- Ryō Azumi
is a Japanese
mangaka whose works draw onOld Norse literature and other subjects from Northern Europe.Azumi published her first work in 1981 and made steady contributions to Wings and other magazines in the early 80's. In 1986 she published the first part of her magnum opus, The Scarlet Sword (緋色い剣, "Akai Tsurugi"). The work appeared in installations up to 1993, consisting of a total of 1675 pages in 10 volumes. Akai Tsurugi takes place in the 10th century Nordic world, following both mortal heroes invented by the author and the
Norse gods struggling againstRagnarök . The author attempts to situate her story naturally within the Norse literary tradition, working with such real historical themes as the social changes brought on by the conversion of the Norse peoples to Christianity. Many of Azumi's other works explore similar subjects.More recent series by Azumi include the following.
* A four volume series based on
Der Ring des Nibelungen , published 1989-1991
* A five volume series published 1992-1995
* A five volume series based on the life ofÓláfr Tryggvason , published 1994-2001References
* Halldór Stefánsson (1994). "Foreign myths and sagas in Japan: the academics and the cartoonists" in "Beyond Boundaries: Understanding, Translation and Anthropological Discourse", pp. 75-99, edited by Gísli Pálsson. Berg Publishers. ISBN 1-85973-021-3
* [http://www.home.ix.netcom.com/~kyamazak/myth/norse/azumi-ryo_manga_akai-tsurugi.htm Azumi Ryo's manga - Akai Tsurugi]
* [http://users.skynet.be/mangaguide/au211.html Azumi Ryou] List of works
* [http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~azumi/ Midnight Sun] Author's homepage ja icon
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
