By FUMIKO TAKAKI/ Staff Writer
September 12, 2022 at 08:00 JST
“Mighty Atom” comic books from Takanobu Tsuge’s collection are on display as part of a special exhibition at the Hashima Movie Museum in Hashima, Gifu Prefecture, on July 15. (Fumiko Takaki)
HASHIMA, Gifu Prefecture--A special exhibition featuring more than 1,000 comic works by Osamu Tezuka, along with movie posters and related items, is being held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the maestro’s “Mighty Atom” manga series.
Tezuka, who died in 1989 at the age of 60, is often called “the god of manga.” He created 700 or so titles.
One section of the venue at the Hashima Movie Museum here is dedicated to anthologies of his complete works, including “The Jungle Emperor,” “Phoenix” and “Black Jack,” as well as many lesser-known titles.
The event that runs until Sept. 19 came about after Takanobu Tsuge provided his lifelong collection to share with the public.
The die-hard Tezuka fan, who is 67 and lives in Gifu, was a first-grader when “Astro Boy,” Japan’s first animated TV series based on “Mighty Atom,” started airing in 1963.
His parents allowed him to join an “Astro Boy” fan club when he was a fifth-grader.
Tsuge recalled that the half-year membership fee in those days was 300 yen ($2.15), a tidy sum as he had to make do with 5 to 10 yen in daily spending money.
He still cherishes the membership certificate and fan club booklets that are on display at the exhibition.
He began collecting magazines and comic books after he enrolled in college.
“I satisfied my hunger (for Tezuka’s comic books) from my childhood when I grew older,” he said. “Had my parents bought those for me on a regular basis, I wouldn’t have kept them.”
“Mighty Atom was born in 2003 (in the manga),” noted museum director Yasuo Imaida, 66. “The exhibition offers visitors the chance to learn that Tezuka had the foresight to envision the future 50 years from the early 1950s and how his stories deal with the theme of the dignity of life.”
The venue is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Mondays.
Admission is 300 yen and free for junior high school students and younger children.
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