Exhibition Featuring Yoshiharu Tsuge’s Manga World Underway in Chofu, Tokyo; Unique, Surreal Works Draw Steady Crowds

By Futoshi Mori / Japan News Senior Writer

7:00 JST, February 25, 2026

An exhibition showcasing the work of mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge, beloved by passionate fans for his unique and surreal worldview, is now underway at the Chofu City Cultural Hall Tazukuri in Tokyo.

The 88-year-old Tsuge has spent decades in Chofu, and a 2023 exhibition spotlighting depictions of the city in his works was a huge success. The current exhibition, a reconfiguration of that previous display, has also been drawing large crowds every day.

The exhibition, titled “Places Mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge Has Been,” displays reproductions of original artwork by Tsuge depicting places he has lived or visited, along with related materials, all organized by theme. For one work, “Umibe no Jokei” (Seascape) (1967), reproductions of entire pages are displayed. Also on display is a large map comparing scenes from Tsuge’s manga depicting places in Chofu and its surroundings with contemporary photographs of those places in real life.

Essays by mangaka, actors and visual artists sharing their perspectives on Tsuge are also on display, showing how his work has influenced a wide variety of creators.

Tsuge published works in the monthly manga magazine “Garo” from the late 1960s through the 1970s. To assist manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, known for “GeGeGe no Kitaro,” Tsuge moved to Chofu in 1966, renting a room on the second floor of a Chinese restaurant near Mizuki’s studio.

One of Tsuge’s best-known works, “Nejishiki” (Screw type) (1968), was even born from a dream he had in this room. After working as Mizuki’s assistant, he continued to live in Chofu, incorporating places like the Tama River, Keiokaku Velodrome and Tamagawa housing complex into many of his works from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Tsuge’s last work was published in 1987, and he has not drawn manga since then. Yet he remains widely supported today and enjoys significant popularity even overseas. In France, a major manga-consuming nation, a French-language complete collection of his works was published, and in 2020, he received a Special Honorary Award at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, during which an exhibition of his original artwork was held.

The exhibition runs through March 22. Admission is free. Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.