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P.A. Works Launches Hanasaku Iroha Fan Creation Project to Support Bonbori Festival

For years, anime studio P.A. Works (Shirobako, Akiba Maid War, Ya Boy Kongming!) has been supporting the local Yuwaku Onsen community with the Bonbori Festival—an event directly inspired by a fictional festival depicted in the Hana-Saku Iroha anime. In order to support the continuation of the festival, the studio launched the "Kissuisō Museum" support project on Friday.

The project is soliciting illustrations, manga, and three-dimensional creations from fans inspired by Hana-Saku Iroha. The studio plans to compile the work into a picture book. The proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the Bonbori Festival organizing committee.

Submissions are open until May 21. For information on how to submit, check P.A. Works' website.

The "Kissuisō Museum" project name is inspired by the Hana-Saku Iroha ~Itsuka Saku Basho~ (Hana-Saku Iroha: The Place That Blooms Someday) sequel novel. The book's story is set seven years after the closure of Kissuisō at the end of the television anime. Ohana, who "wants to become Sui Shijima," shows her determine to revive the hot spring inn. Leaving her Tokyo life behind again, she reunites as an adult with those she once knew and meets new people who may help to bring Kissuisō back to life. To do so, she tries to enlist in "the creative power of many people," among other creative methods. P.A. Works began publishing the book digitally across six parts in 2020.

The real-life inspiration for Kissuisō, the Shidekaku Inn, closed in March 2018. It originally opened in Yōrō 3, which is 719, or about 1,300 years ago.

The Bonbori Festival was first held in Yuwaku Onsen, Kanazawa in 2011. In its first year, it attracted over 5,000 visitors; in 2017, over 15,000 people attended. The festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. The 10th festival was held in October 2022.

The Hana-Saku Iroha television series premiered in April 2011, and Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Japan as it aired. The series expired on Crunchyroll in 2018. NIS America released the anime series on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in two sets in 2013. It also released the 2013 Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home anime film.

The story of Hana-Saku Iroha centers around Ohana Matsumae, a 16-year-old Tokyo native who ends up working with her grandmother at an onsen ryokan (hot spring inn). Matsumae has yet to decide her future.

Source: Comic Natalie