#Japanese NPO Opens New ‘Reiwa’ Tokiwa-so Complex for Budding Manga Artists

Tokiwa-so Project, a project that helps people who dream of becoming manga creators make that dream a reality, announced on May 31 that they have opened up a brand new Tokiwa-so complex for the Reiwa era. The sharehouse complex is complete with private rooms for creators to live in, shared spaces for collaborations, and even resources available to connect budding artists to currently serialized creators and manga veterans. 

The new complex in Hino:

The original Tokiwa-so complex, which was situated in Tokyo’s Toshima ward, helped foster the talents of some of the greatest and most influential manga creators of all time, including the Father of Manga Osamu Tezuka, Doraemon creators Fujiko F. Fujio, Osomatsu-kun creator Fujio Akatsuka, among many more. The original apartment complex is even said to be where the modern production of manga came about, with Tezuka pioneering the use of in-house assistants at Tokiwa-so. Who knows who might come from the new complex?!

The private rooms:

Previously, the Tokiwa-so Project, which is run by the NPO NEWVERY, had helped set up rooms for over 120 manga creators in sharehouses around Japan, but with the opening of the new complex, dubbed the “Tama Tokiwa-so Sharehouse Complex” for the Tama River that flows nearby, the NPO will move the base of the project to the complex. It was said to be chosen due to the closeness to Toyoda train station (8-minutes walk), and Hino’s business center to help out creators getting started.

Shared spaces:

Rent for the apartment, which comes furnished with basic needs, will be 38,000 yen (US$346) to 42,000 yen (US$383) per month with a monthly fee of 12,000 yen (US$110) for utilities and internet and is said to be the biggest housing project for manga creators in Japan. There will be 29 rooms available to start off with, with more looking to open in the future.

Source: Sankei Biz

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Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.