Tokiwa-sō

**Tokiwa-sō** (トキワ荘) was an apartment complex located in Minami-Nagasaki 3-chome, Toshima Ward, Tokyo, Japan. It became famous for having housed many up-and-coming manga authors in the 1950s, serving its purpose from December 6, 1952 to its demolition on November 29, 1982.

## Overview

The old wooden apartment known as Tokiwa-sō had its second floor composed of at least ten guest room, all the size of 4 1/2 tatami mats per space. The kitchen and bathroom space were communal.

Osamu Tezuka had moved to Tokyo in 1952, initially setting up his workspace on the second floor of a Yotsuya grocey store, until the owner complained about Tezuka's editors coming in and out frequently. At that time, Tezuka was offered to move into Tokiwa-sō and became its first resident in 1953. After this, Gakudosha's Manga Shonen magazine invited many other cartoonists into the apartment, with there being as many as seven to eight residents living there at a time. Because of this, the building became nicknamed "Manga-sō".

However, the apartment was not just a place that any artist could enter, as Hiroo Terada made sure of it that only the most dedicated young creators would be up to the task. As a communal space for manga artists, they were expected to help out one another, produce high results in Manga Shonen, and have a strong will and skills to continue drawing manga or assisting on others' works.

## Famous Residents

Although there are other manga-ka attached to the fame of this apartment, there were only 11 people that could have been considered regular residents, and not all were present together in the same span.

### Regulars

* Osamu Tezuka (early 1953-October 1954)
* Hiroo Terada (December 31, 1953-June 20, 1957)
* The duo of Fujiko Fujio (Hiroshi Fujimoto/Fujiko F Fujio , Motoo Abiko/Fujiko Fujio A) (both October 30, 1954 -October 1961). At first the two shared the room that was once occupied by Tezuka, until F moved to a separate space and A's sister Kitae moved in with her brother, starting in December 1955.
* Shinichi Suzuki (September 2, 1955-June 1, 1956)
* Naoya Moriyasu (February 1956- end of that year)
* Shotaro Ishimori (May 4, 1956 - the end of 1961)
* Fujio Akatsuka (May 4, 1956-October 1961)
* Tokuo Yokota (? 1958- ?1961)
* Hideko Mizuno (From March to October of 1958)
* Joji Yamauchi (September 1960-March 1962)

### Frequent Visitors

* Kunio Nagatani
* Jiro Tsunoda- Traveled to and from the location by scooter
* Shunji Sonoyama
* Yoshiharu Tsuge
* Saburo Sakamoto- Later known for his animation direction work on "Space Runaway Ideon", "Aura Battler Dunbine", and "Battle Mecha Xabungle". At this time, he had attempted to be a manga-ka, but was turned off by the stinginess of his editors and abandoned the idea.
* Takemaru Nagata
* Hideo Shinoda
* Takao Yokoyama

### Others who were Residents

* Riyo Akatsuka (1958-1964). Came to stay with her son Fujio to support him in his works.
* Toshichi Akatsuka (January 1962-1964), followed his wife to the apartment and the two remained living there for a period after Fujio's departure.
* Yoshie Onodera (1958)- Stayed at the manor for a time to visit her brother, up until her death.
* Keiko Endo- Later known for being the director of the NHK Matsuyama Broadcasting Station. She spent her youth around the apartment and helped produce a commemorative special for it in 1981.

## Memorials and Restoration Project

### Monument "Tokiwa-so Heroes"

 In March 2009, construction of this monument began at the Minami-Nagasaki Hanasaki Park, and was completed on April 4th.

### "The Ruins of Tokiwa-so" Monument

 On April 6, 2012, a small stone monument in the shape of the original building was set up on the former site of Tokiwa-so, and an unveiling ceremony was held.

### Manga-related Monuments

 Toshima Ward began producing more commemorative memorials in 2015, setting up 11 in total for each regular resident in the building's history:

1. Osamu Tezuka: Leo and Lyra (Jungle Emperor Leo). Completed in April 2016, visible on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and the Higashi-Nagasaki Station's North-South Free Passage.
2. Hiroo Terada: Zero-kun (Uniform Number 0). Completed in April 2016, at Minami-Nagasaki Sports Park.
3. Shinichi Suzuki: A ramen stall monument, to homage the creation of the "Koike-san" character patterned after him in Fujiko Fujio works. It was completed in December 2016, and can be seen at Minami-Nagasaki Park. The art itself was drawn by Suzuki.
4. Naoya Moriyasu: Mako-chan (Inekko Warakko). Completed December 2016 at the special nursing home "Kaze Kaorusato".
5. Hideko Mizuno: Linda and Julius (The Star's Freshness). Completed December 2018, at the Toei Oedo Line's Ochiai Minami-Nagasaki Station.
6. Fujiko Fujio A: Kaibutsu-kun. Completed June 2019, at Shiinamachi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
7. Shotaro Ishinomori: Cyborg 009. Completed June 2019, Shiinamachi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
8. Fujio Akatsuka: The Genius Bakabon. Completed June 2019, Shiinamachi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
9. Tokuo Yokota: Margaret-chan. Completed March 2020, Minami-Nagasaki Park.

### Tokiwa-so Street Rest Stop

 This is a two-story facility developed by Toshima Ward as a base for transmitting information about Tokiwa-so's history. The first floor is an event space and souvenir shop, while the second floor contains both permanent and special rotating exhibitions.

### Tokiwa-so Restoration Project

In preparation for the later-deferred Tokyo Olympics in 2020 , Toshima Ward started construction of a museum in Minami-Nagasaki Hanasaki Park, nearby, on January 15, 2019. **The Toshima Ward Tokiwaso Manga Museum** finally opened April 1, 2020. Inside, the work spaces of the residents are reproduced, as well as spaces for both manga viewing and animation screening.

### Higashi-Nagasaki Station Police Box

 The Metropolitan Police Department Mejiro Police Station reconstructed the Higashi-Nagasaki Station Police Box with an appearance similar to its days at Tokiwa-so, opening it in March 2019.

## Works about Tokiwa-sō

*There are many different media about the history and people surrounding the place, with the titles below being just some that are known. More can be added as you find out, or other new media are released.*

### Books and Manga

* **Tokiwa-so Story** (COM, October 1969-September 1970). Each of these issues contains a different chapter and anecdote by a resident of Tokiwa-so, in this order: Hideko Mizuno (October 1969), Hiroo Terada (November 1969), Fujiko Fujio A and Fujiko F Fujio (December 1969), Naoya Moriyasu (January 1970), Shinichi Suzuki (February 1970), Takemaru Nagata (March 1970), Tokuo Yokota (April 1970), Fujio Akatsuka (May-June 1970 merger issue), Jiro Tsunoda (July 1970), Shotaro Ishimori (August 1970), and Osamu Tezuka (September 1970). These were all compiled and reprinted into a "**Tokiwa-so Story**" tankobon release by Suigosha in May 1978.
* **Kunio Nagatani Parody Theater chapter 9**, serialized in the December 1969 issue of COM, also contains a Tokiwa-so anecdote by Nagatani himself.
* **Manga Road** by Fujiko Fujio A (1970-2013, through several infrequent publication periods)
* **The Spring of Tokiwa-so** by Shotaro Ishimori (September 1981, Schola)- Reprinted under other titles and publishers in later years
* **Tokiwa-so Youth Diary** by Fujiko Fujio (September 30, 1981, Kobunsha)
* **Manga's Campaign-Osamu Tezuka and Friends of Tokiwa-so** by Akira Maruyama (April 1993, Horupo Publishing)
* **The Time Is...** by Osamu Akimoto (February 2008, Jump Square)
* **Tokiwa-so Diary** by Hideko Mizuno (October 2009)
* **The Record of the Last Residents of Tokiwa-so: Youth Stories of Young Manga Artists** by Joji Yamauchi (June 20, 2011, Tokyo Book)

### TV Dramas, Movies, and Animation

* **We are Manga-ka: The Tokiwa-so Story** (1981, Toei Animation and Fuji TV)- Loose adaptation of some residents' memoirs. Events are compressed to fit the special's narrative, and some manga-ka are either absent entirely (such as Joji Yamauchi) or do not play any significant part in the special (Naoya Moriyasu, Tokuo Yokota).
* **Galactic TV Novel: Manga Road** (November 17 to December 5 1986, NHK)- TV drama adaptation of "Manga Road". It was succeeded by a follow-up series from July 27 to August 14, 1987.
* **The Youth of Tokiwa-so** (1996)

## External Links

* Tokiwa Manor Playback- Website with information on the book, showcasing different autobiographical tales by each artist.
* Monuments- Pictures of the monuments for each artist's representative work.