The big piece on display by the entrance to the exhibition room is titled “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves”. It was drawn by Machiko Satonaka, author of the popular manga Tenjō no Niji (Celestial Rainbow) and Ariesu no Otometachi (Ladies of Aries). Yokote City commissioned it especially for the grand reopening of the museum after its renovation in May 2019, to celebrate its new beginning. Satonaka has often written about history in her works, but in this piece she wanted to represent her wish that the culture of manga will continue to live on forever, just like the collection of poems the drawing is named after has continued to be read and appreciated for hundreds of years. The woven fabric of the celestial maidens’ clothing are built with the threads of time that connect past and present, intersected by the threads of historical events. They are a representation of the history of manga.

At the opening ceremony of the newly renovated Manga Museum on April 20, 2019, Satonaka spoke about the museum’s active role in preserving the culture of manga, which is a representation of Japan, and expressed sincere thanks for the city’s proactive work in creating a large-scale storage facility for original manga panel drawings. At the same time, she also said the following about the valuable work of creating an archive that stores the works of each time-period:

“Japan has developed its own unique manga culture. Our dream is that the people living 100 or 200 years from now will look back on the Japan of today as a place and time when we experienced a manga renaissance, when a new kind of manga expression was born. 200 years from now, we want there to be a place where the people of the future can look back on the Japanese manga renaissance, to study it, to reread the works from the period and understand them even after times have changed. That place is here, the Manga Museum. We can use our time now to support the manga industry of the future. Even if I have to become a ghost, I want to see it happen with my own eyes. So if it doesn’t come true, I’m going to come haunt you! (laughs)”

This speech inspired its listeners to get up and do something in order to connect with the next generation. Perhaps at least to start with, Satonaka’s style of humorous thanks and appreciation for Yokote City will be told for generations to come.