Hyoutan-tsugi
Also known as ヒョウタンツギ (Hyoutantsugi)
Hello, My Name (in English) is…
Hyoutantsugi.
Distinguishing Features
Perhaps Tezuka’s strangest and most recognizable creation is Hyoutan-tsugi, a strange little creature which looks rather like a pig with patches stitched on it.
Status: Other Organism (★)
Hyoutan-Tsugi actually represents the fruiting body of a kind of Japanese mushroom, and is based on a sketch Tezuka’s sister did when she was very young. This strange little figure has become Tezuka’s signature, in a way, appearing in essentially every work he ever wrote in some strange form or another. The Hyoutan-tsugi appears most frequently as an expression of emotion. For example, when a character is shocked, startled or embarrassed, sometimes the character’s face will turn into the Hyoutan-Tsugi, or the Hyoutan-Tsugi will drop from the ceiling and hit the character on the head. When angry, a character will often kick a Hyoutan-Tsugi that appears on the ground, or throw one so it bounces around the panel.
Notable Roles
In addition to its function as an expressive tool, Hyoutan-Tsugi often appears in the background as a symbol – a logo, a decoration in a room, a photograph on a desk, a face on top of a totem pole. Even in Tezuka’s very serious works, the Hyoutan-Tsugi will generally make an appearance, as in Buddha (1972-83) where it is the symbol branded onto a slave, or in Message to Adolf (1983-85) where it occasionally appears to lighten moments in an otherwise intense drama.
Manga Appearances
If you spot an appearance not already listed, please let us know in the comments section below!
1950
Manga University
1951
The Road to Utopian Lurue
Next World
The Cactus Kid
Bambi
Age of Adventure
Fossil Island
1952
1953
1955
Astro Boy (“Electro”)
Meteor Prince
The Age of Great Floods
1956
The Crane’s Fountain
Phoenix [Shojo Club] (“Greece”)
Phoenix [Shojo Club] (“Rome”)
Lion Books (“Mankind of the Future”)
1957
Astro Boy (“The Mysterious Ball”)
Lion Books (“The Crazy Border”)
Lion Books (“Skeleton Skipper”)
Lion Books (“The Multi-Eyed Devil”)
Whirlwind Z
Pink Angel
1958
Astro Boy (“Crucifix Island”)
Astro Boy (“Count Bat”)
The Twin Knights</em
The Film is Alive
Super Taiheiki
1959
Astro Boy (“Secret of the Egyptian Conspirators”)
Astro Boy (“The Artificial Sun”)
Jet King
Hikari
Zero Men
Castle of Dawn
1960
Astro Boy (“The Invisible Giant”)
Astro Boy (“His Highness Deadcross”)
The Secret of Piron
1961
Astro Boy (“The Hot Dog Corps”)
Astro Boy (“The Third Magician”)
Wing and Star Dust
The Ant and the Giant
The Strange Boy
The Human Ranch
1962
Astro Boy (“Space Parasites”)
Astro Boy (“Astro vs Garon”)
The Iron Road
Here Comes Yokko-chan!
S.O.S. from Space
1963
Astro Boy (“Demon Bees”)
Astro Boy (“The Robot Spaceship”)
Astro Boy (“The Devil’s Balloons”)
Princess Knight [Nakayoshi]
1964
Astro Boy (“Last Day on Earth”)
Astro Boy (“The Greatest Robot on Earth”)
The Great Zeo
The Story of Animals
1965
Astro Boy (“Roboids”)
Astro Boy (“Blue Knight”)
Wonder 3 [Shonen]
Wonder 3 [Shonen Sunday]
1966
Astro Boy (“Astro Boy Reborn”)
Flying Ben
1967
Astro Boy (“Zolomon’s Jewels”)
Astro Boy (“Beginning of the Contradiction”)
Rally Up, Mankind!
Dororo
1968
Grand Dolls
Goro of Hatchoike
Burunga I
Swallowing the Earth
Noman
1969
The Crater (“Ryuichi’s Bizarre Experience”)
General Onimaru
Rubbish Poetry
The Hill of Zero Dimension
Pokkachi
I.L (“The Messenger”)
I.L (“Mannequin”)
The Runaway Tanker
1970
The Crater (“The Mask of Tomoe”)
The Crater (“Sacrifice”)
The Glass Castle
Apollo’s Song
Alabaster
Yaketpachi’s Maria
1971
New Liaozhai Zhiyi
Ripe Star
The Transparent Brain
One Fool
Lion Books (“Adachiga Hara”)
Lion Books (“The Closed Classroom”)
Lion Books (“A Hundred Tales”)
1972
Lion Books (“Mother River”)
Lion Books (“OBA Mansion”)
Lion Books (“The Muddy March”)
Buddha
Thunder Mask
Dust 8
1973
Microid S
Black Jack (“Is there a Doctor?”)
Black Jack (“Miyuki and Ben”)
Black Jack (“Anaphylaxis”)
Black Jack (“A Girl who became a Bird”)
Lolo’s Journey
The Euphrates Tree
1974
Black Jack (“Sealed Memory”)
Black Jack (“Teratoid Cystoma”)
Black Jack (“Fits”)
Black Jack (“Ashes and Diamonds”)
Black Jack (“Mistress Shiraha”)
Black Jack (“Sometimes Like Pearls”)
Black Jack (“The Two Jans”)
Black Jack (“Burned Doll”)
Black Jack (“Baby Blues”)
Black Jack (“Terror Virus”)
Black Jack (“The Third Call”)
Black Jack (“Two Loves”)
Black Jack (“Shrinking”)
The Three-Eyed One (“The Magic Maternity Ward”)
The Three-Eyed One (“The Jumyoin Residence’s Underground Dungeon”)
Okesa’s Hyoroku
Melody of Iron
Paper Fortress
1975
BJ- Stradivarius
BJ- wolf girl
BJ- fire and the ashes (mountain climbers our face)
BJ- tattoo of man (specimen other)
BJ- underground water (BB face of)
BJ- transience of love the (Michiru father’s face)
BJ- painting is dead! (face other Gann)
BJ- lucky man (announcer)
Three-eyed One – Camp snake came to the (face of classmates)
Three-eyed One – Glebe secret Hen (Poster of painting, etc.)
vulgar angel (stripper)
of the rainbow Prelude (other face of Lewis)
1976
BJ- little devil (the face of the Black Jack)
BJ- bear BJ- Deca heart (face of output)
BJ- timeout (face other beauty mud Dr.)
BJ- Hurricane (face of Kate)
BJ – Zatoichi doctor (TV announcer)
BJ- obsession (patient)
BJ- a star of death (film company of the president of the face)
BJ- Goribee of battlefield Hara (other face of the hunter)
BJ- vibration (picture of the shirt)
BJ – Two of the watering place (face of pipa round)
BJ- dropped stuff (train passengers)
BJ- torrent (BJ face)
Three-eyed One – Easter Island Hen (other face of Kumo-mei Inspector)
MW (branch manager, drop tree of the face, the TV image)
1977
BJ-B · J to hospitalization (shelf of the figurine)
BJ- white justice (Tsumo’s face)
BJ- above and below (a side dish of lunch)
BJ- disinherited son (of desk Rakugaki other)
BJ – wall BJ- life of the bond
BJ- darkness watch (white face)
BJ- six mag star (fireworks guests, the face of the doctor)
BJ- fussy suicide (Qiao face)
BJ- title(face of Pinoko)
BJ- memories of some old woman (? nurse)
BJ- three-legged race (electrocardiogram)
Three-eyed One – the basement of City Hen (Sharaku of the face, etc.)
Three-eyed One – More Hen (Pepehoka)
1978
BJ- swap
BJ-20-Nen-menoanji (Yamato Rear View)
BJ- sea love the smell (announcer)
In the case of BJ- a woman (announcer)
BJ- Dolls and police officers (doctors of the face)
BJ – backfire (the face of the actor)
BJ- Moraimizu (face other grandmother’s son)
Three-eyed One – the mystery of the medal
1979
BJ- virtual image (Shima face other)
in sector – butterfly canal smell of death (Superintendent)
tell the Osamu Tezuka Manga America
1980
Unico – elementary school one grade version (shaved face other is for instructions)
beggar princess Runpenera (soldier of the face, etc.)
1981
Rainbow Parakeet – rock bottom
Rainbow Parakeet – Doll’s House
Rainbow Parakeet – of glass Zoo
Rainbow Parakeet – prosecutor
Rainbow Parakeet – phone
Rainbow Parakeet – Waiting for Godot
Rainbow Parakeet – Alto = Heidelberg
Rainbow Parakeet – misunderstanding
Rainbow Parakeet – Virginia Woolf something afraid not
Rainbow Parakeet – Cyrano de Bergerac
Rainbow Parakeet – Blue Bird
Rainbow Parakeet – Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
Rainbow Parakeet – Ondine
Rainbow Parakeet – Devil’s disciple
Rainbow Parakeet – Sales Man of death
not not Baa (hero of the wife of the face)
1982
Rainbow Parakeet – Korunevu~iru bell of
Rainbow Parakeet – love noisy of heal how
Rainbow Parakeet – A Streetcar Named Desire
Rainbow Parakeet – Othello
Rainbow Parakeet – eleven Piki cat (priest)
of the ball Sabouraud Big Adventure (commentary)
BJ- only Sari Shi moment (BJ face)
1983
In 1983 happens is these things
secret slide
order of BJ- operations and (decoy)
1986
Atom Cat (“Atom the Orphan”) as “robot mask”
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