Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka
Tezuka in 1951
Born Tezuka Osamu (手塚 治)
( 1928 -11-03)3 November 1928
Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan
Died 9 February 1989(1989-02-09) (aged 60)
Tokyo, Japan
Cause of death Stomach cancer
Nationality Japanese
Education
Occupation
Years active 1946–1989
Organization
Notable work
Spouse(s)
Etsuko Okada (m. 1959–1989)
Children Makoto Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka (Japanese: 手塚 治虫, born 手塚 治, Hepburn: Tezuka Osamu, (1928-11-03)3 November 1928 – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, animator, and film producer. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga", "the godfather of manga" and "the god of manga". Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years.[1]

Tezuka began what was known as the manga revolution in Japan with his New Treasure Island published in 1947. His legendary output would spawn some of the most influential, successful, and well received manga series including Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack, and Phoenix, all of which won several awards.

Tezuka died of stomach cancer in 1989. His death had an immediate impact on the Japanese public and other cartoonists. A museum was constructed in Takarazuka dedicated to his memory and life works, and Tezuka received many posthumous awards. Several animations were in production at the time of his death along with the final chapters of Phoenix, which were never released.

Biography

Early life (1928–1945)

Tezuka was the eldest of three children in Toyonaka City, Osaka.[2][3] His nickname was gashagasha-atama (gashagasha is slang for messy, atama means head). Later in life, he gave his mother credit for inspiring confidence and creativity through her stories. She frequently took him to the Takarazuka Grand Theater, which often headlined the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female musical theater troupe. Their romantic musicals aimed at a female audience, had a large influence of Tezuka's later works, including his costume designs. Not only that, but the large, sparkling eyes also had an influence on Tezuka's art style.[4] He has said that he has a profound "spirit of nostalgia" for Takarazuka.[5] When Tezuka was young, his father showed him Disney films; he became obsessed with the films and began to replicate them. He also became a Disney movie buff, seeing the films multiple times in a row, most famously seeing Bambi more than 80 times.[6] Tezuka started to draw comics around his second year of elementary school, drawing so much that his mother would have to erase pages in his notebook in order to keep up with his output. Tezuka was also inspired by works by Suihō Tagawa and Unno Juza.[7] Around his fifth year he found a bug named "Osamushi". It so resembled his name that he adopted "Osamushi" as his pen name.[7] He continued to develop his manga skills throughout his school career. During this period he created his first adept amateur works.[7] During high school in 1944, Tezuka was drafted to work for a factory, supporting the Japanese war effort during World War II; he simultaneously continued writing manga. In 1945, Tezuka was accepted into Osaka University and began studying medicine. During this time, he also began publishing his first professional works.[8]

Publishing career and early success (1946–1952)

Tezuka in 1952

Tezuka came to the realization that he could use manga as a means of helping to convince people to care for the world. After World War II, at age 17, he published his first piece of work: Diary of Ma-chan. Tezuka began talks with fellow manga artist Shichima Sakai, who had pitched Tezuka a manga based around the famous story Treasure Island. Sakai promised Tezuka a publishing spot from Ikuei Shuppan if he would work on the manga. Tezuka finished the manga, only loosely basing it on the original work.[9] Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island) was published and became an overnight success which began the golden age of manga, a craze comparable to American comic books at the time.[10]

In 1951, Tezuka joined a group known as Tokyo Children Manga Association consisting of other manga artists such as Baba Noboru, Ota Jiro, Furusawa Hideo, Fukui Eiichi, Irie Shigeru, and Negishi Komichi.[11]

With the success of New Treasure Island, Tezuka traveled to Tokyo in search of a publisher for more of his work. After visiting Kobunsha Tezuka was turned down. However, publisher Shinseikaku agreed to purchase The Strange Voyage of Dr. Tiger and Domei Shuppansha would purchase The Mysterious Dr. Koronko. Whilst continuing his study in medical school Tezuka published his first masterpieces: a trilogy of science fiction epics called Lost World, Metropolis and Next World.

Soon after Tezuka published his first major success Jungle Emperor Leo, it was serialized in Manga Shonen from 1950 to 1954.[12] In 1951 Tezuka graduated from the Osaka School of Medicine[13] and published Ambassador Atom, the first appearance of the Astro Boy character.

Astro Boy, national fame and early animation (1952–1960)

Tetsuwan Atom Cover Volume No. 8

By 1952, Ambassador Atom proved to be only a mild success in Japan; however, one particular character became extremely popular with young boys: a humanoid robot named Atom.[14] Tezuka received several letters from many young boys.[15]Expecting success with a series based around Atom, Tezuka's producer suggested that he be given human emotions.[16] One day while working at a hospital Tezuka was punched in the face by a frustrated American G.I. This encounter gave Tezuka the idea to create Atom.[17] On February 4, 1952, Tetsuwan Atom began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine. The character Atom and his adventures became an instant phenomenon in Japan.

Due to the success of Tetsuwan Atom, in 1953 Tezuka published the first shōjo manga Ribon no Kishi (Princess Knight), serialized in Shojo Club from 1953 to 1956.[18]

In 1954 Tezuka first published what he would consider his life's work, Phoenix, which originally appeared in Mushi Production Commercial Firm.[19] In 1958 Tezuka was asked by Toei Animation if his manga Son-Goku The Monkey could be adapted into an animation. It was widely reported that Tezuka worked as a director on the film, though Tezuka himself denied working on it. He was only involved in its promotion, which later sparked his interest in the animation industry.[20] The film was released as Alakazam the Great in 1960.

Production Career (1961-1989)

In 1961, Tezuka entered the animation industry in Japan by founding the production company Mushi Productions as a rivalry with Toei Animation. He first began innovating the industry with the broadcast of the animated version of Astro Boy in 1963; this series would create the first successful model for animation production in Japan and would also be the first Japanese animation dubbed into English for an American audience. Other series were subsequently translated to animation, including Jungle Emperor, the first Japanese animated series produced in full color.[21] In 1967, in response to the magazine Garo and the gekiga, Tezuka created the magazine COM.[22] Tezuka stepped down as acting director in 1968 to found a new animation studio, Tezuka Productions, and continued experimenting with animation late into his life. In 1973, Mushi Productions collapsed financially and the fallout would produce several influential animation production studios including Sunrise.

Death and legacy

Tezuka died of stomach cancer on 9 February 1989 in Tokyo.[23] His last words were: "I'm begging you, let me work!", spoken to a nurse who had tried to take away his drawing equipment.[24]

The city of Takarazuka, Hyōgo, where Tezuka grew up, opened a museum in his memory.[3] Stamps were issued in his honor in 1997. Also, beginning in 2003, the Japanese toy company Kaiyodo began manufacturing a series of figurines of Tezuka's creations, including Princess Knight, Unico, the Phoenix, Dororo, Marvelous Melmo, Ambassador Magma, and many others. To date, three series of the figurines have been released.

His legacy has continued to be honored among manga artists and animators. Artists such as Akira Toriyama (Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball)[25] have cited Tezuka as inspiration for their works.

From 2003 to 2009, Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki adapted an arc of Astro Boy into the murder mystery series Pluto.[26]

Tezuka was a personal friend (and apparent artistic influence) of Brazilian comic book artist Mauricio de Sousa. In 2012, Maurício published a two-issue story arc in the Monica Teen comic book featuring some of Tezuka's main characters, such as Astro Boy, Black Jack, Sapphire, and Kimba, joining Monica and her friends in an adventure in the Amazon rainforest against a smuggling organization chopping down hundreds of trees. This was the first time that Tezuka Productions has allowed overseas artists to use Tezuka's characters.[27]

Personal life

Tezuka is a descendent of Hattori Hanzō,[28] a famous ninja and samurai who faithfully served Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Sengoku period in Japan. His son Makoto Tezuka became a film and anime director.[29] Tezuka guided many well-known manga artists such as Shotaro Ishinomori and Go Nagai.

Tezuka enjoyed bug-collecting, entomology, Walt Disney, baseball, and licensed the "grown up" version of his character Kimba the White Lion as the logo for the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.[29][30] Tezuka met Walt Disney in person at the 1964 New York World's Fair. In a 1986 entry in his personal diary, Tezuka stated that Disney wanted to hire him for a potential science fiction project. Tezuka was a fan of Superman and was made honorary chairman of the Superman Fan Club in Japan.[31] In 1959 Tezuka married Etsuko Okada at a Takarazuka Hotel.

As a child, Tezuka's arms swelled up and he became ill. He was treated and cured by a doctor, which made him want to be a doctor. At a crossing point, he asked his mother whether he should look into doing manga full-time or whether he should become a doctor. At the time, being a manga author was not a particularly rewarding job. The answer his mother gave was: "You should work doing the thing you like most of all." Tezuka decided to devote himself to manga creation on a full-time basis. He graduated from Osaka University and obtained his medical degree, but he would later use his medical and scientific knowledge to enrich his sci-fi manga, such as Black Jack.[32][33]

Tezuka was agnostic, and was buried in a Buddhist cemetery in Tokyo.[34]

Works

His complete oeuvre includes over 700 volumes with more than 150,000 pages.[35][32] A complete list of his works can be found on the Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum website.[36]

Tezuka's creations include Astro Boy (Mighty Atom in Japan), Black Jack, Princess Knight, Phoenix (Hi no Tori in Japan), Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor in Japan), Unico, Message to Adolf, The Amazing 3 and Buddha. His "life's work" was Phoenix—a story of life and death that he began in the 1950s and continued until his death.[37]

In January 1965, Tezuka received a letter from American film director Stanley Kubrick, who had watched Astro Boy and wanted to invite Tezuka to be the art director of his next movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Although flattered by Kubrick's invitation, Tezuka could not afford to leave his studio for a year to live in England, so he had to turn it down. Although he could not work on it, he loved the film, and would play its soundtrack at maximum volume in his studio to keep him awake during long nights of work.[38][39]

Style

Tezuka is known for his imaginative stories and stylized Japanese adaptations of western literature. Tezuka's "cinematic" page layouts was influenced by Milt Gross' early graphic novel He Done Her Wrong. He read this book as child, and its style characterized many manga artists who followed in Tezuka's footsteps.[40] His work, like that of other manga creators, was sometimes gritty and violent.

Tezuka headed the animation production studio Mushi Production ("Bug Production"), which pioneered TV animation in Japan.[41] He invented the distinctive "large eyes" style of Japanese animation,[42] drawing inspiration from Western cartoons and animated films of the time such as Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, and other Disney movies.

Museum

The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum (宝塚市立手塚治虫記念館, lit. "Takarazuka City Tezuka Osamu Memorial Hall"), located in the city of Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, was inaugurated on April 25, 1994, and has three floors (15069.47 ft²). In the basement there is an "Animation Workshop" in which visitors can make their own animation, and a mockup of the city of Takarazuka and a replica of the table where Osamu Tezuka worked.

Outside of the building's entrance, there are imitations of the hands and feet of several characters from Tezuka (as in a true walk of fame) and on the inside, the entry hall, a replica of Princess Knight's furniture. On the same floor is a permanent exhibition of manga and a room for the display of anime. The exhibition is divided into two parts: Osamu Tezuka and the city of Takarazuka and Osamu Tezuka, the author.

The second floor contains, along with several exhibitions, a manga library with five hundred works of Tezuka (some foreign editions are also present), a video library, and a lounge with decor inspired by Kimba the White Lion.

There is also a glass sculpture that represents the planet Earth and is based on a book written by Tezuka in his childhood called "Our Earth of Glass."

Awards

Bibliography (manga)

  • Astro Boy, 1952–68. A sequel to Captain ATOM (1951), with Atom renamed Astro Boy in the US.[46] as its main character. Eventually, Astro Boy would become Tezuka's most famous creation. He created the nuclear-powered, yet peace-loving, boy robot first after being punched in the face by a drunken GI.[46] In 1963, Astro Boy made its debut as the first domestically produced animated program on Japanese television. The 30-minute weekly program (of which 193 episodes were produced) led to the first craze for anime in Japan.[47] In America, the TV series (which consisted of 104 episodes licensed from the Japanese run) was also a hit,[48][49] becoming the first Japanese animation to be shown on US television, although the U.S. producers downplayed and disguised the show's Japanese origins.[50][51] Several other Astro Boy series have been made since, as well as a 2009 CGI-animated feature film Astro Boy.
  • Phoenix, 1956–89. Tezuka's most profound and ambitious work, dealing with man's quest for immortality, ranging from the distant past to the far future. The central character is the Phoenix, the physical manifestation of the cosmos, who carries within itself the power of immortality; either granted by the Phoenix or taken from the Phoenix by drinking a small amount of its blood. Other characters appear and reappear throughout the series; usually due to their reincarnation. The work remained unfinished at the time of Tezuka's death in 1989. Phoenix has been filmed several times, most notably as Phoenix 2772 (1980). Baku Yumemakura was influenced by Phoenix; Yumemakura would go on to write the script for Boku no Son Goku.
  • Black Jack, 1973–83. The story of Black Jack, a talented surgeon who operates illegally, using radical and supernatural techniques to combat rare afflictions. Black Jack received the Japan Cartoonists' Association Special Award in 1975 and the Koudansha Manga Award in 1977. Three Black Jack TV movies were released between 2000-01. In fall 2004, an anime television series was aired in Japan with 61 episodes, releasing another movie afterward. A new series, titled Black Jack 21, started broadcasting on April 10, 2006. In September 2008, the first volume of the manga had been published in English by Vertical Publishing and more volumes are being published to this day.
  • Buddha, 1972–83, is Tezuka's unique interpretation of the life of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The critically acclaimed series is often referred to as a gritty portrayal of the Buddha's life. The series began in September 1972 and ended in December 1983, as one of Tezuka's last epic manga works. Nearly three decades after the manga was completed, two anime film adaptations were released in 2011 and 2014.

See also

References

  1. Tezuka Osamu Monogatari, Tezuka Productions, 1992 .
  2. Patten 2004, p. 145.
  3. 1 2 Galbraith, Patrick W. (2009). The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan. Kodansha International. pp. 220–21. ISBN 978-4-7700-3101-3.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  5. Gravett, Paul (2004). Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics. Harper Design. p. 77. ISBN 1-85669-391-0.
  6. "Osamu Tezuka: Fighting for peace with the Mighty Atom". August 19, 2007.
  7. 1 2 3 "1930s:History:ABOUT TEZUKA OSAMU:TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  8. "1940s:History:ABOUT TEZUKA OSAMU:TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  9. "Tezuka Osamu Outwits the Phantom Blot: The Case of New Treasure Island cont'd - The Comics Journal - Page 2". Tcj.com. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  10. Wells, Dominic (2008-09-13). "Osamu Tezuka the master of mighty manga". The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  11. "1950s:History:ABOUT TEZUKA OSAMU:TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  12. "Jungle Emperor Leo : Manga : TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  13. "1950s:History:ABOUT TEZUKA OSAMU:TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  14. Schodt 2007, p. 4.
  15. Schodt 2007, p. 20.
  16. Schodt 2007, p. 21.
  17. "War and Peace in the Art of Tezuka Osamu: The humanism of his epic manga−− - The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus". Apjjf.org. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  18. "Princess Knight [Shojo Club <Girl's Comic>] : Manga : TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  19. "The Phoenix (Chapter of Dawn)[COM Magazine] : Manga : TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  20. "A Capsule History of Anime". Awn.com. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  21. "Kimba Boxed Set". DVD Talk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  22. "garo, magazine rebelle". Neuviemeart.citebd.org. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  23. Patten 2004, p. 198
  24. Takayuki Matsutani (date unknown). Viz Media's English language release of the Hi no Tori manga. In an afterword written by Takayuki Matsutani, president of Mushi Productions.
  25. "Shonen Jump interview". My favorite games. Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  26. "Pluto". Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga. Anime News Network. 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  27. Hirayama, Ari (February 1, 2012). "Brazilian cartoonist to publish manga with Osamu Tezuka". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  28. "Birth", Osamu Permanent Exhibition, Tezuka, retrieved 2011-10-18 .
  29. 1 2 Biography for Osamu Tezuka on IMDb
  30. "The Four Lions of Asia", Japan, Hockey, Baseball, &c, retrieved 2011-09-22 .
  31. "About Tezuka Osamu". www.tezukaosamu.net. Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  32. 1 2 "The Story of Tezuka, Osamu". Tezuka Osamu @ World. Archived from the original on 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  33. Santiago, Ardith. "Tezuka: God of Comics". Hanabatake. Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  34. Schodt, Frederik L (2007). The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution. Stone Bridge Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-93333054-9. His family was associated with a Zen Buddhist sect, and Tezuka is buried in a Tokyo Buddhist cemetery, but his views on religion were actually quite agnostic and as flexible as his views on politics.
  35. Katayama, Lisa (2007-05-31). "Museum Show Spotlights Artistry of Manga God Osamu Tezuka". Wired. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  36. "Manga : TezukaOsamu.net(EN)". Tezukaosamu.net. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  37. Patten 2004, p. 199.
  38. "Osamu Star Annals: 1960s". Tezuka Osamu @ World. Tezuka Productions. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  39. "Tezuka Osamu". Japan Zone. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  40. "A Yiddishe Manga: The Creative Roots of Japan's God of Comics" (PDF). Innovative Research in Japanese Studies. Wix. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  41. Foster, Melanie. "Osamu Tezuka, Animation Pioneer". Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  42. Patten 2004, p. 144.
  43. 1 2 小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  44. 1 2 Hahn, Joel. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  45. "Osamu Tezuka's The Mysterious Underground Men Wins Eisner Award". Anime News Network. July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  46. 1 2 "Mighty Tezuka!" Bluefat, January 2001
  47. Company Profile, 1963, Tezuka Osamu
  48. Deneroff, Harvey (1996). "Fred Ladd: An Interview". Animation World Network. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  49. Ladd 2009, p. 6.
  50. Schodt, Frederik L. "Introduction". Astro Boy Volume 1 (Comic by Osamu Tezuka). Dark Horse Comics and Studio Proteus. Page 3 of 3 (The introduction section has 3 pages). ISBN 1-56971-676-5.
  51. Ladd 2009, p. 21.

Sources

  • Ladd, Fred (2009), Astro Boy and anime come to the Americas: an insider's view of the birth of a pop culture phenomenon, McFarland & Co, p. 6, ISBN 978-0-7864-3866-2
  • Patten, Fred (2004), Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews, Stone Bridge Press, ISBN 1-880656-92-2

Further reading

  • Helen McCarthy. The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga. (New York: Abrams ComicArts, 2009). ISBN 978-0-81098249-9. Biography and presentation of Tezuka's works.
  • Frederik L. Schodt. "The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution". (Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2007). ISBN 978-1-93333054-9.
  • Frederik L. Schodt. "Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga". (Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 1996/2011). ISBN 978-1-93333095-2
  • Natsu Onoda Power. "God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga". (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi). ISBN 978-1-60473221-4.
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