Strolling Along the Seibu Line 01: Higashi-Nagasaki Station on the Ikebukuro Line: Tokiwa-so Manga Museum

The beginning of "Strolling Along the Seibu Line"

Starting from this time, for various reasons, I would like to post about #StrollingAlongTheSeibuLine on an #irregular basis. For this glorious first installment, let's go to #SeibuIkebukuroLine #HigashiNagasakiStation and visit the #Toshima City Tokiwa-so Manga Museum.

Osamu Tezuka and Leo connecting Higashi-Nagasaki and Takarazuka

This was my first time getting off at Higashi-Nagasaki Station. At the ticket gate, Leo and Lyre from Osamu Tezuka's masterpiece "Jungle Emperor" were there to welcome me. A monument of Leo is also installed at the #Takarazuka Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum in #TakarazukaCity, Tezuka's birthplace. That would be along the #HankyuLine.
The expressions and ear positions of Leo differ slightly between Higashi-Nagasaki and #Takarazuka. The Leo in Takarazuka is full of mischief, while the Leo in Higashi-Nagasaki looks cheerful because his girlfriend Lyre is by his side.

The birth dates of Jungle Emperor and the Nishitetsu Lions

Incidentally, the start of the serialization of "Jungle Emperor" in "Manga Shonen" was in November 1950. The #NishitetsuClippers, which had just been formed in the 1949 off-season, merged with the #NishinipponPirates and changed their nickname to the #NishitetsuLions in March 1951. This post-war reconstruction period was also an era when wild animals like #lions and #elephants that were disposed of during the war gradually became visible to the public at #zoos in various places, starting with Ueno.

This year, 2025, marks the 75th anniversary season of the Lions. The official #SaitamaSeibuLions team social media account is tweeting about some kind of 75th-anniversary uniform (as of February 1st), but I personally speculate, perhaps presumptuously, that the reason "Lions" was chosen through a public contest by #Nishitetsu and #NishinipponShimbun was because of the popularity of lions among children, sparked by works like "Jungle Emperor".

Toshima City Tokiwa-so Manga Museum

The travel time from Higashi-Nagasaki Station to the #TokiwaSoMangaMuseum is 10 minutes on foot. It is also a 15-minute walk from #ShiinamachiStation on the same #IkebukuroLine. For those who prefer not to walk much, a 5-minute walk from #OchiaiMinamiNagasakiStation on the #ToeiOedoLine is recommended.

The Tokiwa-so Manga Museum is located within #MinamiNagasakiHanasakiPark. The road this park faces is called #TokiwaSoStreet. The actual #TokiwaSo building stood a few minutes away from the #museum along Tokiwa-so Street toward Mejiro-dori to the southeast.

According to the pamphlet, the wooden apartment building Tokiwa-so was built on December 6, 1952 (Showa 27) at 5-2253 Shiinamachi, #ToshimaCity. During the Showa 20s and 30s, many manga artists lived here and drew manga. It was later demolished in 1982 (Showa 57).

The Manga Museum reproduces the exterior and the interior of the second floor of this Tokiwa-so, while the first floor is used as a "Manga Lounge" displaying manga and books related to Tokiwa-so, as well as a special exhibition room. On the second floor, nine 4.5-tatami mat rooms, a toilet, and a communal kitchen are reproduced as they were used at the time.

For example, Room 14 was Osamu Tezuka's residence. It is said that he was introduced to the apartment by the son of Kenichi Kato of Gakudosha, the publisher of the magazine "Manga Shonen." Tezuka lived here from January 1953 (Showa 28), shortly after it was built, until October of the following year, and was working on the final stages of "Jungle Emperor."

When Tezuka moved out, #FujikoFujioA and #FujikoF Fujio moved in. Eventually, Fujiko F. Fujio moved into the adjacent Room 15 (both lived there until October 1961). Furthermore, #FujioAkatsuka lived in the adjacent Room 16 from August 1956 (Showa 31) to October 1961, and #ShotaroIshinomori lived in Room 17 from May 1956 to December 1961 ("Geijutsu Shincho" Vol. 71, No. 11 (Issue 851), 2020, pp. 16-19).

The restoration of the Tokiwaso museum does not merely serve to honor the original sacred site of anime. By building and preserving a Showa-era space in the current Reiwa era, it plays a role in conveying the Showa period—the era of post-war reconstruction and high economic growth—to the Heisei and Reiwa generations. Furthermore, it has become the starting point for efforts to revitalize the Shiinamachi and Minami-Nagasaki districts using a Showa-retro theme.