Seaside Literary Memorial, Literary museum in Gamagōri, Japan

The Seaside Literary Memorial is a modern museum in Gamagori that presents Japanese literature and writers through exhibitions and displays. The rooms showcase manuscripts, printed books, and other materials that document the work of regional authors and their contributions to Japanese letters.

The museum opened on 11 May 1997 on the site of the Tokiwakan, a ryokan built by the textile merchant Tak Shinjirō in 1912 at the foot of the Takeshima bridge. Writers such as Kikuchi Kan, Kawabata Yasunari and Mishima Yukio stayed there; it closed in 1980 and was demolished in 1982. The museum building reproduces the wooden Okamoto clinic of 1910, moved and rebuilt for the purpose.

The museum recreates the atmosphere of the Tokiwakan, a ryokan inn that stood by the Takeshima bridge from 1912 until its demolition in 1982. Writers such as Kikuchi Kan, Kawabata Yasunari, Shiga Naoya, Tanizaki Junichiro and Mishima Yukio stayed there and left works and anecdotes. Visitors can write in a free 'memory notebook' or send a 'time letter' to themselves or family, delivered up to ten years later.

The museum is within walking distance of Gamagori Station, which connects to the main railway line from Nagoya. Plan to spend time quietly viewing the displays without rushing through the rooms.

Since 2001 the museum has run the Tokitegami service: visitors write a letter to themselves or a relative, and staff store it for between two months and ten years before posting it on the chosen date. Fees depend on the storage period, and recipients across Japan began reporting arrivals around 2011.