A museum in London dedicated to novelist Soseki Natsume (1867-1916), who spent two years in the British capital, plans to close in September next year due to financial difficulties amid declining visitors, its operator said Monday.
Next year marks 150 years since Soseki's birth, and the Soseki Museum will finally close its doors after more than 30 years on the occasion of this anniversary, according to the museum's director, Ikuo Tsunematsu.
"It's gratifying that I was able to keep it open for so long," said Tsunematsu, 64, an authority on Soseki and a professor at Sojo University in the city of Kumamoto, who opened the museum in 1984. "I'd be happy if young scholars follow in my footstep."