Keiko Takemiya

Keiko Takemiya (竹宮 惠子, Takemiya Keiko; born February 13, 1950) is a Japanese manga artist, professor and university administrator. As part of the Year 24 Group, she was a leading figure in shōjo manga scene in the 1970s creating such manga as Kaze to Ki no Uta, Toward the Terra, Natsu e no Tobira. Additionally she became head of the Faculty of Manga at Kyoto Seika University, and then later became the president of the university.

Keiko Takemiya is included in the Year 24 Group, a term coined by academics and critics to refer to a group of female authors in the early 1970s who helped transform shōjo manga (manga for girls) from being created primarily by male authors to being created by female authors. These women were born in the year 1949 in the Gregorian calendar, or Shōwa 24 – the 24th year of the Shōwa era in the Japanese calendar which resulted in the name "Year 24".

The addition of realism to the stories of Takemiya, as well as other shōjo manga creators such as Moto Hagio, and Yumiko Oshima is cited as a reason for the increased popularity of the genre.

As part of the Year 24 Group, Takemiya pioneered a genre of shōjo manga about love between young men called shōnen-ai (lit. "boy love"). In 1970, she published a historical short story titled Sunroom Nite ("In the Sunroom") in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, which is possibly the first shōnen-ai manga ever published. Illustrating a tragic romance between a Romani boy and his wealthy classmate, it contains the earliest known male–male kiss in shōjo manga.

Takemiya cites her influences as being shōnen manga (manga for boys), the works of Shotaro Ishinomori, films, and documentaries. In 1972, after publishing Sora ga Suki! (空がすき！; "I Love the Sky!"), Takemiya traveled to Europe to learn more about life there as research for Kaze to Ki no Uta ("The Poem of Wind and Trees"). After that, she traveled to different parts of Europe on an almost annual basis.

Among her best known works are the manga Kaze to Ki no Uta and Toward the Terra, which are noted for being pioneering series of the 1970s and 1980s. She received the 9th Seiun Award for best science fiction manga for Toward the Terra in 1978, and the 25th (1979) Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo and shōnen category for both Kaze to Ki no Uta and Toward the Terra in 1980. She is regarded as "one of the first successful crossover women artists" to create both shōjo and shōnen manga. Many of her series have been adapted into anime, including Toward the Terra in 1980 and 2007, Natsu e no Tobira ("The Door into Summer") in 1981, Andromeda Stories in 1982, and Kaze to Ki no Uta in 1987. In 1983, Takemiya served as a special designer on the theatrical anime film Crusher Joe: The Movie, alongside other notable manga artists.

Since 2000, Takemiya has taught at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga. That university is the only one in Japan with its own manga department as well as a museum showcasing manga art. In 2010, the university offered a Masters graduate degree, where Takemiya would teach. She served as Dean of the Faculty of Manga from April 2008 until March 2013. She was also president of the university from April 2014 to March 2018. During her tenure at Kyoto Seika, Takemiya started the Genga' (Dash) (原画ダッシュ) project, which uses digital technology to create accurate reproductions of manga artwork and manuscripts, for both its preservation and to produce material suitable for art exhibitions, with a focus on shōjo manga art.

In 2001, she received the Avon Achievement Award [ja] for women who contribute to society. From 2009 to 2014, she served as a member of the selection committee for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes. In 2012, she received the Japan Cartoonists Association's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award in recognition of her entire body of work. In 2014, she was awarded the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan for her contributions to manga.