NENDO-MICHI of JIN KATAGIRI ～NIPPON local the soul of clay～ vol.11

#Anime #Clay #Japan #KATAGIRIJIN #Manga #NENDO-MICHI #Tokyo #Subcultures 2021.06.29

Tokyo 「 Warau-Dora-Jack-Bon-009 」

The names of the work is taken from the titles of the five manga that appear in this work.
➀ Fujiko Fujio A. : The Laughing Salesman
➁ Fujiko・F・Fujio: Doraemon
③ Osamu Tezuka: Black Jack
④ Fujio Akatsuka: the Genius Bakabon
➄ Shotaro Ishinomori: Cyborg 009

Legal amount : height ×width ×length = 260×260×170(mm)
Materials : Styrofoam, epoxy putty, Sculpey, red agate ball, Pen nib, pen barrel, ink for securities

Last year, I visited the Toshima City Tokiwaso Manga Museum, modeled after the apartment building “Tokiwaso” where the legendary manga artists lived, for an interview with TV Bros.I was very excited to see that Tokiwaso had been recreated as it was in the 1950s, with the rooms of each manga artist, as well as telephone booths, toilets, and communal cooking areas, as depicted in “Manga Michi” by Fujiko Fujio A.However, there were not many goods for sale.The reason being that it is difficult to make goods as they are because each manga artist has their own museum and rights to their characters.

So I drew an illustration of “Warau-Dora-Jack-Bon-009”, a chimera combining characters from popular manga by Tokiwaso legends, Mr. Osamu Tezuka, Mr. Fujiko F. Fujio, Mr. Fujiko A. Fujio, Mr. Fujio Akatsuka, and Mr. Shotaro Ishinomori. When I was drawing it, I thought I would like to make a three-dimensional version of it, so I decided to make it as a local work in Tokyo.

However, it was difficult to make the illustration into a three-dimensional figure. I had a good impression of the drawing, but the balance between the face and body, the length and thickness of the arms and legs, the size of the hands, the thickness of the torso, it was difficult…The more I refer to the original manga, the more confused I get.How does the black and white hairstyle in “Black Jack” look at the border and the back of the head? In “Cyborg 009”, which direction and how does the hair grow? Is the heart of the mouth in “Bakabon’s papa from The Genius Bakabon” the uvula? The position is not right… How can I make them fit into a three-dimensional figure without feeling uncomfortable? For now, I’ll start with the deformed figures of Fukuzo Murokuro and Doraemon.

When I had a vague idea of the body and face, I thought, “Oh! This is just a figure! Then I realized, “Since this is Tokiwaso, let’s put some “manga artist goods” inside! So I went to Tokyu Hands and bought some ink for securities and a pen barrel, and decided to put them inside.

When I melted the styrofoam I was using as a core with thinner,paint thinner dripped from the gaps where the putty and Sculpey were thinner, and it was a big mess!The whole house smelled like paint thinner, which was very unpopular except for my second son, who came to my room to say, “I like this smell.”

Color in, starting with the face. Doraemon’s red nose, Papa Bakabon’s mouth, Joe Shimamura’s eyes, Black Jack’s face seams, and the skin tone. I’m not sure how it all came out, but I think it turned out good. I painted the base with a black base for the clothes and a brown base for the face, so it was a little dark maybe…?

So I’m hoping for a soft vinyl version of the original Tokiwaso character, “Laughing Dora Jack Bon 009”!
In addition to Dora Jack Bon, I think other Chimera series such as “*Mata-Ryu-Parakeet-Mami’S got a secret!”, “*MIGHTY-Kaibutsu- Rider-Per-Matsu”, and “*ProGolfer- Koro-Una- Kikaida’s bard” are also possible. It’s a bit of a pain to make, though.

*「Mata-Ryu-Parakeet-Mami’S got a secret!」
① Mr. Fujio Akatsuka：AKKO-CHAN’S got a secret!
② Mr. Fujiko Fujio A. : Mataro is coming!!
③ Mr. Shotaro Ishinomori : Primitive boy Ryu
④ Mr. Osamu Tezuka : Rainbow Parakeet
⑤ Mr. Fujiko・F・Fujio : ESPer Mami (Mami the Mystic)

*「MIGHTY-Kaibutsu- Rider-Per-Matsu」
① Mr. Osamu Tezuka : MIGHTY ATOM
② Mr. Fujiko Fujio A. : Kaibutsu-kun
③ Mr. Shotaro Ishinomori :Masked Rider
④ Mr. Fujiko・F・Fujio : Perman
⑤ Mr. Fujio Akatsuka : Osomatsu-kun

*「ProGolfer- Koro-Una- Kikaida’s bard」
① Mr. Fujio Akatsuka：Pro-golfer Saru
② Mr. Fujiko Fujio A. : Kiteretsu Daisyclopedia’s character “Koro-suke”
③ Mr. Fujio Akatsuka：Bakabon’s character ”Unagi-inu”
④ Mr. Shotaro Ishinomori : Android Kikaida
⑤ Mr. Osamu Tezuka : Phoenix（Immortal bird）

References
・Tokiwaso Manga Museum
https://tokiwasomm.jp/
・TV Bros.Dec 2020「Katagiri Jin no Oshiete Nazenara Shiritagari Dakara」
Theme 「Tokiwaso Museum」(only in Japanese)
https://note.com/tv_bros/n/n38c602013957

Jin Katagiri
Born November 27, 1973 / Born in Saitama Prefecture / Graduated from Tama Art University
Active in the stage, movies, radio, etc., mainly in TV dramas series. Major appearances in recent years include “99.9% -Criminal Lawyer-” (TBS), “Your Turn to Kill” (NTV), and “NHK Morning drama series Yell” (NHK).
In addition to acting, he also creates clay, and from 2016 to 2018 he held a national tour at the “Jin Katagiri Absurdity Clay Art Exhibit Giri Ten.” In 2019, he is holding his first overseas solo exhibition in Taiwan.

About 「Katagiri Jin no Oshiete Nazenara Shiritagari Dakara」

Since April 2003, Katagiri has been writing “Katagiri Jin no Oshiete Nazenara Shiritagari Dakara” for TV Bros, a TV information magazine published by Tokyo News Tsushin-sha.The April 2020 issue will be the last issue of the magazine, and it is now available as a digital subscription. In this series, Katagiri-san goes to the world he wants to know about and experiences various things. Each time, he presents his experiences in the form of illustrations.

About Toshima Ward, Tokyo

Toshima Ward stretches from east to west, north to south, with its center in Ikebukuro, one of Tokyo’s most popular shopping areas along with Shinjuku and Shibuya. Aiming to become an “international city” that attracts people from all over the world, Toshima City is making various efforts to become “a city that will become a leader in Japan through the power of culture” and “a theater city where everyone can play a leading role with the entire city as a stage.” One of them is to promote manga and anime.”Tokiwaso” is a sacred place for manga, where many manga artists have lived since the Showa era. And Ikebukuro’s “Otome Road”, lined with anime-related stores, is said to be the mecca of modern anime.

Tokiwaso walk-around map

With the walk-around map I got from the Tokiwaso website in hand. I took a walk around Tokiwaso with “Warau-Dora-Jack-Bon-009”.

Take the Seibu Ikebukuro Line from Ikebukuro Station and get off at Shiinamachi Station, the first stop, and head towards the south exit and you will see three large monuments. The Genius Bakabon and Cyborg 009 have been incorporated as a part of this work!

Left) The Genius Bakabon, Center) Cyborg 009, Right)Kaibutsu-kun

When you go down the stairs beside the monument, you will be greeted by the characters of the manga artists who were active in Tokiwaso.
I am of the same generation as Mr.Katagiri, so there are many nostalgic characters.

Let’s start our walk towards Tokiwaso Street! First, let’s go to the former site of Tokiwaso (Showa-like?)

“DOOON！！”!
I found a sign for the entrance to the former Tokiwa-so site!
I went in the direction of the arrow…

There it is! A monument to the former site of Tokiwaso.
This is where some of Japan’s most famous manga artists used to live.
Mr. Osamu Tezuka, Mr. Fujiko F Fujio, Mr. Fujiko Fujio A, Mr. Fujio Akatsuka, Mr. Shotaro Ishinomori. They became chimeras and were born as new characters!

Close to the former site of Tokiwaso are this Chinese Restaurant Matsuba(Left) and Tokiwaso Resting Place(Right). Unfortunately, it was Monday, so both were closed. I would like to go back for the fried rice recommended by Mr.Katagiri oneday.

Now, here we are at the Tokiwaso Manga Museum. It’ s also closed on Monday. So I took a quick photo to commemorate the occasion.
You can read more about the museum and the places associated with it in the December 2020 issue of TV Bros(only in Japanese).

There were many children playing in the nearby Tokiwaso Park. Some children may aspire to become manga artists, influenced by the world of manga left behind by the legends around them.

Then I went to Mr. Shinichi Suzuki’s “Ramen Stall Monument” in Minami-Nagasaki Park.
(I wish I could have eaten Matsuba’s ramen…)

I arrived at the goal point, Minami-Nagasaki Station.
Leo and Raiya” from “Jungle Emperor” were at the ticket gate.

A special exhibition, “The Time of Jungle Emperor,” will be held until August 9, 2021 (Monday, holiday)!

Afterword

I think the world that Mr. Katagiri sees is very interesting. I am often influenced by Mr. Katagiri’s recommendations and the world he likes, and I often fall into the swamp. I have a feeling I’ll be doing that this time, too! I realized that I knew about the manga of Tezuka Osamu, Fujiko・F・ Fujio, Fujiko Fujio A., Akatsuka Fujio, and Ishinomori Shotaro, but I hadn’t read them properly. When I looked them up, I found a lot of interesting manga. I’ll just have to read them all.
This issue was “Tokyo” and I could have actually visited the area around Tokiwaso, but it was a Monday, when museums and stores were closed, so I’ll take my time to tour around after reading the manga.