Hyoutan-tsugi

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. 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 -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: