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God as Man
The Egotism of Osamu Tezuka

By Harley Acres



Manga Classroom
In 1953's Manga Classroom (漫画教室/Manga Kyoshitsu) Osamu Tezuka instructs his young readers what not to do by showing an example that is clearly based on his colleague Eiichi Fukui's Igaguri-kun which was published in the same magazine, Manga Shonen.


Beyond the groundbreaking manga created by Osamu Tezuka, and his influence on numerous generations of mangaka, one of the fascinating aspects to analyze is Tezuka's need for validation and his obsession with being acknowleged as the leader of the manga world. It seems difficult to imagine that the man frequently heralded as the "God of Manga," a man who held a medical degree and built one of the first major animation studios in Japan, would have such an uncharitable side when it came to the work of his colleages. At various times throughout Tezuka's multi-decade career he made targets of his rivals, friends and assistants. There were times when Tezuka felt his influence was waning during the era of gekiga and the following decade as Katsuhiro Otomo hearlded the arrival of the New Wave. [1] In moments like this the God of Manga could prove to be an uncharitable deity.

The earliest example of Tezuka's penchant for score-settling was on display in his "how to draw manga" series Manga Classroom (漫画教室/Manga Kyoshitsu). This was a still young Tezuka, rising in esteem during the 1950s and laying the groundwork for his own legacy, yet already unable to help but take shots at his peers. In the manga, Tezuka lays out the proper way to draw while also advocating against the style of his rivals. He mocks the multi-panel sequence of progressive close-ups that clearly suggests the work of Eiichi Fukui's Igaguri-kun (イガグリくん) a judo manga that had recently eclipsed Tezuka in popularity while they were both being published in Manga Shonen (漫画少年). [2]

In Igaguri-kun Fukui takes Tezuka's cinematic style, appropriating it to even grander success than the young artist had at that point. Fukui was older than Tezuka, an important note given how high-handedly Tezuka treats his senior in the pages of Manga Classroom. When Fukui saw Tezuka's insult he physically threatened Tezuka who initially tried to deny the implication, only to finally acknowledge that he was referencing Igaguri-kun. "I searched in my heart like coward for a way out of the situation,” Tezuka recalled in his autobiography. “Truth be told, at the time I was extremely jealous of Fukui’s drawing. That ended up bleeding unconsciously into Manga Classroom in the form of slander against an Igaguri kun-like manga." [3] In the next installment of Manga Classroom after the confrontation, Tezuka's surrogate in the manga is forced by two shadowy figures (Fukui and fellow mangaka Noboru Baba) to admit the benefits of their style.

This predates the biggest challenge to Tezuka's place among the pinnacle of the manga world, which was debated in the 1960s as audiences began to see Tezuka's Disney-inspired style as old-fashioned and longed for something more mature.

The Legend of Kamui
Sanpei Shirato's The Legend of Kamui (カムイ伝/Kamui Den) (1964-1971) was published in Garo, an avant-garde manga magazine that rivaled Tezuka's magazine COM.


Tezuka's influence in the early days of manga was second to none as shown in the partially autobiographical manga A Drifting Life (劇画漂流/Gekiga Hyoryu) by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (辰巳ヨシヒロ). Tezuka served as a mentor to the young Tatsumi and other Osaka-based artists, before Tatsumi, Takao Saito (齊藤隆夫) and Masahiko Matsumoto (松本正彦) broke away from the traditions of Tezuka and created the gekiga movement which would dominate the 1960s and 1970s and see the development of artists such as Sanpei Shirato (白土三平) and Ryoichi Ikegami (池上遼一) in the avant-garde publication Garo. Ultimately Tezuka had no choice but to create his own progressive magazine, COM, as a way to keep pace with the gekiga trend. COM allowed Tezuka to begin to showcase more mature and experimental work in the same vein as Garo. It was said that Shirato's early work in the rival magazine was bothersome to Tezuka as he felt it was heavily inspired by his own work. Yet years later when Shirato's Legend of Kamui (カムイ伝/Kamui Den) was seen as groundbreaking, Tezuka was jealous of the younger gekiga artist's success while simultaneously finding inspiration in Shirato's mature, epic stories. These feelings helpd inspire Tezuka to publish Phoenix (火の鳥/Hi no Tori) in COM. [4]

Even Tezuka's compatriot at COM, Shotaro Ishinomori, was seen by Tezuka as a rival. Ishinomori had been Tezuka's friend and occasional assistant from their days working in the Tokiwa-so apartment alongside other luminaries such as Fujio Akatasuka (赤塚不二夫) and the Fujiko Fujio (藤子不二雄) duo. Tezuka must have seen Ishinomori has his biggest rival given his treatment and comments towards him. By turns supportive and friendly, however in moments when Ishinomori was praised, Tezuka could turn terribly cruel. Marc Bernabé relates in The Swamp of the Dragon God (龍神沼/Ryujin-numa), a collection of Ishinomori short stories and essays, how Tezuka was crowned "The God of Manga" after a writer had dubbed Ishinomori "The King of Manga".
"It seems that they once interviewed Ishinomori for a newspaper and in the headline they wrote “Shotaro Ishinomori, the king of manga.” Shortly after that, Tezuka and Ishinomori met at a party and Tezuka, who apart from being a genius, had a lot of self-importance and did not handle the competition very well, immediately approached him and said, “Hey, Onodera - real name of Ishinomori-, if you are 'the king of manga', then what am I?" Ishinomori says that he was absolutely frozen and only managed to say “pu-pu-well, the god of manga.” Tezuka left without replying, visibly satisfied." [5]
By the mid-sixites when Tezuka invited Ishinomori to publish in the newly launched COM, Ishinomori had already begun publishing a number of the series that would bring him lasting fame- Cyborg 009 (サイボーグ009), Sabu and Ichi's Detective Memoirs (佐武と市捕物控/Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae) and Sarutobi Ecchan (さるとびエッちゃん). For COM, Ishinomori created the poetic, esoteric Jun (ジュン) which was published from 1967 to 1971. Originally Ishinomori was given a few pages in each issue of COM with the intention he would publish short gag manga, but he decided to try something more atypical for the new publication. Jun is a nearly dialogless manga about a boy who hopes to draw manga only to find his father at odds with his dreams. Readers found the work to be groundbreaking given its lyrical style.

Jun
Tezuka was so jealous of the positive feedback Shotaro Ishinomori's sensitive, nearly silent manga Jun (ジュン) was receiving in COM that he attempted to have it cancelled.


However admiration for Jun wrankled Tezuka who struggled to hear any other artist praised. Ishinomori would later relate the story, "one day, someone who was a fan of Jun sent me a letter. He wrote, 'Tezuka-sensei is slandering Jun by saying that it's not even a manga.' I was really shocked." The fan had including in his letter to Ishinomori a handwritten letter from Tezuka. The writer had sent Tezuka a letter, complimenting him on the magazine and the works appearing in it, saving his highest praise for Jun. Ishinomori added, "In (the letter), he wrote that he liked Jun. Then he received a reply from Tezuka, which contained some slanderous comments, which he (the fan) graciously sent to me." [6]

A Shogakukan editor, Kazuhiko Nakamura (中村一彦), related a similar story where he praised a panel from Jun and compared it to the work of Mozart. Tezuka was furious and responded "How on earth is this like Mozart's music? A manga with no dialog is not a manga." [7] Tezuka then called the editor of COM and demanded that Jun be cancelled. Ishinomori was stunned and voluntarily asked to have the manga removed from the magazine to placate Tezuka. In a moment of clarity Tezuka admitted to his own jealousy, apologized, and the manga was allowed to continue. Tezuka is said to have told Ishinomori, "I don't know why I did what I did, I hate myself." [8]

Kazuo Umezu Interview
Kazuo Umezu, who was initially influenced by Osamu Tezuka, felt that he plagarized the work he mailed him for feedback when Umezu was still a middle school student.


The icon of horror manga, Kazuo Umezu (楳図かずお), relates his own conflicted feelings about the work of Tezuka, who he states inspired him to become a manga artist thanks to his highly influential New Treasure Island (新宝島/Shin Takarajima).
"When I went to a local festival in my fifth year of elementary school, there was a stall selling books among all the other things like spinning tops and marbles. It was Osamu Tezuka-san's New Treasure Island. Until then, I'd just read manga because I liked it, but the moment I read New Treasure Island, I was awakened. I thought, "Ah, I want to be a manga artist too!" [9]
Eventually Umezu would prove to be something of a young manga prodigy. In middle school he joined the manga circle "Kaiman Club" (改漫クラブ) and published an adaptation of Hansel and Gretel entitled Siblings of the Forest (森の兄妹/Mori no Kyodai). The first half of the manga was written and illustrated by Umezu, with the second half drawn by Takeko Mizutani (水谷武子), a shojo manga artist. Umezu was in his second year of middle school when Siblings of the Forest was published and the pictured interview above he relates the story of sending an illustration from the book to Tezuka in hopes of getting feedback.
"I lost interest in Osamu Tezuka. It may sound like I'm talking bad about him, but it's the truth, so I'll tell you (laughs). When I was drawing Siblings of the Forest, I once sent a picture to Osamu Tezuka using that particular technique, asking him to take a look at it.

Sometimes, I don't get a reply, which is natural because I don't send replies to letters I get either (laughs). Then, when Tezuka's drawing style came out later, it contained the exact same technique that I had sent him. It was such a shock to me as a child that I started to dislike Osamu Tezuka even more.

Furukawa: I wonder if Tezuka was jealous.

Umezu: Yes, that's right. Before Fujiko Fujio passed away, when he made an appearance at the Akatsuka Awards, Fujiko told me about it. He went to help out at Osamu Tezuka's, I think it was in Takarazuka. There, he saw my paintings hanging up, which means it must have been the one I sent him. He said, "Wow, a genius has appeared!" (laughs). I was really grateful for that (laughs)." [10]
It was said that the youth of the era, the Zenkyoto (全共闘, a portmanteau of 全学共闘会議 Zengaku kyoto kaigi, or "All-Campus Joint Struggle Committees") who were active in student protests and anti-government politics were attracted to the dark-themed works in Garo, particularly Shirato's Legend of Kamui. Regarding COM and Tezuka, the Zenkyoto believed "Osamu Tezuka was already considered old-fashioned, and although they loved Garo, COM was regarded as ridiculous." [11] The raw, earthier stories of the day were en vogue among the rebellious youth of the early 1970s, an example best encapsulated during the hijacking of Japan Air Lines Flight 351 by the Japanese Red Army who released a statement broadcasting the message "We are Tomorrow's Joe," comparing themselves with the blue collar values of Asao Takamori and Tetsuya Chiba's hardscrabble boxer in Tomorrow's Joe (あしたのジョー/Ashita no Joe). [12]

Tezuka's lenghty career carried into the 1980s and with it his discomfort with another generation of mangaka, particularly Katsuhiro Otomo (大友克洋) the artist best known for creating AKIRA. Rumiko Takahashi commenting on the towering stature of Otomo in the late 1970s and early 1980s stated, "Otomo-sensei's manga impressed me with his illustrations, but to be more precise, the worldview he depicts is amazing. In particular, the story of the housing complex depicted in Domu (童夢) gave me a real sense of fear, as if it could be the world I live in." [13] Perhaps more than just Otomo's impressive draftsmanship left Tezuka jealous. Otomo, like Tezuka himself, soon moved from the world of manga into directing anime. One of the famous stories concerning Tezuka and Otomo was related by mangaka Hisashi Eguchi (the creator of Stop!! Hibari-kun!/ストップ!! ひばりくん!). While discussing Shin Tamura's manga Dekin Boy (できんボーイ) on the late night manga discussion show BS Manga Yawa, Eguchi related a story that Otomo shared with him. Tezuka approached Otomo and scoffed that "I can draw just like you," before adding the only artist he could not mimic was the unique style of Dajiro Morohoshi. [14] This story has often been held out as an example of Tezuka feeling as if the spotlight was passing towards the more naturalistic versimilitude of Otomo, who was seeing a number of young artists emulating his style (which included the aforementioned Hisashi Eguchi, Naoki Yamamoto, Hiroya Oku, Naoki Urasawa and Fumiko Takano).

Domu
By the 1980s Tezuka viewed Katsuhiro Otomo as a rival for attention. Otomo's early works such as Fireball and Domu (童夢) (shown here) presaged the success he would find with his iconic manga AKIRA.


Tezuka was protective of the world of manga, like a professional wrestler jealously guarding the secrets of the craft, he gave advice comprised of half-truths to help elevate the perception of his own abilities. Tatsuya Egawa (江川達也) (creator of Golden Boy) related his frustration with Tezuka's advice to young artists. "When I became a university student, I started submitting my work to Young Jump and other magazines. I followed Osamu Tezuka's advice that I shouldn't use a ruler, and so I drew without using one, but I got a lot of flak for it. I was told that Osamu Tezuka had said the wrong thing (laughs). Then I read in Sunday Manga College that "if you can draw cute girls, you can become a manga artist," so I started drawing cute girls with a ruler, and suddenly I got a good response (laughs)." [15] [16]

Tezuka's assistant, Shigeto Ishihara (池原しげと) has discussed some of his recollections of Tezuka's selfishness. When asked if Tezuka was jealous of any of his assistants' abilities Ishihara said not his assistants, but that he had a complex when it came to the work of Shotaro Ishinormori and Katsuhiro Otomo. "I think the only people Tezuka-sensei was really jealous of were Shotaro Ishinomori-sensei and Katsuhiro Otomo-sensei. He might not have had the confidence to win with an Ishinomori-like manga, and I don't think he could draw more realistic pictures than Otomo-san, so I think he had that kind of complex. I don't think the others cared much about it. As far as I can tell." [17]

When asked if Tezuka felt his era was coming to an end, Ishihara states Tezuka would have worked forever if he could. "I think he had a strong desire to continue drawing manga and to remain at the top of the manga world forever. That's why he couldn't leave things to others and felt like he had to do everything himself. I guess he didn't like the fact that things could be done without him. That may have been the case. So no matter how busy Tezuka-sensei was, he drew 99% of the characters in his manga all by himself. Even in anime, he'd draw the original animation himself. I also helped with the original animation a little bit, but if he could, he wanted to do everything himself (laughs)." [18]

Even someone as universally beloved as "The God of Manga" can prove to be all too human. Tezuka has rightfully been praised as the single most important figure in the history of manga and during his life he worked at a breakneck pace to remain at the top of his profession for decades. Still the spotlight often proved to be too small if some of its glow fell upon one of Tezuka's colleagues.

Footnotes

Harley Acres is an art history professor at Pikes Peak State College in Colorado Springs. He has previously written about mangaka Makoto Raiku's lawsuit against Shogakukan editors for the loss of his artwork.

 

Cover

Rumic World
Published: November 13, 2023, November 10, 2024 (updated)
Author: Harley Acres
Translated by: ---
ISBN/Web Address: https://www.furinkan.com/ features/articles/tezuka.html
Page numbers: ---