Matsuyama Museum Guide

A variety of museums can be found in Matsuyama. The city is especially rich in literary talent and history. The 20th century in particular saw Matsuyama rise to prominence in Japan's literary realm. Three important writers were either born in the city, or chose it as home for themselves and their characters.

The first is a poet, Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), born and raised in Matsuyama. Shiki was an advocate of modernizing the old Japanese poetic forms, and he eventually introduced modern forms of Haiku and Tanka for this purpose.

The second major figure in Matsuyama's literary trio is Natsume Soseki (1987-1916), a prolific Meiji Period novelist and friend of Shiki. He is best known for a novel entitled "Botchan", set in Matsuyama and featuring locations around the city. "Botchan" follows the life of a young teacher who moves to Matsuyama as Meiji Period reforms sweep the country. The novel was written in 1906 and is now often read as part of the Japanese school curriculum. As a result of the novel's wide readership, Matsuyama and its sights are well known across Japan.

Finally, there is Shiba Ryotaro, a novelist born in 1923, who often wrote about the Edo and Meiji Periods. One of his later novels entitled "Saka no Ue no Kumo", or "Clouds Over the Hill", features Matsuyama City and includes both Shiki and Soseki as characters.

Shiki, Soseki and Ryotaro are fondly regarded by the residents of Matsuyama and visitors to the city today can find museums and monuments remembering them and commemorating their works. Here are several places of interest in Matsuyama, some of which are related to the city's famed literary trio: