News

Suginami Animation Museum

The Suginami Anime Pavilion is going to re-open as the Suginami Animation Museum on March 5th, after having been closed since April 2004 for renovation and expansion.

The Suginami Anime Pavilion opened in early 2003 in the Suginami meeting hall Suginami city. It collected, preserved and displayed original pictures, cells and other anime related material. Beside special exhibits like "'Jin-Roh' - The Last Cell Anime," it also had an introduction to the Japanese anime industry as a permanent exhibit.

Due to space restrictions, there were limits on how much could be put on display. Thew newly renovated museum will have more space for exhibits, a workshop, theater and anime library have also been added to the premises. Special exhibits will be held 4 times a year, starting with the special opening exhibit "Gundam -Rekidai no Kidou Senshi-."

Although Tokyo is generally seen as the heart of the Japanese animation industry, Suginami's Nerima district is well known for being home to over 40 anime related companies, including Gundam creators Sunrise. Suginami city is emphasizing the promotion of its animation industry, a policy which contributed to the opening of this museum. In addition, in the spring of 2006, a special animation graduate school is going to be opened by WAO! corp in Suginami.

The Suginami Animation Museum will be the only government sponsored museum in Japan. Other existing animation museums include the Ghibli Museum (limited to Studio Ghibli works) in Mitaka, the Toei Animation Gallery (limited to Toei works) in Nerima and the Bandai Museum (limited to works related to Bandai).