A new exhibition gives fans of Hayao Miyazaki a unique inside perspective on the beginnings of the animator's museum in the Shimorenjaku district of Mitaka in western Tokyo.

The Ghibli Museum is set to host a new exhibition featuring Miyazaki’s drawings and other documents to show how the anime maestro played his part to design the museum and its past exhibitions.

The event “Sketch, Flash, Spark! From the Ghibli Forest Sketchbook” starts Nov. 16 at the museum, which opened in October 2001.

Materials including documents and illustrations will be on display that shed light on what the director had in mind in preparing past exhibitions, including the museum's first, themed on “Spirited Away.”

Perusing them, visitors can see how Miyazaki fine-tuned aspects of the shows along the way to bring them closer to his vision.

Documents on show provide insight into the legendary anime studio's thought process on establishing a museum.

Sketches by Miyazaki and a scale model of the facility reveal his original ideas for the museum.

According to the studio, along with the usual trial and error, Miyazaki's spur-of-the-moment ideas were key to getting the museum up and running.

The studio said through the new show “visitors may comprehend how the creation process is a strenuous yet stimulating effort.”

The special exhibition runs until May 2021. Reservations are required for admission.