Izumi Kyoka Kinenkan Museum

Experience Izumi Kyoka’s world of imagination in the museum constructed on the site of the home where he was born.

Izumi Kyoka lost his mother when he was just a little boy. Nonetheless, he was able to channel the adoration he felt for his departed mother to weave tales of romance and fantasy, creating a unique literary world known today as "Kyoka's World."

Kyoka got his start in the world here in Kanazawa, where he was born to a father who was a skilled artisan and a mother who was the daughter of a musician in the local Noh theater. After moving to Tokyo, his works gained a wider audience. Writing during the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods, he eventually came to be considered a literary master in the genre of romantic literature. "Giketsu-kyouketsu," "Koya Hijiri (The Holy Man of Mt. Koya)," "Onna Keizu," "Nihonbashi" and "Tenshu Monogatari" are among the many dazzling masterpieces that he has left us. Many of his stories have moved beyond the literary world to be turned into plays, films and other forms of art. The charm of Kyoka's World maintains its appeal even today. Here in the spot where Kyoka was born and raised, you may browse the exhibits in the museum and engage with the unique artistic sensibility expressed in the pages of his books. You may also feel the presence of the author's everyday life in the objects he used during his lifetime.

Biography of Izumi Kyoka

1873		Born on November 4th in Shimoshin-cho's 23rd District as Kyotaro, the oldest son of the Kyoka family, Seiji, was a metal engraver. His mother, Suzu, was born in Edo, and was the daughter of a Kadono-style Noh drummer, known by the musician name Nakata Inosuke, as well as the alias Manzaburo, and later Toyoki.
1882	Age 9	Mother Suzu passes away at the age of 28.
1890	Age 17	Moves to Tokyo to be a novelist, inspired by the work of Ozaki Koyo
1891	Age 18	Begins apprenticeship under Ozaki Koyo on October 19th as a houseboy.
1892	Age 19	Makes his debut with Kanmuri Yazaemon, serialized in the The Kyoto Hi no De Shinbun.
1894	Age 21	Father Seiji passes away. Giketsu Kyoketsu (The Righteous and the Chivalrous) serialized in The Yomiuri Shinbun in November.
1895	Age 22	Recognized as a budding author for Yako Junsa(Night Watchman) and Gekashitsu(The Operating Room).
1899	Age 26	Meets his future wife Ito Suzu at the Kenyusha New Year's party.
1900	Age 27	Publishes his masterpiece, Koya Hijiri(The Holy Man of Mount Koya) in Shinsyosetsu.
1903	Age 30	Ozaki Koyo passes away on October 30th. From then, pressure from the school of literary naturalism intensifies.
1905	Age 32	Summer-Moves to Zushi City in Kanagawa in order to care for his deteriorating health. Stays there for three and a half years.
1907	Age 34	Onna Keizu(The Genealogy of Women) serialized in The Yamato Shinbun.
1909	Age 36	Returns to Tokyo in February. Joins the Association of Literary Revolutionaries in April.
1917	Age 44	Publishes his most famous play Tenshu Monogatari (Tale of a Castle Keep) in Shinsyosetsu.
1937	Age 64	Becomes a member of the Imperial Art Academy in June.
1939		Passes away on September 7th at the age of 65. Buried in Zoshigaya cemetery, Tokyo.

Floor Map

Entrance Hall : Installation of "The Holy Man of Mt. Koya"

You are invited to experience Izumi Kyoka's strange, mysterious, and sometimes troubling world in this installation of his most famous story. Walk with the holy man of Mt. Koya as he passes through "the Forest of Leeches."

Information

Hours

9:30a.m.-5:00p.m. *No admittance after 4:30p.m.

Closed

Tuesdays
*When Tuesday is a national holiday closed on the following weekday instead.
New Year's Holidays
*December 29th-January 3rd
*Closed occasionally for the replacement of exhibitions etc.

Admission