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14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Winners Announced

The Asahi Shimbun paper has announced the winners for the 14th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes on Monday.

Grand Prize

New Artist Prize

Short Work Prize

Special Prize

Yamada's historical manga Hyouge Mono had been nominated twice — once three years ago and again this year — before winning. Artist Mari Yamazaki already received this year's Manga Taisho (Cartoon Grand Prize) for Thermae Romae, a gag manga that deals with the two cultures in the world "that have loved baths the most: the Japanese and the Romans!" Yonezawa passed away in 2006 after co-founding the largest dōjinshi market event in the world, writing a string of award-winning essays about manga's place in popular culture, and visiting North America for several anime conventions.

The Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes commemorate the contributions of the manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy/Mighty Atom, Kimba the White Lion/Jungle Emperor, Phoenix, Black Jack) by recognizing the manga that best follow his tradition. This year's nominating committee — which includes manga creator Gō Nagai, manga creator Keiko Takemiya, novelist Shion Miura, essayists, and university professors — selected from among the works that were published from January to December of 2009. The newspaper awards a 2-million-yen (about US$20,000) Manga Grand Prize to each of its winners. In addition, 1 million yen (US$10,000) goes to each of the winners of the New Artist Prize, Short Work Prize, and the Special Prize every year. The actual awards presentation ceremony will take place in Tokyo on May 28.

Source: Asahi Shimbun