Manga Jizo

While communicating that Shiina-machi is a sacred place for the manga genre, the Manga Jizo was erected as a symbol of how individual points join into lines and then into planes, and how connections form a circle, to further reinvigorate manga, art, culture, history, and the community together with people working in all sorts of creative fields.

The Manga Jizo imparts the blessings of creative energy and the power of connections.
The Manga Jizo is turned toward the place where Tokiwa-so once stood.

◇ His halo is in the shape of a Kabura pen.

◇ His robes are patterned with onomatopoetic words written in cartoon panels and speech bubbles.

◇ Instead of holding a staff in his hand, the Manga Jizo holds a G-pen.

◇ He holds a wish-fulfilling jewel, called "chie-no-mi-kun".

Faintly smiling and turning his face slightly to the right, he looks upon us in deep contemplation.
This has the following meanings.

- An attitude of waiting for those who are behind you

- An attitude of looking back on your own position

- An attitude of demonstrating love and compassion

- An attitude of looking on those around you with deep sympathy

- Turning back to find the leader to walk down the proper path with all living creatures

You can pray to the Manga Jizo from anywhere.

* Tokiwa-so
Tokiwa-so was a wooden lodging house used between 1952 and 1982, and is where famous Japanese manga artists including Osamu Tezuka, Fujio Fujiko, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Fujio Akatsuka once lived.It was rebuilt as a manga museum in 2020.