The Toshima City Tokiwaso Manga Museum (豊島区立トキワ荘マンガミュージアム) will hold the special exhibition "Manga Artist Hideko Mizuno Exhibition: That Single Brushstroke Changed Manga" (特別企画展「マンガ家 水野英子展 -その一筆が、マンガを変えた。-」) from Saturday, December 5, 2026.
About the Exhibition
In the early days of manga, Hideko Mizuno pursued the world she wanted to draw and opened up new possibilities for manga expression. Driven by the conviction that she wanted to create manga on a par with the great works of world literature, she produced stories that also influenced many readers who later became manga artists themselves.
The exhibition shows the original manuscript of the lost work 赤い子馬, which led to Mizuno's debut as a manga artist, along with a wide range of materials from her works spanning more than 70 years, from her early to late career. It introduces the course of her creative life and the appeal of her expression.
It also looks back at the works she made during the Tokiwaso years, when she lived there for a period right after her debut, and at how she deepened her creative work through exchanges with fellow manga artists of her generation, such as Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka, who inspired one another.
A Toshima City staff member commented: "Ms. Mizuno is said to have 'kept taking on works in a wide range of fields, breaking taboos in an era when male manga artists were the mainstream.' We hope visitors will feel the power of someone who became a pioneer for women active as manga artists."
About Hideko Mizuno
Hideko Mizuno was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1939. As a child, she was struck by Osamu Tezuka's "Manga Daigaku" (漫画大学) and aspired to become a manga artist. She debuted in 1955 in "Shojo Club" (少女クラブ). In 1958, she moved into Tokiwaso and deepened her friendships with fellow manga artists of her generation, including Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka. She is also known as the only female manga artist to have lived at Tokiwaso.
She took on a wide range of genres, including fantasy romance, historical works, and works themed on music, and built a distinctive world of her own with rich storytelling and gorgeous visual expression. Her representative works include "Hoshi no Tategoto" (星のたてごと), "Shiroi Troika" (白いトロイカ), and "Fire!" (ファイヤー！).
Exhibition Details
Exhibition Name: Manga Artist Hideko Mizuno Exhibition: That Single Brushstroke Changed Manga (マンガ家 水野英子展 -その一筆が、マンガを変えた。-)
Venue: Toshima City Tokiwaso Manga Museum (3-9-22 Minami-Nagasaki, Toshima City, Tokyo)
Dates: Saturday, December 5, 2026 to Monday, March 22, 2027 (a substitute holiday)
Hours: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (last entry 5:30 PM)
Closed: Mondays (the following weekday if Monday is a public holiday) and the year-end and New Year holidays (December 28 to January 4)
Special Viewing Fee: Adults ¥500 / Elementary and junior high school students ¥100 (goods included)
Free for preschoolers and for visitors presenting a disability certificate, along with one accompanying caregiver.
Organizer: Toshima City
Supporter: 公益財団法人としま未来文化財団
Cooperation: トキワ荘協働プロジェクト協議会
Planning and Production: Tezuka Productions (手塚プロダクション)
Concurrent Exhibition at Tokiwaso-dori Showa Retro-kan
A related exhibition, "Hideko Mizuno's Wonderful Adventure: Tracing Her Creative Journey Through the World of Her Works" (水野英子のすてきな冒険 ～作品世界でたどる創作の軌跡～), will be held at Tokiwaso-dori Showa Retro-kan (トキワ荘通り昭和レトロ館, also called 豊島区立昭和歴史文化記念館).
Venue: Tokiwaso-dori Showa Retro-kan, 1F Multipurpose Room 1 (3-4-10 Minami-Nagasaki, Toshima City, Tokyo)
Admission: Free
Organizer: Toshima City
Planning and Production: 特定非営利活動法人 日本マンガ・アニメトキワ荘フォーラム
The dates, hours, and closing days are the same as those of the special exhibition at the Tokiwaso Manga Museum.
