is a Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group by some critics, journalists, and academics, although her inclusion has been debated due to a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology of those mangaka. She was one of the most popular Japanese comic artists in the 1970s, being best known for ''

The Rose of Versailles also known as ''Lady Oscar'' and ''La Rose de Versailles'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Margaret'' from 1972 to 1973, while a revival ...

''.

Education

Ikeda was a student at the Tokyo University of Education (now known as Tsukuba University) as a

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

major. Influenced by the Japanese New Left and

student protest Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...

movements in the late 1960s, she became a member of the Democratic Youth League of Japan, the youth wing of the Japanese Communist Party. In her sixth year of college, she started serializing her most famous manga, ''

'', and subsequently dropped out after seven years of college due to work demands from serialization.

Career

Ikeda began publishing manga in the magazine ''Kashihonya'' while studying philosophy. She debuted in 1967 with ''Bara Yashiki no Shōjo''. Ikeda has written and illustrated many

shōjo manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...

, many of which are based on

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

events, such as the French Revolution or the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. Her use of foreign settings and androgynous themes made ''

'' and '' Orpheus no Mado'' enormous successes. Her most famous manga is ''

'', also known as ''Lady Oscar'' in Europe. This manga, loosely based on the French Revolution, has been made into several Takarazuka

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

s, an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series, and a

live-action film Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a Live-action animation, live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define ...

.After ''Rose of Versailles'' concluded, Ikeda wrote articles for ''

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

''. In 1985 Ikeda began studying at Tokyo College of Music at which she graduated from in 1999 and began performing as an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer. Her voice is in the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

range. She made a comeback to the comic industry as a script writer in 1999. Her recent manga includes ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...

''. It is a manga version of the

written by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

. Her series

received a movie adaptation by studio MAPPA which released in Japan in late January of 2025. In 2008, she was awarded France's National Order of the Legion of Honour for her contributions to Japan's cultural awareness of France and received the medal of ''Chevalier'' from the French ambassador to Japan. She was awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award of Excellence work Orpheus no Mado in 1980. She was also a guest at the 2011

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

. In 2010 she attended Romics in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and performed with Yoshitaka Murata and Giacomo Rocchetti. Ikeda also worked on a three part opera by the title of Nemuro Otoko which was composed in 2021 and performed in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Works

* ''Bara Yashiki no Shōjo'' (1967) — short story * ''Soyo Kaze no Mary'' — short story * ''Francesca no Shouzou'' (1969) * ''Sokoku ni Ai o'' (1969) * ''Freesia no Asa'' (1970) * ''Futari Pocchi'' (1971) * ''Ikite te Yokatta!'' (1971) * ''Jinchouge'' (1971) * ''Mariko'' (1971) * ''Sakura Kyou'' (1972) * ''

'' (1972) * ''Shiroi Egmont'' (1973) * ''Yureru Soushun'' (1973) * ''Shōko no Etude'' (1974) * '' Dear Brother'' (1974) * '' Orpheus no Mado'' (1975) * '' Claudine'' (1978) * ''Ayako'' (1980) * ''Epitaram: A Wedding Song'' (1981) * ''Aoi Zakuro'' (1982) * ''Jotei Ecatherina'' (1982) * '' Versailles no Bara Gaiden'' (1984) — extra chapters for ''The Rose of Versailles'' * '' Eikou no Napoleon – Eroica'' (1986) * ''Glass no Yami'' (1987) * ''Mijo Monogatari'' (1988) * ''Kasuganotsubon - Kefuzo Kataku o'' (1989) * '' Ten no Hate Made – Poland Hishi'' (1991) — Poland's Secret Story: To the Borders of Heaven * ''Shoutoku Taishi'' (1991) * ''Fuyu no Shukusai'' (1997) * ''Elizabeth'' (1999) — text only; art by Erika Miyamoto * ''Niberunku no Yubiwa'' (2000) — ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' * ''Ikeda Riyoko the Best: Ai to Tatakau Onnatachi'' (2001) * ''Falcon no Meikishu'' (2004) * ''Ai wa Waltz ni Nosete'' (2005) * ''BeruBara Kids'' (2006) — ''The Rose of Versailles Kids'' (parody) * ''Haru no Yuki'' (2006) — ''Spring Snow'' * '' The Legend'' (Taiōshijinki) (2007) * ''Taketori Monogatari'' (2014)

References

External links

Riyoko Ikeda's Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Riyoko 1947 births Knights of the Legion of Honour Japanese female comics artists Japanese sopranos Living people University of Tsukuba alumni Singers from Osaka 21st-century Japanese singers Women manga artists Manga artists from Osaka Prefecture 21st-century Japanese writers 21st-century Japanese women writers 21st-century Japanese women singers Japanese communists