Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize

Named after Osamu Tezuka, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (手塚治虫文化賞) is a yearly comic book prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan.

Current prizes categories

 * Grand Prize - for the excellent work during the year
 * Creative Award - for the creator with innovative or epoch-making expression and fresh talent
 * Short story Award - for the excellent work or creator of the short story
 * Special Award - for the person or group who contributed to extend the culture of manga

1997

 * Grand Prize: Fujiko Fujio for Doraemon
 * Award for Excellence: Moto Hagio for Zankoku na kami ga shihai suru (A cruel God rules in heaven)
 * Special Award: Toshio Naiki for the foundation and management of Modern Manga Library

1998

 * Grand Prize: Jiro Taniguchi and Natsuo Sekikawa for the trilogy Bocchan No Jidai (Times of "Botchan")
 * Award for Excellence: Yūji Aoki for Naniwa Kin'yūdō (The way of the Ōsaka loan shark)
 * Special Award: Shotaro Ishinomori for the long years of contribution to manga

1999

 * Grand Prize: Naoki Urasawa for Monster
 * Award for Excellence: Akira Sasō for Shindō (The prodigy)
 * Special Award: Fusanosuke Natsume for the excellence criticism of manga

2000

 * Grand Prize: Daijiro Morohoshi for Saiyū Yōenden (The Monkey King and other Chinese Legends)
 * Award for Excellence: Minetarō Mochizuki for Dragon Head
 * Special Award: Frederik L. Schodt for the distinguished service to introduce Japanese manga round the world

2001

 * Grand Prize: Reiko Okano for Onmyōji (The Master of Shade and Light)
 * Award for Excellence: Kotobuki Shiriagari for Yajikita in deep
 * Special Award: Akira Maruyuma for the valuable service to support comic artists at Tokiwa house

2002

 * Grand Prize: Takehiko Inoue for Vagabond
 * Award for Excellence: Kentarō Miura for Berserk

2003

 * Grand Prize: Fumiko Takano for The Yellow Book: A friend Named Jacques Thibault
 * Creative Award: Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata for Hikaru no Go
 * Short story Award: Hisaichi Ishii for Gendai shisō no sōnanshātachi (Victims of modern ideas)
 * Special Award: Shigeru Mizuki for the creative pictures and the long years of activities

2004

 * Grand Prize: Kyōko Okazaki for Helter Skelter
 * Creative Award: Takashi Morimoto for Naniwadora ihon (Variant edition of the Naniwa wastrel)
 * Short story Award: Risu Akizuki for OL shinkaron (OL Evolution) and other works
 * Special Award: Tarō Minamoto for the pioneer works of historical manga and contribution to manga culture

2005

 * Grand Prize: Naoki Urasawa for PLUTO
 * Creative Award: Fumiyo Kōno for Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
 * Short story Award: Rieko Saibara for Jōkyō monogatari (A tale of going to the capital) and Mainichi Kasan (Everyday mom)
 * Special Award: Kawasaki City Museum for the collection of manga works from Edo period to the present day, and its exhibitions

2006

 * Grand Prize: Hideo Azuma for Disappearance Diary
 * Creative Award: Asa Higuchi for Ōkiku Furikabutte (Big Windup!)
 * Short story Award: Risa Itō for One Woman, Two Cats, Oi Piitan!! (Hey Pitan!), Onna no mado (A Woman's Window) and other works
 * Special Award: Kousei Ono for the long years of the introduction of comics from abroad to Japan as a commentator for manga

2007

 * Grand Prize: Ryoko Yamagishi for Maihime Τερψιχόρα (The Dancing Girl; Terpsichore)
 * Creative Award: Nobuhisa Nozoe, Kazuhisa Iwata and Kyojin Ōnishi for Shinsei Kigeki (La Divina Commedia)
 * Short story Award: Hiromi Morishita for Ōsaka Hamlet

2008

 * Grand Prize: Masayuki Ishikawa for Moyashimon (Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture)
 * Creative Award: Toranosuke Shimada for Träumerei
 * Short story Award: Yumiko Ōshima for GūGū Datte Neko De Aru (Cher Gou-Gou...mon petit chat, mon petit ami.)
 * Special Award: International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka Prefecture (English Official site)

2009

 * Grand Prize: Fumi Yoshinaga for Ōoku: The Inner Chambers
 * Grand Prize: Yoshihiro Tatsumi for Gekiga Hyōryū (A Drifting Life)
 * Short story Award: Hikaru Nakamura for Saint Oniisan (Saint Young Men)
 * New Artist Prize : Suehiro Maruo for Panorama-tō Kitan (Anecdote of the Panorama Island)

2010

 * Grand Prize: Yoshihiro Yamada for Hyouge-mono
 * Short story Award: Mari Yamazaki for THERMAE ROMAE
 * New Artist Prize : Haruko Ichikawa for Mushi to Uta
 * Special Award: Yoshihiro Yonezawa to wide achievements of the collection and the commentary activity of basic material of the cartoon research.