Engaging the present,embracing the past: Pop culture museums and cultural continuity in Fukushima

Abstract

This article delves into the collaborative efforts that unfolded in the creation of the 2012 exhibition ‘TOKUSATSU: Special Effects Museum – Craftsmanship of Showa and Heisei Eras Seen through Miniatures’, which in turn paved the way for the establishment of institutional facilities for popular culture. Specifically, this article explores the collaborative dynamics of two recently established facilities: the Anime Tokusatsu Archive Center in Tokyo (2017) and the Sukagawa Tokusatsu Archive Center (2020) in Sukagawa, Fukushima. Sukagawa, Tsuburaya Eiji's hometown, has played a pivotal role in mobilising artists and communities to engage with these cultural spaces. Artist groups dedicated to tokusatsu and anime began to consider preservation and exhibition strategies to convey these art forms to other generations. This article analyses the building process, and the social cooperation in building these facilities, connecting them to broader popular culture movements in Japan.

Keywords

anime ATAC (Anime Tokusatsu Archive Center)Fukushima pop culture Sukagawa Tokusatsu Archive Center ‘Tokusatsu Museum’

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