ABSTRACT
In recent years, the genre of shōjo manga has attracted considerable scholarly attention. This popularity, of course, had long been established among fans, ever since shōjo’s cultural expansion and transformation in the early 1970s. As scholarly attention for shōjo manga grows, it is important to re-evaluate the impact of the publications and manga artists that emerged in the 1970s, as important starting points for contemporary incarnations of the genre. Within this group, Riyoko Ikeda’s The Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no Bara 1972–1973) is of particular note, as an important example of how shōjo manga has historically been reflective of attitudes and shifts within Japanese culture and society, with a particular focus on gender and sexual identities. Analysing Ikeda’s manga as a characteristic example, this chapter investigates the intersection between binary gender canons and veiled queer identities in 1970s shōjo manga, and in the decades that followed their initial publication and success.
