[Image: Eun young Cho "Run, Toto" (2010) Private Collection]

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The Chihiro Art Museum Tokyo, located in Shimoshakujii, Nerima-ku, Tokyo, was built on the site of the home and studio where Chihiro Iwasaki spent the last 22 years of her life and created numerous works.

In September 1977, three years after Chihiro's death, the Iwasaki Chihiro Picture Book Museum (now the Chihiro Art Museum Tokyo) opened as the world's first picture book museum. Twenty-five years later, in September 2002, the museum was reborn as a fully accessible building, with a greatly expanded public space, while respecting Chihiro's life and the museum's history.

Visitors can sit on Chihiro's favorite sofa and view her paintings in the faithfully restored atelier, and in "Chihiro's Garden" where flowers and trees that Chihiro loved and nurtured have been planted.

The Chihiro Art Museum is also designed to be a "first museum" that children can visit for the first time in their lives, with exhibitions and events for parents and children to enjoy together.

Eun Young Cho “Run, Toto!: The Making of a Picture Book”