Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum

The gate of the Museum

In addition to watching Bunraku, there was one more thing I wanted to do in Osaka: to visit 司馬遼太郎記念館, Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum, in Higashi Osaka City.

司馬遼太郎, Shiba Ryotaro, (1923-1996) was a historical fiction writer who dealt with various themes not only about Japan but also Asia such as samurais maneuvering to gain power, Meiji Restoration, Russo-Japanese War and the establishment of Han Dynasty of China.

His works are so popular that his historical view has influenced many Japanese.
For this reason, he was sometimes criticized that he only wrote the bright side of history.

Throughout his works, he had tried to discover what a human being is, focusing mainly on Japanese people. His experience as a solder in WWⅡ had him rethink about his people and country.

He had to join the army when he was a university student. He was a tanker stationed at Tochigi Prefecture in preparation for America's attack on the mainland Japan. He asked his boss what he should do in the attack if fleeing local people were in their way. The boss's reply shocked him to the core: run over them.

He thought Japanese people were so foolish; at the same time, he hoped the ancestors shouldn't have been. Then his odyssey of history started. 

I have read some of his books. My favorite is 龍馬がいく(Ryoma ga iku) . Ryoma was a samurai in the 19th century who found a way to restore political power to the emperor. Thanks to his effort, Meiji Restoration was accomplished without prolonged battles.

I bought one of his books at the museum, 21世紀を生きる君たちへ, To You Who will Live in the 21st Century, where he passed his hopes onto next generations. Some Japanese textbooks for elementary students employed essays from the book.

I hope this book will also inspire my students.

Shiba Ryotaro's Study

For those who look for hotels in Osaka, Hotel Sunroute Osaka Namba where I stayed could be one of your choices. It is conveniently located, only a 3-minute walk to the Dotonbori area, and offers various foods for breakfast.

The breakfast buffet included okonimiyaki, takoyaki and mixed fruit juice which are Osaka institution. I ate there two days and even though some dishes were changed, they offered the Osaka local food each day. 

I hope Osaka will survive the earthquake and revive soon.