[The Magic of Art 05] Osaragi Jiro Memorial Museum: Writers, Literature, and Cats

Jiro Osaragi, a novelist with ties to Yokohama and known as a cat lover, gained popularity with his Kurama Tengu series starting in 1924, and continued to write in a wide range of genres for about 50 years. My favorite children's story, "Switcho Neko," is one of his representative works. This time, we will be speaking with Naoko Ofusa of the Jiro Osaragi Memorial Museum.

The literature left behind by Jiro Osaragi

The Osaragi Jiro Memorial Museum is located in Harbor View Park, overlooking Yokohama Port. After Mr. Osaragi's death, his family donated his books and materials to the city of Yokohama, and the museum opened on May 1, 1978, in the Yamate area, which frequently appears in his works.

—The memorial hall has a beautiful red brick exterior.

Thank you for visiting. This museum houses approximately 70,000 items, including Osaragi's handwritten manuscripts, personal belongings, and items related to French literature and history, which he has been interested in since his student days.

—I had the opportunity to look at Mr. Osaragi's many works again in the reading room. They cover a wide range of genres, including novels, non-fiction, essays, plays, and children's literature.

While majoring in political science at Tokyo Imperial University, Obusa Daibutsu was drawn to literature, especially theater. After marrying while still a student, he made a living as a teacher and a consultant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and also contributed translations to magazines.
However, the magazine ceased publication due to the Great Kanto Earthquake. Seeking income, he tried his hand at historical novels in the style of kōdan (traditional Japanese storytelling) under the pen name "Jirō Ōsaragi," which became a huge success. His first work featuring Kurama Tengu, "The Old Woman with the Demon Mask," was well-received and turned into a series, making him instantly famous. After that, he served as a Naoki Prize selection committee member for 39 years and also received the Order of Culture. He dedicated himself to the literary world until his death on April 30, 1973, at the age of 75.

—Why is the memorial hall located in Yokohama, and not in Kamakura, where your home is?

It's because it's the place where Daibutsu Obusa was born and held in his heart. For about 10 years, starting in 1931 when he became a popular author, he used Room 318 of the Hotel New Grand as his workspace. Yokohama, with its exotic and free atmosphere, was a beloved hometown located midway between his familiar home in Kamakura and Tokyo where his editorial office was located, and it was a stimulating place that provided inspiration for his works. Even today, the Hotel New Grand still has the "Tengu Room," which remains popular along with novels such as "Muteki," a novel set in Yokohama in the early Meiji era.

—Mr. Obusa, please tell us what you think is the appeal of Obutsu's works.

Perhaps it's the breadth of Obusa 's knowledge and meticulous approach that makes his works so compelling to read. My recommendation is "The Emperor's Century," an unfinished masterpiece that began serialization in newspapers to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration. It's a historical biography that chronicles the history of the Japanese people across the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras, touching upon the spirit of each era, and was started by Obusa when he was 70 years old. He consulted a vast amount of material to be faithful to historical facts, and despite his illness, he continued writing, even conducting interviews in distant locations, but it ended in death after 1,555 installments.

This work, which he dedicated his life to, strongly reveals Osaragi's keen eye for the times, a quality he possessed as a leading figure in popular literature and also excelling in period novels and historical literature. If it had been completed... our image of Osaragi Jiro might have been slightly different.

The blue, white, and red colors are inspired by the French tricolor flag.

Osaragi was born near Yokohama Port, which was open to foreign trade, and was familiar with Western literature from a young age, influenced by his older brother, Hoei Nojiri, a literary figure who was also the one who named Pluto. He was devoted to the French novelist and critic Romain Rolland and even published translations of his works. Later, he went to France, collected materials related to the Paris Commune, and wrote "Paris Burns," the final installment of his French tetralogy, with a focus on historical accuracy.

The architect who designed the memorial hall, Shizutaro Urabe, has incorporated the three colors of the French flag—a key element of Osaragi's literature—throughout the retro-style Western building. The blue stained glass, white marble floors, red brick tiles, and the arches near the ceiling and the wall decorations on the staircase are all striking. On the second floor, there is a memorial room that recreates Osaragi's living space using his actual chair and desk, creating a truly captivating space.

A perennial favorite! The cat photo exhibition runs until April 20th.

Jiro Osaragi lived with more than 500 cats in his lifetime. He was such a cat lover that he said, "Cats are not a hobby of mine. Before I knew it, they had become indispensable, gentle companions." (from "The Silent Cat"), and he created many works while always surrounded by dozens of cats.

In honor of Jiro Osaragi, the "Jiro Osaragi x Cat Photo Exhibition 2025" is being held until April 20, 2025. This year, the 9th edition of the exhibition, the first-floor lobby is filled with 482 entries submitted by the public, featuring pet cats and stray cats as models. The witty captions accompanying each photograph are excellent and perfectly suited to a literary museum.

The children's story "Switcho Neko" is one of my favorite picture books, which I was read countless times as a child. Now that I'm an adult and a mother myself, I'm also captivated by Mr. Osaragi's affection for cats, his keen observational skills as a writer, and his richly lyrical writing. The museum is also currently holding a themed exhibition, "Jiro Osaragi and Hoshun Yamaguchi - Writer and Painter, Overlapping Gazes," until April 20th. Why not visit both the cat photo exhibition and the exhibition?

Osaragi Jiro Memorial Museum
Address: 113 Yamate-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama City
Phone number: 045-622-5002
Official website: Click here