{"id":337233,"date":"2025-12-10T05:26:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T05:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/uncategorized\/karuizawas-beautiful-picture-book-museum\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T05:26:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T05:26:28","slug":"karuizawas-beautiful-picture-book-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233","title":{"rendered":"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

The Karuizawa Picture Book Museum is a charming forest retreat housing over 6,000 Anglo-American and Japanese picture books, including some rare first editions and a wonderful collection of original illustrations. Two excellent temporary exhibitions were on during our visit.<\/p>\n

Situated in Karuizawa\u2019s serene \u201cForest of Muse\u201d (Ehon-no Mori), the Picture Book Museum is spread across four beautiful buildings set amidst a lush garden. The architecture and landscape blend organically\u2014a quality we found so often in Japan. The buildings themselves have a warm, Nordic-inspired feel\u2014wooden interiors, soft lighting, and big windows that frame the surrounding forest. It\u2019s more like stepping into a cosy retreat than a typical museum.<\/p>\n

The Forest of Muse isn\u2019t just a pretty name\u2014it\u2019s part of a broader cultural village dreamt up by Kazuo Hata, who founded the museum to create a space where people of all ages could reconnect with the joy and imagination of picture books. The area also includes artist studios, a library, and the Karuizawa Erz Toy Museum just across the road.<\/p>\n

\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n

Twice a year, the museum stages a major temporary exhibition. The 2025 summer show,\u00a0Aesop\u2019s Fables and Animal Picture Books<\/em>, showcases over a hundred original illustrations by renowned artists and illustrators from around the world. Brilliant watercolour works by the prolific Japanese artist Ayano Imai featured prominently. Seating stations throughout the space were stocked with the picture books whose illustrations adorned the walls\u2014hours of reading fun for kids (and the young at heart)!<\/p>\n

The second, smaller exhibition was a true delight. It featured illustrations from a single picture book,\u00a0Bonsai Grandpa<\/em>, written and illustrated by Etsuko Kobai. Around a dozen oversized original watercolour artworks were displayed in a cosy, intimate space. Additional materials and objects in glass cabinets offered insight into Kobai\u2019s celebrated career and other titles. All of her books were available in the gallery shop.\u00a0Bonsai Grandpa<\/em>\u00a0was love at first sight\u2014I was lucky to be able to buy the book right there.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\u201cNotre-Dame\"\u201cNotre-Dame<\/div>\n
You May Also Like This Popular Post<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cNotre-Dame de Paris\u201d by Victor Hugo, illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Discovering some wonderful Japanese illustrators and adding their books to my extensive picture book collection was exactly what I had hoped to get out of this museum! I\u2019ll be reviewing the heartwarming\u00a0Bonsai Grandpa<\/em>\u00a0in more detail on this blog in the coming days\u2014check it out if you\u2019re interested in this genre. In the meantime, there\u2019s a quick flip-through video at the end of this post.<\/p>\n

In addition to temporary exhibitions, the museum\u2019s main building explores the history and evolution of picture books from the 18th century onward. It features some of the museum\u2019s most valuable exhibits, including illustrations by Randolph Caldecott, Walter Crane, and Kate Greenaway. One of the smaller buildings is devoted entirely to\u00a0Peter Rabbit<\/em>and Beatrix Potter.<\/p>\n

Another beautiful space is the museum\u2019s small, round library building. I found some delightful treasures there\u2014check out the photos and videos below for a glimpse.<\/p>\n

We unfortunately ran out of time to properly explore the Karuizawa Erz Toy Museum, located just across the road in the same Forest of Muse. We only had a brief half-hour for a quick walkthrough. This museum tells the story of toy-making in the Erzgebirge region of Germany and is organised into clusters that showcase toys by type and place of manufacture\u2014often from century-old workshops run by generations of toy-makers. The Karuizawa Toy Museum is a sister museum to the one in Seiffen, Germany, and highlights the shared traditions between German and Japanese toy-making.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\"Exploring\"Exploring<\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n 2.5<\/span>
\n 2<\/span>
\n votes<\/span><\/p>\n

Article Rating<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Karuizawa Picture Book Museum is a charming forest retreat housing over 6,000 Anglo-American and Japanese picture books, including some rare first editions and a wonderful collection of original illustrations. Two excellent temporary exhibitions were on during our visit. Situated in Karuizawa\u2019s serene \u201cForest of Muse\u201d (Ehon-no Mori), the Picture Book Museum is spread across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118233,162086],"tags":[1622,2268,162087,7082,3893],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-337233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-and-illustrations-museums","category-explore-more","tag-beautiful","tag-book","tag-karuizawas","tag-museum","tag-picture"],"yoast_head":"\nKaruizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Karuizawa Picture Book Museum is a charming forest retreat housing over 6,000 Anglo-American and Japanese picture books, including some rare first editions and a wonderful collection of original illustrations. Two excellent temporary exhibitions were on during our visit. Situated in Karuizawa\u2019s serene \u201cForest of Muse\u201d (Ehon-no Mori), the Picture Book Museum is spread across […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-10T05:26:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"983\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a66cfe5cdcbceba9b5562fe085bcaba4\"},\"headline\":\"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-10T05:26:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\"},\"wordCount\":608,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Beautiful\",\"Book\",\"Karuizawas\",\"Museum\",\"Picture\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Book and Illustrations Museums\",\"Explore More\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\",\"name\":\"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-10T05:26:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg\",\"width\":983,\"height\":932},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a66cfe5cdcbceba9b5562fe085bcaba4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Fsom2nypost.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Fsom2nypost.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum - Som2ny Network","og_description":"The Karuizawa Picture Book Museum is a charming forest retreat housing over 6,000 Anglo-American and Japanese picture books, including some rare first editions and a wonderful collection of original illustrations. Two excellent temporary exhibitions were on during our visit. Situated in Karuizawa\u2019s serene \u201cForest of Muse\u201d (Ehon-no Mori), the Picture Book Museum is spread across […]","og_url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-12-10T05:26:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":983,"height":932,"url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a66cfe5cdcbceba9b5562fe085bcaba4"},"headline":"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum","datePublished":"2025-12-10T05:26:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233"},"wordCount":608,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg","keywords":["Beautiful","Book","Karuizawas","Museum","Picture"],"articleSection":["Book and Illustrations Museums","Explore More"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233","url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233","name":"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-10T05:26:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/karuizawa-picture-book-museum-feature.jpg","width":983,"height":932},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=337233#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Karuizawa\u2019s Beautiful Picture Book Museum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a66cfe5cdcbceba9b5562fe085bcaba4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Fsom2nypost.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Fsom2nypost.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/som2nypost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=337233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/337234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=337233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=337233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=337233"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=337233"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=337233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}