is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hisashi Sakaguchi, based on the life of the 14th century Zen monk Ikkyū. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from May 1993 to November 1995, left unfinished when Sakaguchi died from acute heart failure at the age of 49.Find the best manga in Japan! Separate volume Takarajima 316" Takarajimasha 1997 p231 The manga posthumously received the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1996.
Set during the tumultuous Muromachi period, the manga focuses on Ikkyū's spiritual struggles and transformation into an unorthodox, wandering monk. The story combines and truncates many of the facts and fictions of Ikkyū's life and draws influence from Noh theatre.
Plot
The story is set during the tumultuous Muromachi period. Illegitimately-born son of Emperor Go-Komatsu, Ikkyū, is given to the Ankokuji Temple in Kyoto for his own safety. Ardent in his studies of Zen, Ikkyu is a clever boy who becomes tired of the hypocrisy surrounding him at the Ankokuji. Wandering the cities and back-country of Japan, Ikkyu develops a legendary reputation as both an ascetic and libertine monk.
Publication Written and illustrated by Hisashi Sakaguchi, Ikkyū was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from May 25, 1993, to November 25, 1995, until his death from acute heart failure in December 1995. Kodansha collected its chapters in four volumes, released from December 18, 1993, to January 23, 1996. The volumes were later republished in two volumes, with both volumes released on October 12, 1998.
Volumes
Notes
References
External links