(item number) 1801
(title) Osamu Tezuka Hand-Drawn Illustration Signed Collection of Autographs
(size) 680×680 mm
(side note) Fold and save, with writing on the back
(condition) 6
(detailed) Is folded/broken, is stained, discolored slightly, slightly torns
(starting bid price) 450,000 yen
(comment) An illustration from the summer of 1945, when Tezuka Osamu was 16 years old. The owner of this message board was Kano Naohiro, who participated in the year-round mobilization with Tezuka, and as can be seen from the school emblem "six-pointed star" depicted in the center, he was Tezuka's classmate in his fourth year at the old Kitano Junior High School.
Due to a labor shortage as the war became bogged down, year-round mobilization of Tezuka and other fourth-year students at Kitano Junior High School began in September 1944. They were forced to graduate one year early in March of the following year, and students who chose careers related to the military and industry were exempt from mobilization, but it was decided that the mobilization period would be extended until June for some students, including Tezuka and Kano. There are testimonies and items left from Tezuka's old friends about those days, including how Tezuka brought pen and ink to the place where he was mobilized and drew pictures, and how he gave each of his classmates a portrait when they graduated. For example, a message book like the one we have presented here is owned by Kanazu Hironao, and there is also a photograph taken by Kuzuno Kenichi of that time that shows both Tezuka and Kano at the Osaka Sekiwatari site where they were mobilized.
Tezuka himself has looked back on those days in manga and essays, and the main focus is on how he was passionate about drawing manga above all else, but it can also be read as how he found his own social position through the communication that was born from having his friends read his works. In particular, it is clear that manga was what protected Tezuka's mind and body during the days when he lived in fear of the inhumane war, when the city of Osaka burned in air raids and his classmates died, and that everything related to manga was Tezuka's "paper fortress," just as the title of Tezuka's autobiographical masterpiece, which depicts the final days of the war, suggests.
Returning to the item on display, this item was kept by Tezuka's classmate, Naohiro Kano, after the war. In June 1945, as Japan was approaching defeat, the factory was burned down in an air raid, and the mobilization ended. Students who remained until the end were given a letter of appreciation dated July 5th. From the note on the back, "Name of receipt dated July 4th, 1945," it can be assumed that this letter of appreciation was written to commemorate the end of the mobilization. The classmates wrote heroic words typical of wartime in this letter of appreciation, but Tezuka added three cartoon drawings to it. The first one shows a boy in old clothes wearing geta sandals, with his bag hanging down from his chest, smoking a cigarette. As Tezuka recalls, this kind of rowdy atmosphere existed at Kitano Junior High School. The second item is kendo equipment. In the above-mentioned photo of the mobilization site, Mr. Kano is holding a bamboo sword, and it can be inferred that kendo was a symbol of him among his classmates. The third piece shows Kano striding along in his school uniform. The white gaiters on his feet are a symbol of pride for students at the old Kitano Junior High School, but as the war intensified, they were banned from wearing them. The fact that it was painted at the end of mobilization seems to express the modest joy and farewell thoughts of Tezuka and his classmates, who were forced to graduate while their freedom was suppressed. On July 1, 1945, Tezuka entered the medical department attached to Osaka Imperial University, and made his debut as a manga artist on New Year's Day the following year. The vast amount of manga and illustrations he created during the war were mostly destroyed in the war, and only a few remain today. This collection of messages is a rare piece that tells the story of Tezuka's wartime life (Yamatani) 124 Military
124 Military |
