Shinchosha Memorial Museum of Literature

The town of Kakunodate has been the birthplace of many notable artists, writers, scholars, and critics since its establishment in 1620. The Shinchosha Memorial Museum of Literature is focused on the history of major publishing house Shinchosha and its founder, Satō Giryō (1878–1951). Satō was born in Kakunodate and lived there until he was 16 years old.

The museum's gallery is divided into five thematic sections: Satō Giryō and Shinchosha, Kakunodate as it is depicted in literature, writers from the Tohoku region (northeastern Japan), authors published by Shinchosha, and the history of Japanese literature from 1885 to 1980. Replicas of each author’s most notable works are displayed in the museum.

Outside of the museum, there is an art installation of the 1947 bunko, or “pocket paperback,” edition of Nobel Prize–winning author Kawabata Yasunari’s (1899–1972) novel Snow Country. The novel was published as part of the pocket paperback series that is considered to be one of Shinchosha’s major contributions to the literary industry. It made many classic works of Japanese and foreign literature available to readers of all ages and backgrounds at an affordable price and portable size.