Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum and Library (narrative and photos)

Ryotaro Shiba started writing historical novels after World War II and won the prestigious Naoki Prize for his 1959 novel, "Fukuro no Shiro" ("The Castle of an Owl").

His best-selling books include "Ryoma ga Yuku" ("Ryoma Is Going"), about the life of Ryoma Sakamoto, a major figure in Japan's transformation from feudal military rule in the 1860's.

For the last quarter-century, Mr. Shiba's articles on his travels around Japan were printed weekly in the magazine Shukan Asahi in a series that reached 1,146 installments. He received the Government's Order of Cultural Merit in 1993.

The Museum in his honor consists of two parts, his former house and a museum newly built after his death. You can walk around the garden and see the author's study from outside. The author lived here until his death, 12th. Feb. 1996.

Inside one sees the huge bookshelf(11 meters high) housing his more than 20,000 books.

The building was designed by Ando Tadao.