indepth manga

ARTISTIC
Ahead of her TAC Talk thismonth, The Rose of Versailles
creator Riyoko Ikeda shares
how twists of fate led her tobecome manga royalty.
WORDS C BRYAN JONES

Outside the Takarazuka Grand Theater in Hyogo

Prefecture stands a bronze statue of Oscar François deJarjayes and André Grandier, the main characters fromRiyoko Ikeda’s world-famous manga The Rose of Versailles.
So beloved is this story about the years leading up to theFrench Revolution that it is immortalized outside the homeof Japan’s renowned all-female musical theater troupe.
But it almost wasn’t.
“I originally wanted to pursue a career in literature,”says Ikeda. “I really wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t havethe talent. I once wrote and submitted an entry, but thebest I could do was an honorable mention.”With dreams of becoming the next Murasaki Shikibu
shattered, the young woman who would become one ofJapan’s most influential manga artists forged a new path.
“When I was 18, I ran away from home.” she reveals.
“I entered university at a time of upheaval and conflict.
I felt that if I was going to rebel against my parents,society or whatever I wanted, I would be ashamed to do it
on my parents’ dime. I thought I had to become financiallyindependent. So I worked various jobs, as a waitress at acoffee shop, as a factory worker.”That was 1966. The New Left political movement
was taking shape in Japan, culminating two years laterwith student groups occupying dozens of universities
in a heated conflict with the government. Witnessing
this movement that was inspired, in part, by the French
Revolution proved to be a formative period for the young
student from Osaka.
Work also had an impact. “Doing those jobs, I realizedthat I was not good at interacting with people,” she says.
“I wondered what I could do alone, locked in my room.
Then I thought, ‘The only thing I can do is write a story or
make comics.’ I drew a manga and took it to a publisher.
They said it wasn’t good enough. But they told me that20|INTOUCH

Image: Riyoko Ikeda

TOMO FUJII

I had something to offer and that I should study. They
introduced me to a publisher who had a rental bookstore,
and I did my apprenticeship there. When I was 21, I got anoffer from a magazine company.”
Ikeda made her manga debut with The Maiden of theRose Mansion in 1967. The first chapter of The Rose of
Versailles was published five years later in Margaret, abiweekly magazine of shojo manga, or girls’ comics.
“I continued to attend college while working part-time
and, in my sixth year, I started to serialize The Rose of
Versailles,” she says. “Once the serialization started, I got toobusy and dropped out after seven years.”
No matter. Ikeda was doing what she had always
wanted—storytelling—although the format was not theone she had envisioned.
But the influence she had on others was profound. The
Rose of Versailles was wildly popular. In 1974, an adaptation
was staged by the Takarazuka Revue. Performances
continued through 2015, with Ikeda writing new stories andscenes. Many credit The Rose of Versailles for reinvigorating
the Takarazuka Revue, which was formed in 1913.

The story has also been adapted for television and thebig screen. A 41-episode anime series ran on Japanese TVfrom 1979 to 1980, and later in France, Germany, Italy andSouth Korea. A film version was released in 2008.
After 50 years, The Rose of Versailles has sold more than
23 million copies worldwide (the Club Library stocks theEnglish translation). Its golden
anniversary was marked last yearwith an exhibition at Roppongi
Hills’ indoor observation deck.
“I think the story holds up
because it is not only enjoyable but
has been an inspiration to many,
created cultural connections and is astatement on political inequality andpopular uprisings,” says Ikeda.
In 2009, the French government
awarded her the National Order ofthe Legion of Honor, the country’s
highest order of merit, in recognitionof her work’s promotion of Frenchhistory and culture in Japan.
At a TAC Talk this month, Ikeda
will discuss her unexpected career asa manga artist (she has written morethan 38 books or short stories) andthe social phenomenon sparked by The Rose of Versailles, aswell as her love of music.
The success of The Rose of Versailles enabled Ikeda
to pursue a second career of sorts. At the age of 47, she
enrolled at the Tokyo College of Music to study as asoprano. Now 75, she is combining storytelling and music
to write scripts for operas and musicals.
“This year, we performed an opera I wrote called Queen
Himiko, and last year my play The Sleeping Man, starring
my husband, [baritone] Yoshitaka Murata, was performed
in Finland,” Ikeda says.
“I have known my husband for 15 years, and it has been
the happiest 15 years of my life,” she adds. “I will be 76 inDecember. My body gets weaker every year and I wonder
how long I can keep singing. But I will continue as long asI get offers.
“And as my husband’s activities expand, I will bestepping down from the front line to support him as muchas possible. From now on, I guess I will be creating more
and more rather than singing.”
Additional interviews by Yuko Takahashi.

TAC Talk: Riyoko Ikeda• September 20 • 6–8pm • Manhattan II • ¥2,450 (guests:¥2,940) • Sign up online

REVOLUTION

CLARA GARCIASEPTEMBER|21