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Fujiko F Fujio Museum Welcomes Its 1.5 Millionth Visitor

Fujiko Fujio's masterpiece Doraemon has touched many lives. Despite being a children's manga, the substance of it is exceedingly deep sometimes, and its simplicity contains wisdom beyond the years of its target audience. Doraemon has become an international sensation and one of the most influential manga series of all time. This year marks not only the 45th anniversary of Doraemon's first publication, but saw the arrival of the 1.5 millionth visitor to the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kanagawa last month.

The woman in question had said that she and her childhood friend had come from Tokyo to the museum after they having seen the recent 3D CG animated movie, Stand By Me Doraemon. They had wanting to see the original manuscripts that Fujiko F. Fujio had written for the chapters that made up the movie. As a gift for the momentous occasion, the woman and her friend were given a 1/2 Doraemon toy, as well as replicas of the very manuscripts that they had come to see. Though the museum was has only been open since September 3, 2011, it has already had visitors from all over the world.

Fujiko F. Fujio was the pen name that manga artist that Hiroshi Fujimoto took on as one half of the Fujiko Fujio duo, which wrote the Doraemon series. The other member of the duo was his lifelong friend Motoo Abiko, also known as Fujiko Fujio A. Fujimoto had been a resident of Kawasaki, the city in which his museum is located, for many years, but passed away in 1996. Despite this, Doraemon continues to move the hearts of many, a great number of which have visited the museum to pay homage to one of its creators.

On top of Fujimoto's Doraemon manuscripts and drawings, the museum houses some of his work on other series, including Perman, ESPer Mami, and many others. To learn more about the museum, or to make reservations to visit yourself, take a look at its official website.

[Via The Asahi Shimbun]