Kaiyodo Figure Museum

14.10.2009 by Patrick W. Galbraith

The next time you are in Western Japan, consider a stop in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. On the shores of Biwako, Japan's largest freshwater lake, you will find the Kaiyodo Figure Museum, a shrine to the venerable maker and a holy land for figure enthusiasts. It is an easy walk from the station, and is easy to find. On one side of a rather ordinary shopping street stands Kenshiro, and behind him is a large showroom of Kaiyodo goods. The mounted dinosaur head on the other side marks an exit to the museum reception. An illustrated history of the company is on one wall of the first floor, and there is a tower of gachapon next to a reception desk. Slap down 800 yen, chose your capsule toy prize and head up to the second-floor, where the permit installation is housed.

What is great about the museum is that is comprised of 200 detailed miniature dioramas of Kaiyodo products and thousands of figures divided up by themes that roughly correspond to the history of the company. Kaiyodo was established in Osaka in 1964 and pioneered shokugan, food or candy with toy prizes, and later figures. Many of these early products are on display in cabinets at the top of the stairs. Kaiyodo worked closely with confectionary companies, but have been working independently on products since 1982, around 2,000 at last count. The company was influential in the garage kit boom in the 1980s. They took over Wonder Festival from General Products (later Gainax) in 1992 and still run the show today. Kaiyodo became very well known for their super detailed nature scenes such of underwater, forest insects and dinosaurs. They also developed miniature city and countryside settings for movies. All of this and more are to be found in the museum, but some standouts include pieces used in the filming of "Jurassic Park" and a oversized map of Japan decorated with figures. This is very symbolic for a country so in love with detailed miniatures. Sculptors such as Kagawa Masahiko, Yamaguchi Katsuhisa and Kinoshita Kashi are given props for their work on classic anime and movies, mecha and tokusatsu and sentai heroes.

The last section of the museum is all about beautiful girls, and the space is dominated by Bome. That this is such a popular section speaks to the times; indeed, in 2004 Kaiyodo began releasing the "Weekly Dearest My Brother" little girl figures, which are on display with classics such as the ANA stewardess collection. All of Bome's resin beauties are completed and on display. Morikawa Kaichiro has submitted an explanation on what otaku are and how they are spreading around the world, which is very nice to see in the Japanese countryside. It is a little sad that none of this is in English, but the visual impact makes up for it. Also, not a lot of explanation is needed for the type of English-speaking folks who would be interested in this museum.

In all this is a great experience and a must for figure otaku. Yes, it is limited in size and scope by being dedicated only to one company, but when a company has done as much as Kaiyodo it is not a bad place to start. The close proximity of the lake makes this a good choice for entertaining guests from overseas or taking a trip with the family. The Figure Museum was only opened in 2005 and is a bit off the beaten track, so crowds are minimal. The price is good, pictures are free and there is enough to see to spend a day, depending on how much one loves figures.