Tezuka festival at the Smithsonian Institution

Opening this weekend, the Festival at the Sackler and Freer Galleries Cinema honours Osamu Tezuka with screenings of his films, a special show by Kyoto’s longest-established working kamishibai performer  Yassan, and talks by several prominent Tezuka scholars.

Have a look at the website.

Even if you can’t be there, there are essays by Frederik L. Schodt, Natsu Onoda Power, Ada Palmer and Helen McCarthy to download. Schodt knew Tezuka personally and is one of the world’s foremost writers on Japanese popular culture. Onoda Power is an expert in theatre arts and has a unique insight into the theatricality of Tezuka’s work. Palmer is an academic and founder of the TezukaInEnglish website, with a special interest in Tezuka’s work on Buddhism and gender. McCarthy’s latest book The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga is the first complete overview of his life and work in English.