open on August 1, 2020.

Only 40 minutes by train from Ikebukuro Station this multi-purpose complex, located in western Tokyo, is taking Japan’s most popular anime, manga, novels and games, to promote Japan's pop culture trends worldwide.

The museum includes a hotel, an outdoor area lined with cherry trees, an indoor pavilion, a shrine, shops and restaurants. The project is an urban renovation example built on the ruins of a sewerage center covering about 40,000 square meters.

Kadokawa Culture Museum by Kengo Kuma. Photograph by Kenshu Shintsubo.

Kengo Kuma designed a main volume with pixelated shape, the facade is formed from 20,000 individual pieces of granite, and the polyhedron-shaped building is divided into five floors, including a garden, an art gallery, two museums and a cafe.

The symbol of the museum and its most attractive feature is a space surrounded by an eight-meter-high bookshelves, called “Hondana Gekijo” (Library Theater), that holds around 50,000 books, including Kadokawa publications. On level four, the multifunctional space can be transformed into a performance hall using projection mapping.

Other facilities for the Kadokawa Culture Museum will include the EJ Anime Museum, which introduces Japanese anime through a unique viewpoint, and a library boasting a collection of 2.5 million comics and young adult fictions called “light novels.”

The complex include the EJ Anime Hotel, which will feature Kadokawa’s anime, video game, comics and films for its 33 guest rooms available in five different types. Moreover, the Japan Pavilion comprising two large and small event halls can host large-scale e-sports tournaments, so-called “2.5-dimension musicals” that are based on manga, anime and video game titles, and film screenings.

A Shinto shrine designed by Kengo Kuma will also be founded.

Main facilities.-

1st floor: Grand Gallery, Manga Ranobe Library, Genji Garden.
2nd floor: General information, corner cafe, rock museum shop (Opening November 6).
3rd floor: EJ Anime Museum (Opening in fall 2020).
4th floor: Edit Town (Opening November 6th), Aramata Wonder Hihokan (Opening November 6th), Bookshelf Theater (Opening November 6th).
5th floor: Musashino Corridor (Opening November 6th), Musashino Gallery (Opening November 6th), Restaurant (Opening November 6th), Bookshelf Theater (Opening November 6th).

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Kadokawa Culture Museum by Kengo Kuma. Photograph by Kadokawa Culture Museum

Rendering by Kengo Kuma & Associates / Kajima Corporation

Floors plan. Kadokawa Culture Museum by Kengo Kuma. Courtesy of Kadokawa Culture Museum

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More information

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Architects Arquitectos

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Kengo Kuma and Associates.

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Client Cliente

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Kadokawa Corp and the Tokorozawa city government.
Editorial Kadokawa y el gobierno de la ciudad de Tokorozawa.

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Builder company Empresa Constructora

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Kashima Construction.
Gerencia de Construcción.- Kume Design.

Kashima Construction.
Construction Management.- Kume Design.

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Area Superficie

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Superficie total.- 40.000 m².
Superficie construida.- alrededor de 12.000 m² (alrededor de 3.600 tsubo).
Total builded area.- 40,000 m².
Total builded area.- About 12,000 m² (about 3,600 tsubo).

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Medidas Measurements

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Altura.- 39,65 m (5 pisos sobre el suelo y dos bajo rasante) La altura desde la cuenca es de 31 m.
Número de piedras en la envolvente exterior.- 20.000.
Peso de una piedra.- 50 kg-70 kg.
Cantidad total de piedras.- 6.000 metros cuadrados.
Peso total de las piedras.- aproximadamente 1.200 t.
Origen de piedra.- Shandong, China.

Height.- 39.65m (5 floors above ground, 2 floors below ground) Height from basin is 31m.
Number of stones on the outer wall.- 20,000.
Weight of one stone.- 50kg-70kg.
Total amount of stone.- 6,000 square meters.
Total weight of stones.- Approximately 1,200t.
Stone Origin.- Shandong, China.

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Dates Fechas

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Inicio de los trabajos de construcción 1 de febrero de 2018.
Fecha de preapertura.- sábado 1 de agosto de 2020.
* Planeada para el sábado 6 de junio de 2020, pero fue pospuesta.
* La gran inauguración está programada para el viernes 6 de noviembre.

Start of construction work February 1, 2018.
Pre-opening date.- Saturday, August 1, 2020.
*Saturday, June 6, 2020 was planned, but it was postponed.
*The grand opening is scheduled for Friday, November 6th.

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Localitation Localización

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3-31, Wada, Higashidokorozawa, Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Japan.
3-31, Wada, Higashidokorozawa, Tokorozawa, Prefectura de Saitama. Japón.

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Photography Fotografía

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Kenshu Shintsubo.

Kengo Kuma. Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA)

Kengo Kuma was born in Yokohama (Kanagawa, Japan) in 1954. He studied architecture at the University of Tokyo, finishing his degree in 1979. In 1987, he opened the "Spatial Design Studio". In 1990 he founded "Kengo Kuma & Associates" and extended the study to Europe (Paris, France) in 2008. Since 1985 and until 2009, has taught as a visiting professor and holder at the universities of Columbia, Keio, Illinois and Tokyo.

Notable projects include Japan National Stadium (2019), V&A Dundee (2019), Odunpazari Modern Art Museum (2019), and The Suntory Museum of Art (2007).

Kengo Kuma proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings. His major publications include Zen Shigoto(The complete works, Daiwa S hobo)Ten Sen Men (“point, line, plane”, IwanamiShoten), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na Kenchiku(Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, IwanamiShinsho) and many others.

Main Awards:

· 2011 The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for "Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum."
· 2010 Mainichi Art Award for “Nezu Museum.”
· 2009 "Decoration Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" (France).
· 2008 Energy Performance + Architecture Award (France). Bois Magazine International Wood Architecture Award (France).
· 2002 Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award (Finland).
· 2001 Togo Murano Award for “Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum.”
· 1997 Architectural Institute of Japan Award for “Noh Stage in the Forest”. First Place, AIA DuPONT Benedictus Award for “Water/Glass” (USA).