Let's visit the manga sacred place "Tokiwaso Ruins"!　

Tokiwaso used to be located about a 15-minute walk from Shiinamachi Station, which is one stop from Ikebukuro on the local train. The manga god Osamu Tezuka moved in in 1953, and since then Hiroo Terada, Fujiko Fujio, Shotaro Ishinomori, Fujio Akatsuka, and others have lived here, and it is a sacred place for manga culture, becoming a catalyst for the explosion of Japanese manga culture. Currently, the site and surrounding area are being maintained as a manga cultural heritage site by Toshima Ward. Now, let's visit the sacred place of Japanese manga.

The holy land of manga was located at Shiinamachi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line!

Tokiwaso is located on Mejiro Street from Shiinamachi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.

In the past, the Ochiai Telephone Office was directly across the street, and young Fujiko Fujio, Shotaro Ishinomori, and others used the public phone next to it to contact publishers. Both buildings are gone now, but a monument has been erected on the site of the former Tokiwa-so as a sacred place for manga. When you walk from Shiinamachi Station on Tokiwaso Shopping Street towards Mejiro Dori, you will see a sign saying ``Tokiwaso Ruins'' on your left.

The back of the street to the right of the plate is where Tokiwa-so once stood. The top half of the plate says ``Place related to Tokiwa-so'', and the bottom half says ``Entrance to Tokiwa-so ruins''.

Now, let's move in the direction the finger is pointing. There is a monument at the end of the street.

This stone monument was built on April 6, 2012 and is a reproduction of an apartment building from that time. It is built at the back entrance of the former Tokiwa-so. Osamu Tezuka later moved to Namiki House in Zoshigaya, Toshima Ward, and Fujiko Fujio moved into his room. According to an account in ``Manga Michi'', Osamu Tezuka left the deposit for Tokiwa-so so that the young Fujiko Fujio would not have to pay the deposit for the two of them. ``Manga Michi'' is an autobiographical youth manga by Fujiko Fujio, which can be called the bible for aspiring manga artists.It continued for 43 years from 1970 to 2013, although the magazines and titles changed. After Fujiko Fujio moved in, Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka moved into Tokiwaso. They formed the ``New Manga Party'' with Hiroo Terada as its leader, and lonely manga artists helped each other and deepened their studies and communication. Later, Eiko Mizuno and others also became residents of Tokiwaso. Popular manga such as ``Doraemon,'' ``Tensai Bakabon,'' and ``Cyborg 009,'' which have even been made into TV anime, may not have existed if it weren't for Tokiwaso. By the way, what is being built on the site of Tokiwaso is the new building of Nippon Kajo Publishing. The monument is installed on the premises of Nippon Kajo Publishing.

INFORMATION

The manga god’s favorite food! What is Tokiwaso Gourmet?

After seeing the monument, go back the way you came.

The shop with the yellow tent fabric sign in front is Matsuba, a Chinese restaurant loved by the manga gods. Matsuba, located within a 3-minute walk from Tokiwaso, was a place for these busy people to relax. It is said that before the deadline, Osamu Tezuka received a special delivery of ramen from Matsuba, a restaurant that did not originally offer delivery. The young manga gods looked forward to the ramen at Matsuba before and after the deadline. By the way, because they were busy, their usual meal was to sandwich croquettes in a coppépan and eat with one hand while moving the pen with the other. Below the entrance of the store, a scene of Matsuba's ramen from Fujiko Fujio's Manga Michi is posted.
``Manga Michi'' was read as a bible for many aspiring manga artists, and ``Matsuba'' ramen is still popular as ``Tokiwaso Gourmet.'' Matsuba was founded in 1955, when ramen was priced at 40 yen. The interior of Matsuba, a sacred place for the manga gods that still exists today, is decorated with autographs of many manga artists. It tastes like ramen, but it's a traditional soy sauce ramen with chicken broth. The toppings include half a boiled egg, thick char siew, and medium-thick noodles. It has quite a volume. Please stop by to commemorate your pilgrimage to the sacred place.

INFORMATION

A new manga sacred place “Tokiwaso Dori Rest Area”!

If you walk for about 2 minutes from "Chinese Restaurant Matsuba" towards Mejiro Dori, you will see "Tokiwaso Dori Rest Place" on your left. On the first floor, materials from manga artists and editors related to Tokiwaso, as well as souvenir goods, are on sale. On the second floor, there is a recreation of the workplace of Hiroo Terada, the leader of the New Manga Party and author of Sportsman Kintaro, and the Chinese restaurant Matsuba from when the manga gods lived at Tokiwaso. On display are the ramen bowls from ``Café Eden'' and the tables and chairs from ``Café Eden,'' where I used to go to cool off on hot summer days. The Tokiwaso Museum is a place where you can experience the youth of manga gods.

INFORMATION

What did you think?
The area around Shiinamachi Station, one stop from Ikebukuro on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, is a very ordinary residential area. However, there is no doubt that today's Japanese comic and anime culture began with Tokiwaso in this town. Why not take a walk and pay your respects to our ancestors? You're sure to have a great time.