Ishinomori Manga Museum

The Ishinomori Manga Museum — officially the Ishinomori Mangga Museum, also known as Ishinomaki Mangattan Museum — is a manga museum located on Nakaze, a small island in the city of Ishinomaki. It is dedicated to the life and work of manga artist Ishinomori Shotaro, and to the broader possibilities of manga as a medium of expression.

Born in 1938 in what is now Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, Ishinomori debuted as a manga artist in 1954 and went on to create some of Japan's most enduring works, including Cyborg 009 and Kamen Rider. His work extended into tokusatsu and animation, and he consistently pushed manga into new expressive territory throughout his career. He passed away in 1998 at the age of 60. In 2008, his complete published works were certified by Guinness World Records as the greatest number of comic series published by a single author.

History of the Museum

The museum's origins trace back to a 1995 conversation between Ishinomori and the mayor of Ishinomaki, in which the idea arose of building a manga museum on Nakaze — an island Ishinomori had visited as a student. He embraced the project enthusiastically, designing the spaceship-shaped building himself and coining the name "Mangattan" for the area, inspired by Nakaze's resemblance in shape to Manhattan Island. He envisioned not a static institution but a place that would continuously evolve — hosting exhibitions and events, nurturing people of all ages, and spreading culture to the world.

Ishinomori passed away in 1998 before the museum was completed, but citizens of Ishinomaki rallied to carry his vision forward. The museum opened on July 23, 2001.

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake flooded the building's ground floor to a depth of 6.5 meters, destroying its contents. All visitors were safely evacuated. Recovery took nearly two years, supported by volunteers and tens of thousands of messages of encouragement from across Japan. The museum reopened on November 17, 2012.

True to Ishinomori's original vision, the museum presents his body of work across multiple angles and continues to host rotating special exhibitions and events throughout the year. Annual events include the Mangattan Thanksgiving Festival in March, the Spring Mangattan Festival during Golden Week, and the Mangattan Culture Festival on Culture Day in November. A complementary facility, the Ishinomori Shotaro Hometown Memorial Museum, is located in his birthplace of Nakada-cho, Tome City, approximately 50 minutes away by car.