Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize
Named after Osamu Tezuka, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan.
Osamu Tezuka, the prize's namesake, pictured in 1951
Naoki Urasawa, two-time recipient of the Grand Prize (1999, 2005)
Osaka International Institute for Children's Literature, 2008 recipient of the Special Award
Kan Takahama, 2020 recipient of the Grand Prize
Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga" , "the Godfather of Manga" and "the God of Manga" . Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years. Though this phrase praises the quality of his early manga works for children and animations, it also blurs the significant influence of his later, more literary, gekiga works.
Tezuka in 1951
Tezuka in the 1950s
The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum