#attraction/museum The [Kanazawa City Nishi Chaya Shiryokan Musem](https://www.kanazawa-kankoukyoukai.or.jp/spot/detail_10058.html) is a museum in the [[Nishi Chaya District (西茶屋)]] of [[Kanazawa (金沢市)]]. > [!NOTE] Nishi Chaya Shiryokan Museum > This is a reconstructed teahouse residence built on the site of "Yoshiyonero," where the writer Seijiro Shimada spent his youth. The second floor has been made to look like the interior of a teahouse; a golden folding screen, lacquered ornaments, folding fans, shamisen and drums all contribute to an atmosphere of sophistication and glamour. ![[kanazawa city nishi chaya shiryokan museum IMG_4581.png]] ![[kanazawa city nishi chaya shiryokan museum IMG_4582.png]] The museum had various exhibits, ranging from [geiko (芸子)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha) to local authors. > [!NOTE] Seijiro Shimada (February 26, 1899 ~ April 29, 1930) > **A Bestselling Novelist from the Taisho Period (1912-1926)** > > Born in Hakusan, Ishikawa to a family involved in the marine transport industry, Shimada grew up in poverty after his father died. He eventually moved to live with his grandfather who ran the Yoshiyonero Hall (predecessor to the current Nishi Chaya Shiryokan Museum), where he spent his adolescent years. After dropping out of Kanazawa Commercial High School, Shimada fell in love with literature after encountering Dostoevsky's works and started a fanzine with friends. > > In 1919, the 20-year-old Shimada published Chijo and became a bestselling author with admiring young fans from all over the country. However, the attainment of such literary fame at his young age inspired arrogance in him, and he was soon embroiled in a scandal with a woman, upon which his popularity declined rapidly. Cornered by the public, he developed a mental illness that forced him to be hospitalized for the period of 5 years and 9 months before his death at age 31. Some say that he eventually regained his sanity, but it is hard to know for sure. One thing that became clear afterwards through letters is that up until the very end of his life, Shimada had held on to his strong ambition to change Japan that had been revealed in the novel Chijo. The museum also had a beautiful garden in the back, visible from one of the exhibits. ![[? kanazawa city nishi chaya shiryokan museum IMG_4599.png]] ![[kanazawa city nishi chaya shiryokan museum IMG_4602.png]]