The Hyoutan-tsugi is a small creature designed by Minako Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka's sister, which has since become Tezuka's visual trademark. It is a small, rubbery pig-like gourd that usually appears by bouncing around or falling out of something.
Origin[]
The Hyoutan-tsugi is one of Osamu Tezuka's earliest characters, originally created sometime during his childhood. Tezuka's younger sister Minako drew a strange, abstract doodle, which caught Tezuka's eye as being some sort of creature[1]. The creature began as an inside joke that would be drawn randomly into Tezuka's manga, but it eventually became a visual trademark throughout each of Tezuka's mangas.
Hyoutan-tsugi's name is a nonsense compound word. When translated directly, it means "next gourd", which is a reference to how multiple Hyoutan-tsugi will sometimes appear at once.
Appearance[]
The Hyoutan-tsugi is said to be a small gourd[2]-like animal with a pig face. It is beige and made of two rounded shapes. The Hyoutan-tsugi's body tends to be covered in what appear to be sewn-on patches, implying it is wearing cloth, and it usually has bandages on its bare head.
Legacy[]
Usually, the Hyoutan-tsugi will appear when a character is upset or angry, usually to make the character look ridiculous. When used like this, it is similar to the candle on Acetylene Lamp's head, in how it is a temporary visual gag that is not part of the scene's reality.
The Hyoutan-tsugi has appeared in countless Tezuka series and works. Even if a series cannot accommodate the sudden appearance of a bunch of little pig creatures, it will instead show the Hyoutantsugi as a background detail or an inanimate object. In this way, it similar to Disney's "Hidden Mickey" cameos.
Gallery[]
The Hyoutan-tsugi's appearances in canon are too numerous to list. Below are a selection of noteworthy appearances:
