Vivinavi

2023 Hanamaki City Museum Special Exhibition "The World of Hiroshi Kagakui, the Picture Book Artist Who Made All Children in Japan Smile" (Japanese only)

In just 15 years since its publication, the "Daruma-san" series of picture books has sold a total of more than 9 million copies, making it a milestone.

The "Daruma-san" series of picture books set a milestone with a total of over 9 million copies sold in just 15 years since its publication. Author ・ Hiroshi Kagakui made his debut as a late-blooming picture book author at the age of 50, and at an astonishing speed, created 16 titles one after another until his death at the age of 54. Although he was an author who burst onto the picture book scene like a comet, it is not widely known that he was actually a teacher at a special-needs school and that his picture books, including "Daruma-san (Mr. Daruma)," were the result of his experience in educating children with disabilities. This exhibition, the first retrospective of his work since his death, will exhibit his original paintings and idea notebooks, as well as valuable records of teaching materials and puppet shows he created during his teaching days, in order to explore the roots of Kagakui's picture books.