The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

Osamu Tezuka lived in Takarazuka from the impressionable ages of 5-24, where he gained a wide range of experiences that laid the basis for his creations. When Osamu Tezuka passed away, several municipalities came forward to say they would like to build a museum in his honor, but with his bereaved family saying that Osamu himself would have built it in his hometown, the decision was made to build the museum in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture. [Tezuka's works spread around the inside and outside of the museum] Visitors to the museum are greeted at the entrance by a statue of the Phoenix and hand- and footprints of characters from Tezuka's works. Objects related to characters like Astro Boy, Kimba, and Black Jack are on display in the garden on the north side of the museum. The settings of his works have been recreated inside the museum, with the ground floor featuring Astro Boy's robot factory, while the first floor has a hall in the style of the royal palace from the Princess Knight and an exhibition capsule modeled on the life support system from Phoenix: Future. With photo spots all around, it's a great place for an impromptu photo shoot. [Exhibition Content] In addition to 40 exhibition capsules with displays under the 2 themes of "the relationship between Osamu Tezuka and Takarazuka" and "Osamu Tezuka the author," the permanent exhibition also features Astro Boy Vision, which screens the museum's original cartoons, an anime studio, where guests can get a hands-on experience of what it's like to make a cartoon out of their own drawings, and a diorama showing what Takarazuka was like around 1940 when Osamu Tezuka lived there. Special exhibitions change 3 times a year on a 4-month cycle, so there is always something on display. The exhibition themes are "the works of Osamu Tezuka" and "the influence of Tezuka's manga on contemporary works."