Osamu Tezuka's Life
Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫) was born on November 3, 1928 and died on February 9, 1989, but it is what happened in between that is really important.
"the life story of the God of Manga is a complex one..."
Although he only spent sixty short years with us, what he did with his time is really quite amazing. A scrawny young boy from a small town who grew up to be a storyteller, an entertainer, an innovator, a doctor, a businessman, an animator, an artist, a goodwill ambassador, a mentor, an inspiration and a cultural icon... and that's only half the story.
In this section you will find an in-depth treatment of the life story of Osamu Tezuka, one that looks at the progression from his early days in Takarazuka, to his beginnings and rise as a popular manga artist, to the ups and downs of his career in animation, to his later years traveling the world as a de facto Japanese cultural ambassador.
However, the life story of the "God of Manga" is a complex one, and this overview merely scratches the surface. For those readers interested in learning more about the man behind the manga/anime, we encourage you to visit our section on books about Tezuka.
In particular, we recommend Helen McCarthy's, The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, Frederik L. Schodt's The Astro Boy Essarys: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, and Natsu Onoda Power’s God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga as invaluable resources as well as entertaining reads.
Osamu Tezuka's Life Story
Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫) was born on November 3, 1928 to Yutaka (father) and Fumiko (mother) Tezuka. Although he was born in Toyonaka, a city near Osaka, the family soon moved to Takarazuka City, Hyogo - the home of the famous Takarazuka Revue. This theatre, known for its romantic musical works performed by an all-female cast, had a tremendous impact on the young Tezuka. Even before he was old enough to go to school, his mother would often take him to go see the latest Takarazuka Revue productions. Their often flamboyant costuming and set-design had a lasting and significant influence on Tezuka's later works – especially those aimed at young girls.
In 1958 Tezuka had two meetings that would shape his life. The first was a visit by staff from Toei Animation who were interested in developing Tezuka's manga series, Songoku The Monkey (1952-59) as an animated feature film. Known as Saiyuki, the film was released in August 1960 and although he was only a consultant on the project, it was the first of Tezuka's works to be animated. More importantly, though, his involvement gave him behind-the-scenes access to the inner workings of an animation studio - something that would pay off later in his career.
By 1965, Astro Boy (1963-66) was already entering it's third year in production, Mushi Productions had started work on a new animated television series known as Wonder Three (1965-66), and was gearing up for it's latest ground-breaking series - the first full-colour animated television program in Japan, Jungle Emperor (1965-66). Looking to follow up on the success of Astro Boy, NBC approached Tezuka with a request for a new program. Although they were happy with Tezuka's pitch for Jungle Emperor (1965-66), they were adamant the series had to be produced in colour. Since Mushi Productions did not yet have the capability of colour production, NBC agreed to help finance the necessary upgrades.
By August 1973, after fumbling along for a few years without Tezuka, Mushi Productions folded with a debt of roughly 400 million yen. While reading about it the next day in the newspaper, Tezuka was quite surprised to hear that people were saying that he was finished. He had been so closely associated with Mushi Productions, that the public's perception of its demise was Tezuka's own professional demise. It was during this period that Akita Shoten, the publisher of the popular Weekly Shōnen Champion, decided to commission Tezuka for five weeks to write "anything he wanted". According to noted Tezuka scholar, Natsu Onoda Power, in her book God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga, "the editor, who felt sorry for Tezuka for his declining popularity, offered the commission as Tezuka's "last work" before retirement" (2009, p. 106). Originally conceived as a special commemorative project celebrating Tezuka's (then) 30-year career as a manga artist, it was developed under the banner of "Osamu Tezuka's One-Man Theater Production", with the idea being to publish five independent stories that would spotlight Tezuka's Star System and feature many of his characters.
In 1981, after giving a talk at a medical university, a medical researcher who had been in the audience contacted Tezuka about his family history in medicine. In fact, Osamu Tezuka is part of a medical dynasty of sorts. His great-great-grandfather, Ryosen Tezuka, considered the first modern army doctor in Japan, did much to introduce Western medical knowledge to Japan. This inspired Tezuka to create A Tree in the Sun (1981-86), a period medical drama - one which weaves historical fact and fiction in detailing the stories of Ryosen Tezuka and his son Ryoan Tezuka.
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