TOKYO: A Meiji-era Western-style building in Tokyo once on the verge of being demolished will reopen in March as an attraction showcasing manga works, thanks to a preservation effort by manga artists.

The Former Residence of Theodora Ozaki, a wooden two-story building in the Japanese capital’s Setagaya Ward, was slated to be torn down in 2020. But the building was saved with funding from a group of manga artists including Kazumi Yamashita and Rumiko Takahashi.

“We manga artists will pass on the history, and the building will be relaunched as a place loved by the local community,” Yamashita said at an unveiling event held Thursday.

After renovations, the building will open as a facility with a gallery exhibiting original manga copies and illustrations as well as with a cafe and a shop.

The building was constructed in the middle of the 1868-1912 Meiji period for Theodora Ozaki, a translator and wife of Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki, by her Japanese father in Tokyo’s Azabu district. The house was moved to its current location in 1933.

“This is a place to promote Japanese manga culture, and I fully support it,” manga artist Tetsuya Chiba said at the Thursday event. “It’s a very good first step.”

JIJI Press