# Ryoko Yamagishi

Ryoko Yamagishi (山岸 凉子, Yamagishi Ryōko, born September 24, 1947, in Kamisunagawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese manga artist. She is one of the Year 24 Group, a collection of female artists who innovated shōjo (girls') manga throughout the 1970s. Her major works include Hi Izuru Tokoro no Tenshi and Maihime Terpsichora.

## Life and career

Ryoko Yamagishi was born on September 24, 1947, in Kamisunagawa, Hokkaido, Japan. As a child, she studied ballet, which plays a part in many of her works. When she read the manga of Machiko Satonaka in 1964, she decided to pursue becoming a manga artist. Although her parents did not agree with this, in 1966 she entered a competition in Shōjo Friend and was a semi-finalist. She applied to Kodansha and sent some short stories to COM. In 1968, after completing her art studies in Hokkaido, she moved to Tokyo and applied for Shueisha. The next year, she made her professional debut with Left and Right, a short story published in Ribon Comic, a spin-off of Ribon.
In 1971, she released the one-shot manga Shiroi Heya no Futari, which tells the story of a romance between two students at an all-girls boarding school in France. It was published by Shueisha in Ribon Comic and is regarded as the first yuri (female-female romance) manga.

## Style and themes

Her works normally have occult themes, although her most popular are Arabesque, about Russian ballet, and Hi Izuru Tokoro no Tenshi. According to Yoshihiro Yonezawa, Yamagishi's style is influenced by Art Nouveau.

## Reception

In 1983, she won the Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo manga category for Hi Izuru Tokoro no Tenshi.
She worked on Maihime Terpsichora, which was nominated for the 9th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2005 and won the 11th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2007. It was also among the jury-selected works of Japan Media Arts Festival 2002.
Her work was exhibited at the Yayoi Museum [ja] in Tokyo from September to December 2016.

## Works
### Serializations

List of serialized manga by Ryoko Yamagishi :
| Title | Year(s) | Notes |
| Arabesque [ja]: Part 1 (アラベスク（第1部）) | 1971–1973 | Serialized in Ribon Published by Shueisha in 4 volumes |
| Arabesque: Part 2 (アラベスク（第2部）) | 1974–1975 | Serialized in Hana to Yume Published by Hakusensha in 4 volumes |
| Metamorphosis Den [ja] (メタモルフォシス伝) | 1976 | Serialized in Hana to Yume Published by Hakusensha in 2 volumes |
| Yōsei-ō [ja] (妖精王) | 1977–1978 | Serialized in Hana to Yume Published by Hakusensha in 5 volumes Adapted into an OVA by Madhouse in 1988 |
| Hi Izuru Tokoro no Tenshi (日出処の天子) | 1980–1984 | Serialized in LaLa Published by Hakusensha in 11 volumes Based on the life of Prince Shōtoku |
| Yamato Takeru (ヤマトタケル) | 1986–1987 | Serialized in Monthly Asuka Published by Kadokawa Shoten in 1 volume Based on the kabuki play by Takeshi Umehara |
| Fūin (封印) | 1994–1995 | Serialized in LaLa Published by Hakusensha in 2 volumes Re-released as Tutankhamun volumes 1–2 |
| Tutankhamun (ツタンカーメン) | 1996–1997 | Serialized in Comic Tom [ja] Published by Ushio Publishing [ja] in 2 volumes Combined with Fūin for a total of 4 volumes |
| Oni (鬼) | 1995–1996 | Serialized in Comic Tom Published by Ushio Publishing in 1 volume |
| Ao no Jidai [ja] (青青の時代) | 1998–2000 | Serialized in Comic Tom Plus Published by Ushio Publishing in 4 volumes |
| Hakuganshi (白眼子) | 2000 | Serialized in Comic Tom Plus Published by Ushio Publishing in 1 volume |
| Maihime Terpsichora (舞姫 テレプシコーラ) | 2000–2006 | Serialized in Da Vinci Published by Media Factory in 10 volumes |
| Maihime Terpsichora: Part 2 (舞姫 テレプシコーラ（第2部）) | 2007–2010 | Serialized in Da Vinci Published by Media Factory in 5 volumes |
| Wilis (ヴィリ) | 2006–2007 | Serialized in Da Vinci Published by Media Factory in 1 volume |
| Kesaran Pasaran (ケサラン・パサラン) | 2011–2012 | Serialized in Da Vinci Published by Media Factory in 2 volumes |
| Revelation: Keiji (レベレーション（啓示）) | 2014–2020 | Serialized in Morning Published by Kodansha in 6 volumes Based on the life of Joan of Arc |

### Selected one-shots

List of selected one-shot manga by Ryoko Yamagishi :
| Title | Year | Notes |
| Left and Right (レフトアンドライト) | 1969 | Published in Ribon Comic Debut work |
| Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) | 1971 | Published in Ribon Comic First manga to portray a lesbian relationship |
| Ame to Cosmos (雨とコスモス) | 1971 | Published in Ribon |
| Siren (セイレーン) | 1977 | Published in Hana to Yume |
| Pupe Shimōnu (プぺ・シモーヌ) | 1977 | Published in Hana to Yume |
| Harpy (ハーピー) | 1978 | Published in Petit Comic |
| Kuro no Helen (黒のヘレネ―) | 1979 | Published in Hana to Yume Based on the story of Helen of Troy |
| Yasha Gozen (夜叉御前) | 1982 | Published in Petit Comic |
| Hiruko (蛭子) | 1985 | Published in Petit Flower |

### Art books

List of art books by Ryoko Yamagishi :
| No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |