Forum - View topicThe power of Anime/Manga....1989
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dannavy85
 Posts: 114 |
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On my first deployment with the U.S. Navy in 1989, I was fortunate enough...perhaps with a sense of reflective sadness...to witness both the end of the Hirohito imperial rein and the death of Osamu Tezuka within a mere two weeks of each other. It was a surprising example of the power the manga culture held over the Japanese nation.
The death of the Showa Emperor Hirohito had come after the tired old sovereign had been suffering from bleeding intestines. Here was the last true emperor to hold the power derived from the Godess Arimasu, leader of a nation through war, defeat and rebirth. And on his death not so much as a tear, a whimper, a showing of regret from the Japanese people. To a large part, his death so expected, Hirohito garneshed but a simple change of ceremonial trappings while the faces of his subjects shown nothing more than perhaps a reflective " oh well...on to better things." Tezuka however? He was working at his drawing desk as he always had in years past on February 8th, 1989. His latest work was a take on the classic "Faust" story. His oldest son found him collapsed on the floor of his room and he was rushed by ambulance to osaka university medical center where around 4am on the 9th he passed away from stomach cancer. That morning I was off duty walking into Yokosuka City to get some yen for a trip up to Atsugi airbase. There was a deffinate change in the city. At the outdoor shopping centers people were clustered around televisions and openly weeping. No shame, no urge to hide their emotions, outright open weeping. On NHKTV the pictures and stories of Osamu Tezuka's life and his signature creation Tetsuwan Atom had marked his passing from life. The response from the Japanese people was so unlike them. Emotional burst usually reserved for some privacy was released unrestrained. Children's pictures of Astroboy and Kimba dotted school windows, trinkets of Tezuka lore were dropped off at small shrines around town. And while Hirohito was given a modest reservation of a funeral march to his final place of rest...Osamu Tezuka was given a burial fitting a high head of state. The people tendered to a simple artist a tribute far in excess given to their former monarch. Tezuka, in life as well as art, was a man of simple joy. I had only a brief encounter with him in 1986 when I stopped during a walk in Yokohama to check out an exhibit of his works. He never walked away from a fan and he didn't leave untill he thought every fan was satisfied with his autograph or some quick sketch. In the early years of post-war Japan, Manga was the means for people to escape the desivation and misery left by a titanic conflict. It was Tezuka and his fellows of Tokowazu who provided the means of comfort and set forth the first ambassador of a new and thriving Japan. And the people loved him for it and they and thousands of us still do. Yes...a simple man with a pencil can indeed be worth more than a monarch with a fancy title. |
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Ferquin
 Posts: 297 Location: Renton, WA, USA |
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Well said. You're truly blessed to have met Tezuka in person.
Unfortunately only in Japan, a country where comic art and animation go hand-in-hand with every facet of daily life, could this happen. When Disney died, all he got was a few magazine covers yet he pioneered animation as we know it. Same with other greats like Chuck Jones and voice actors like Mel Blanc who also contributed to modern animation, who got even less - no more than a few blurbs in the evening news or a brief obituary article in the entertainment column of the paper. But as it is, America in general views comic art and animation as children's fodder, which is why nobody really cared when these gods among men passed on. It's sad, really. |
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dannavy85
Posts: 114 |
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well spoken. But Charles Schultz was remembered well. I was ticked that Chuck Jones got little or nothing, then again given the harsh and despicable treatment by such filth as Action for Children's Television and other censor-nazis, it's no wonder Chuck's death was almost hushed in the media.
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dannavy85
Posts: 114 |
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I will say this for Tezuka as well, he avoided the tourist trap mentality of Disney. Perhaps it was a slight when he told his son shortly before he died that if he was to be remembered, it would be with a library and not an amusement park that teaches nothing. ( slap Disney)
I've been to the Tezuka Library in Takarazuka, what a wonderful place. It may not be the size of Disneyworld but it really never had to be to give you the same amount of fun. 
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jmays
ANN Past Staff
 Posts: 1390 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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What a fascinating story. Thanks for sharing!
I can't seem to find anything about the Tezuka Library online. Would you mind filling us in on some of the offerings of the place? |
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Ferquin
Posts: 297 Location: Renton, WA, USA |
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Well, don't hold too much against Disney. After all, Tezuka saw Disney as one of his heroes. In any case, I don't blame Disney for his company going so terribly wrong, I blame Eisner, but that's neither here nor there as far as Tezuka is concerned.
In any case, I wish America was more interested in animation and comics as a legitimate art and storytelling format and less as a cheap babysitter for their children. Again, it's ironic, coming from the country that created animation and comics in the first place. |
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dannavy85
Posts: 114 |
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It's not me personally blaming old Walt. It seemed to be Tezuka's only fault with Disney that you'd expend money on an amusement park that while giving enjoyment, contributes what else? Tezuka saw education as progressive art and he felt his memory was better served by something you could learn from.
http://digilander.libero.it/joe.chip/tezuka_e.htm http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.5/3.5pages/3.5leger.html Though it's officially called a museum, the building in Takarazuka is more a library because of the materials and files it holds and that fact that much of it is a hands on experiance with a large amount of period manga dating back to 1951 for reading and an art studio in the basement where you can draw your own animated shorts. It fits the mind of the man perfectly, not big, not awe shocking, just simple, sublime and easy. I swear you go through the doors though and your childhood just comes back, right down to a stuffed Astroboy toy I used to have when I was like 3 or 4 years old. |
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