The 11th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award Ceremony was held on June 6th. During the award ceremony, each winning mangaka talked about their thoughts, feelings and future plans. In Japan, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award has become one of the most prestigious manga award in the industry.
The Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award is one of the most prestigious manga award in Japan. The award, named after Osamu Tezuka, was established by Asahi Shimbun in 1997.
The Tezuka Cultural Award should not to be confused with Shueisha's Tezuka Award, which was created in 1971 (Weekly Shonen Jump, or the anime/manga Osamu Tezuka Award created by AnimeEast in 1995.
In the beginning there were two categories, the Grand Prize and the Award for Excellence. An additional Special Award is given out to a person or group who have contributed to the development of manga. Nominations are picked by general manga readers and industry professionals, from which the finalists are selected by a panel of judges made up of manga artists, writers, critics, and others from the field. In the final stage of the selection, each judge will vote with a total of 15 points, with 5 points per work at a maximum. The title that receives the most point is awarded the grand prize.
In 2003, two new categories, the Shinsei (New Hope) Award and the Short Story Award, were added. 3 other awards are also handed out: Shinsei (New Hope) Award, the Short Manga Prize and a Special Award.
The winner of the Grand Prize receives 2 million yen and a bronze statue, while winners of the other categories receive 1 million yen and a bronze statue.
Below is a list of past winners:
-
1st (1997)
Grand Prize: Fujio F. Fujiko (Doraemon)
Finalists:
- Takayuki Yamaguchi (Apocalypse Zero)
- MinetarÅ Mochizuki (Dragon Head)
- Taiyo Matsumoto (Ping Pong)
- Gonta King and Hagin Yi (Sotenkoro)
Award for Excellence: Moto Hagio (Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru)
Special Award: Minoru Naiki for the establishment and management of the Gendai Manga Toshokan (Modern Manga Library).
-
2nd (1998)
Grand Prize: Jiro Taniguchi and Natsuo Sekikawa (Botchan No Jidai)
Finalists:
- Yu Koyama (Azumi)
- Kentaro Miura (Berserk)
- Minoru Furuya (Go! Inachu Ping Pong Club)
- Naoki Urasawa (Monster)
- Koji Aihara (Mujina)
- Taiyo Matsumoto (Ping Pong)
- Gonta King and Hagin Yi (Sotenkoro)
- Rieko Saibara (Yunbokun)
Award for Excellence: Aoki Yuji (Naniwa Kin'yuudou)
Special Award: Shotaro Ishinomori for the years of contribution to both manga and the manga industry.
-
3rd (1999)
Grand Prize: Naoki Urasawa (Monster)
Finalists:
- Kentaro Miura (Berserk)
- Minetaro Mochizuki (Dragon Head)
- Kyoko Okazaki (Untitled)
- Award for Excellence:
- Akira Saso (Shindo: The Prodigy)
- Special Award: Fusanosuke Natsume for his contributions to manga criticism.
-
4th (2000)
Grand Prize: Daijirou Moroboshi (Saiyuu Youenden)
Finalists:
- Kentaro Miura (Berserk)
- Waka Mizuki (Itihaasa)
- Eiichiro Oda (One Piece)
- Hideki Arai (The World is Mine)
Award for Excellence: Minetaro Mochizuki (Dragon Head)
Special Award: Frederik L. Schodt for the promotion of Japanese manga around the world.
-
5th (2001)
Grand Prize: Reiko Okano (Onmyoji)
Finalists:
- Kentaro Miura (Berserk)
- Yumiko Oshima (Even Goo-Goo is a Cat)
- Kazuichi Hanawa (Keimusho no Naka)
- Eiichiro Oda (One Piece)
- Takehiko Inoue (Vagabond)
Award for Excellence: Kotobuki Shiriagari (Yajikita in Deep)
Special Award: Akira Maruyuma for the support of manga artists at Tokiwa-so.
-
6th (2002)
Grand Prize: Takehiko Inoue (Vagabond)
Finalists:
- Reiko Shimizu (Himitsu: Top Secret)
- Eiichiro Oda (One Piece)
- Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go)
- Hideki Arai (The World is Mine)
Award for Excellence: Kentaro Miura (Berserk)
Special Award: None.
-
7th (2003)
Grand Prize: Fumiko Takano (The Yellow Book: A Friend Named Jacques Thibault)
Finalists:
- Yumiko Oshima (Even Goo-Goo is a Cat)
- Hisaichi Ishii (Gendai Shiso no Sonansha-tachi)
- Taro Minamoto (Fuunji-tachi: Bakumatsu)
- Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go)
- Ichiko Ima (Hyakki Yako Sho)
- Shuho Sato (Say Hello to Black Jack)
- Izo Hashimoto and Akio Tanaka (Shamo)
- Shinsei (New Hope) Award:
- Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go)
Short Story Award: Hisaichi Ishii (Gendai Shiso no Sonansha-tachi)
Special Award: Shigeru Mizuki for his creativity and years of activities.
-
8th (2004)
Grand Prize: Kyoko Okazaki (Helter Skelter)
Finalists:
- Ai Yazawa (Nana)
- Satoshi Fukushima (Boys and Girls)
- Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist)
- Taro Minamoto (Fuunji-tachi: Bakumatsu)
- Chika Umino (Honey and Clover)
- Ryoko Yamagishi (Maihime Terpsichore)
- Yamato Suzuki (Manga Travelogue: The Narrow Road to Oku)
Shinsei (New Hope) Award: Takashi Morimoto (Naniwadora Ihon)
Short Story Award: Risu Akizuki (OL Evolution)
Special Award: Taro Minamoto for pioneering historical manga and contributing to manga culture.
-
9th (2005)
Grand Prize: Naoki Urasawa (Pluto)
Finalists:
- Tobira Oda (Danchi Tomoo)
- Hitoshi Iwaaki (History)
- Ichiko Ima (Hyakki Yako Sho)
- Ryoko Yamagishi (Maihime Terpsichore)
- Tomoko Ninomiya (Nodame Cantabile)
- Fumiyo Kono (Yuunagi no Machi Sakura no Kuni)
- Takehiko Inoue (REAL)
- Yoko Kondou (Suikyou Kitan)
Shinsei (New Hope) Award: Fumiyo Kono (Yuunagi no Machi Sakura no Kuni)
Short Story Award: Rieko Saibara (Jokyo Monogatari)
Special Award: Kawasaki City Museum for its exhibitions and collections of manga from the Edo period to present.
-
10th (2006)
Grand Prize: Hideo Aduma (Disappearance Diary)
Finalists:
- Akimi Yoshida (Eve no Nemuri)
- Tobira Oda (Danchi Tomoo)
- Moyoco Anno (Hataraki Man)
- Hitoshi Iwaaki (Historie)
- Daisuke Igarashi (Little Forest)
- Masayuki Ishikawa (Moyashimon)
- Ai Yazawa (Nana)
- Tomoko Ninomiya (Nodame Cantabile)
- Okawara Ton (Ousama no Shitateya ~Saruto Fuinito~)
- Takehiko Inoue (REAL)
Shinsei (New Hope) Award: Asa Higuchi (Ookiku Furikabutte)
Short Manga Prize: Risa Itou (collection of short stories)
Special Award: Kousei Ono for many years of introducing foreign comics to Japan and activity as a commentator.
-
11th (2007)
Grand Prize: Ryoko Yamagishi (Maihime Terpsichore)
Finalists:
- Tobira Oda (Danchi Tomoo)
- Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (Death Note)
- Yoshihiro Yamada (Hyouge-mono)
- Daisuke Sato abd Yu Ito (Koukoku no Shugosha)
- Masayuki Ishikawa (Moyashimon)
- Fumi Yoshinaga (Ooku)
- Hiromi Morishita (Osaka Hamlet)
Shinsei (New Hope) Award: Nobuhisa Nozoe, Kazuhiro Iwata and Kyojin Onishi (The Divine Comedy)
Short Manga Prize: Hiromi Morishita (Osaka Hamlet)
Special Award: None.
Every year Asahi Shimbun announces the winners of the award on its newspaper, below is what a typical announcement looks like:
During the award ceremony for the 11th Tezuka Cultural Award, the grand prize winner Ryoko Yamagishi said, "Thanks to Mr. Tezuka, manga spread around the world. I'm both proud and glad to be able to receive this prize." She also discussed her determination for the second season of Maihime Terpsichore: "I want to change the intensity of drawing manga into something that is amusing and full of surprise."
The Shinsei award winner, Nobuhisa Nozoe and Kazuhiro Iwata, took the platform together. Nozoe said, "I want the spirit of Kyojin Onishi (the original writer) to last forever." Iwata said, "I think I was able to receive this award due to a kind of alarm during fragile times. Please read our work, everyone."
The short manga award winner Hiromi Morishita said emotionally: "An acquaintance in my hometown mentioned in a letter about Mr. Tezuka that 'Mr. Tezuka is the king of manga.' She said king instead of god. I think the life of a mangaka is to become the God of manga."
References:
- Asahi Shimbun
- Comic Book Awards Almanac
- JAI2.com
Translation by Michiko
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