Tezuka Award
Encyclopedia
The is a semi-annual manga
award offered by the Japan
ese publisher Shueisha
(集英社), under the auspices of its Weekly Shonen Jump
magazine. It awards new comic artists in the Story Manga
category. Its counterpart award, Akatsuka Award
, awards new comic artists in the Comedic Manga category. The award is named after the manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka
and is designed to cultivate new artists. The prize for a top Selected Work is worth one million Japanese yen
and for a lesser but still worthy work, half-a-million yen. These cash prizes may not be awarded (as is often the case) if the judges deem none of the candidates worthy.
Historically the awardees have been in their early twenties, although two notable winners were over 90 years of age.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
award offered by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese publisher Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
(集英社), under the auspices of its Weekly Shonen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
magazine. It awards new comic artists in the Story Manga
Story manga
Story manga is one of the two main type of Manga, other being Gag manga. The later type is akin to comic strip. It synchronize visual and reading speed of each frames/strips using the time-control technique on each double-page spread. It is distinguished from the "one frame cartoon" and "one page...
category. Its counterpart award, Akatsuka Award
Akatsuka Award
The is the name of a semi-annual award presented to humorous manga cartoonists by the Japanese publisher Shueisha. The award has been given since 1974 and it aims to reward new manga artist in the comedy manga category. Its counterpart award, Tezuka Award, awards new manga artists in the Story...
, awards new comic artists in the Comedic Manga category. The award is named after the manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
and is designed to cultivate new artists. The prize for a top Selected Work is worth one million Japanese yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
and for a lesser but still worthy work, half-a-million yen. These cash prizes may not be awarded (as is often the case) if the judges deem none of the candidates worthy.
Historically the awardees have been in their early twenties, although two notable winners were over 90 years of age.
Committee chair
- Osamu TezukaOsamu Tezukawas a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
(1971-1988) - Fujio AkatsukaFujio Akatsukawas a pioneer Japanese artist of comical manga known as the Gag Manga King. His name at birth is 赤塚 藤雄, whose Japanese pronunciation is the same as 赤塚 不二夫....
(1989-2008). Due to his failing health, this title was merely a formality during the years leading up to his death on 2 August 2008.
Major committee members
These are the most prominent members of the committee only. Other adjudicators are also present in the committee.- Akira ToriyamaAkira Toriyamais a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
(acting committee chair) - Nobuhiro WatsukiNobuhiro Watsukiis a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.-Biography:...
- Eiichiro OdaEiichiro Odais a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of One Piece.-Early life:As a child, Oda was inspired by Akira Toriyama's works and aspired to become a manga artist. He recalls that his interest in pirates was probably sparked by the popular TV animation series titled Vicky the Viking...
- Masashi KishimotoMasashi Kishimotois a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive...
- Riichiro InagakiRiichiro Inagaki, born June 20, 1976 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese gensaku-sha . He's best known for writing the manga Eyeshield 21, in collaboration with artist Yusuke Murata. Eyeshield 21 was completed in June 2009....
- Tezuka ProductionsTezuka ProductionsTezuka Productions is a company created by Osamu Tezuka. His son, Makoto Tezuka has the goal to extend Tezuka's manga series with new issues and publish posthumous works...