Tetsujin 28-go statue, Kobe, Japan
If you were around in the 1960s – or if you’re a fan of vintage comics – you might know the story of Gigantor, a huge flying robot controlled by a 12-year-old boy with a remote control. Gigantor was the international version of a Japanese anime called Tetsujin 28-go (not as catchy, right?).
The Japanese character was created by artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who was born in the city of Kobe.
Unfortunately the character, being fictional, was unable to help when Kobe was hit by a devastating earthquake in 1995. More than 6,000 people lost their lives in the quake and there was about $100 billion dollars worth of damage.
But Gigantor (or Tetsujin 28-go, to be technically correct) has helped the city in other ways.
A huge statue of the character was built in Kobe after the earthquake as part of an expansive project to rebuild and rejuvenate the area. The idea was to bring life to a damaged heart and bring visitors to damaged city.
The statue in the Nagata Ward stands 18 metres high. It dwarves everything around it and makes even grand buildings seem insignificant in comparison.
It cost about 1.4 million dollars to build and weighs about 50 tons. Unveiled in 2009, it brings hundreds of visitors and tourists to Kobe every day.
It’s no surprise that it’s a comic character that was chosen as the subject for this statue. Aside from representing strength and hope, it reflects a national obsession with comics in Japan.
They’re called ‘manga’ here – a word that has spread across the world as a definition for the particular style of Japanese comics.
The stories aren’t just for kids. In fact, the majority of these manga books are read by adults and there are characters and styles to cater to almost every possible taste.
It is a huge industry in Japan and is worth about 6 billion dollars a year. Yes, you read that right, 6 billion. That’s not even taking into account the animated comics called ‘anime’ which are worth even more!
In Kobe, a small museum to the life of Gigantor’s creator, Mitsuteru Yokoyama, is just a short stroll away down the city’s main mall. It’s really only there because of the statue and gives visitors a bit more information about the character and the man behind it.
Throughout Japan, though, there are plenty of museums and exhibitions dedicated to manga generally and specific topics within the genres.
As a foreign tourist, you may not appreciate the nuances of some of the displays but it is an excellent way to learn more about an aspect of Japanese society that really captures the passions of the people more than almost anything else.
Haha, I always see it when I pass by in the train.
You got some really nice shots of the statue! 🙂
I didn’t realise you could see it from the train as well. That’s actually quite cool – it would make the trip to work each day a little bit more enjoyable!! 🙂
Ha, that statue is awesome! A bit mental but awesome. Also, $6 billion?! Great post, thanks for sharing.
Happy travels 🙂
I know! 6 billion really shocked me. But it’s such a huge industry in Japan and everyone is always reading manga books.
I have been last year to Kobe, Japan and I loved to see the robot and the market around it.
If you’re not expecting it, it’s a bit of a shock, isn’t it? I went there looking for it but I was still surprised at how big it was!
Neat. I am a big fan of Anime, which is actually one of my reasons to want to see Japan. I was so surprised to see a Gundam statue in Rotterdam last spring, but it was small, only 2 m compared to this guy’s 18m. Eesh. Japan would be great for that.
I wish the manga and anime prices in the west were not so expensive. I would read more if they were more reasonable.
You can stock up when you go to Japan! (Although you may need to be able to read Japanese to make the most of your purchases. There is probably somewhere that sells English ones.)
There is something incredibly heart warming about your story and it’s heroic central figure! I love that a culture so passionately obsessed with Manga found a genuine comic book hero to lift their spirits and help them overcome such a devastating natural disaster. Brilliant post! 🙂
It is nice, isn’t it? I think Japanese people see manga characters almost as part of their society. The comics are so ingrained in their culture that it probably doesn’t seem quite as weird to have an enormous statue of one in the middle of a city.
Oh wow! I would go there to see that robot. All while eating some kobe beef.
Ha ha – oh, of course, the Kobe beef. Yum yum yum… 🙂
I would totally go to see the giant robot, so I guess their plan is working! 😉
Kobe is looking pretty good these days so I guess it is! 🙂
Amazing! I had an inkling of the type of money it brought in every year, but didn’t know it was that much. People love their anime!
It’s incredible, isn’t it? Although everything in Japan seems to have these ridiculous numbers associated with them. They’re so big on their fads and their oddities that everyone gets involved… it’s never just a niche. (I’m thinking of things like pachinko or video games or phone accessories!)
There should be more robot statues in the world I think. Awesome!
We came across your article whilst in our hotel in Kobe and just had to visit! Your heartwarming story and brilliant pictures forced us off our asses and out exploring. What a great find! We loved the statue (took a million photos) and it was blessedly quiet when we visited! Thank you for sharing this piece! It’s made our trip to Kobe (we’re honeymooning in Japan atm) complete!
Ha – fantastic! It’s quite a cool statue, isn’t it? I’m so glad you went and saw it. I love that you dropped by the blog to let me know – so thanks so much for that!
As a kid, Johnny Sokko saved me. My favorite show and also based on Mitsuteru Yokoyama’s other version of the robot.
Super Fantastic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnczokOnWjg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Robo_(TV_series)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsujin_28-go
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsujin_28-go
Last link should have been
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuteru_Yokoyama