It seems that Kobe, Japan has plans to create an artist enclave to revitalize an area of the city that was ravished by earthquake, according to Daily Yomiuri.

Merchants in Kobe’s Nagata Ward, which was devastated in the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, plan to revitalize the area as a “cartoon town” by renting vacant rooms in buildings constructed after the quake to young cartoonists and establishing a museum featuring a popular anime created by a Kobe-born cartoonist. The merchants hope buildings erected after the earthquake will function like the Tokiwa-so apartment building in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, in which many talented cartoonists, such as Osamu Tezuka, Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Fujiko, stayed and drew in their early days.

In the new buildings, they aim to nurture young, talented cartoonists by providing workrooms and opportunities for them to publish their work. The merchants also plan to invite shops to sell items related to popular cartoons and comics as well as figurines of popular anime characters.

Whether or not this particular plan will be a solution for long term sustainability is yet to be seen, however, many artists (starving artists) will be happy to hear such news and will probably enjoy this for the time that it remains.

[And in the image above, Yup I drew that stick figure on there! Amazing, Right? Best Stick Figure Ever!]

News Via: Daily Yomiuri