is a Japanese historical

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Riyoko Ikeda is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group by some critics, journalists, and academics, although her inclusion has been debated due to a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology of those mangaka. ...

depicting the life of Polish Prince

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lit ...

in the turbulent last days of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and the dawn of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. First published in Japan in 1991, it was the first legally published manga in Poland (as ), released from 1996 to 1997 by Polish manga publisher

Japonica Polonica Fantastica Japonica Polonica Fantastica, also known as JPF, is the oldest Polish language, Polish manga publisher, founded in 1996 in Olecko. The first titles (''Ten no hate made, Aż do nieba'', ''Sailor Moon, Czarodziejka z Księżyca'' olumes 1–8 wer ...

. Its publication is considered an important event in the development of manga and anime fandom in Poland, where it helped popularize manga. ''Ten no Hate Made'' blends historical events with fictionalized and romanticized elements, often drawing from Polish romantic myths. The work has been praised for its depiction of Polish history and culture, including architecture and costumes, though it has also faced criticism for its historical inaccuracies and melodramatic portrayals. The manga shares thematic and stylistic similarities with Ikeda's other works, such as ''

Eikou no Napoleon – Eroica is a manga by Riyoko Ikeda that is the official sequel to ''The Rose of Versailles''. It tells the story of Napoleon's empire, including the Thermidorian Reaction, the Italian Campaign, the Egyptian Campaign, the Battle of the Nile, the co ...

'' and ''

The Rose of Versailles also known as ''Lady Oscar'' and ''La Rose de Versailles'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Margaret'' from 1972 to 1973, while a revival ...

'', and is regarded as a rare example of Japanese manga exploring Polish history.

Plot

The main character of the manga is Prince

. The manga is divided into three volumes; the first covers the childhood of the main character, the second covers his later years up to the

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservativ ...

in defense of the

Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...

, and the third continues the story of Prince Poniatowski until his death at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

in 1813.

History

In Japan

2008TIBE_Hall2_ComicPavilion_Opening_RiyokoIkeda

The manga was created by

, a popular Japanese author of historical manga. Ikeda became interested in Polish history after her sister visited Poland. The manga was produced in the 1990s and was first published in Japan in 1991. In Japan, the manga has seen several editions: published by ''Asahi Bunko''/ ''Asahi Shimbun'' (1991–1993), Chuko Aizōban/

Chuokoron-Shinsha is a Japanese publisher. It was established in 1886, under the name . In 1999, it was acquired by The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, and its name was subsequently changed to Chūōkōron-shinsha. Profile The company publishes a wide variety of mater ...

(1994), Chuko Bunko/Chuokoron-Shinsha (1999), and, digitally, Fairbell (2013).

In Poland

The manga was published in Poland in three volumes from 1996 to 1997 by

; the first volume was released in July 1996 and the event has been described as the beginning of the manga and anime fandom in Poland. It was translated into Polish by Shin Yasuda, the founder of Japonica Polonica Fantastica, a Japanese resident in Poland. He translated the manga as part of his Polish language studies and decided to publish the translation after establishing the publishing house. ''Ten no Hate Made'' was the first manga published in Poland, respecting

copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, e ...

. It is sometimes incorrectly described as the first manga published in Poland: that title belongs to ''Black Knight Batto'' (known in the West as ''Black Knight Bat'') by

Buichi Terasawa was a Japanese manga artist. His most famous works include '' Goku Midnight Eye'' and ''Cobra''. Early life and career Terasawa was born on March 30, 1955, in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. In the early days of his career, while still unknown, he con ...

, which was published in 1986 in serialized form in the magazine ' without the author's permission. In 2008, ''Ten no Hate Made'' was reissued in a single-volume edition.

Analysis

Angieszka Włodarczyk described the manga is a classic example of manga (aimed at adult women); however another reviewer classified the work as '' manga (manga aimed at teenage girls)''.'' Several scholars and critics commented on Ikeda's choice of Poland and Polish history as its primary setting. Małgorzata Rutkowska, in ''Załącznik Kulturoznawczy'' in 2014, believed that the choice of this manga as the first title published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica was deliberate, given its Polish theme. Anna Juozulinas in her article in the journal ''Argumenta Historica'' in 2022 described the manga as "bringing Polish history at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries closer to readers", and Katarzyna Bikowska, writing in 2013 in ' (''EBIB Bulletin'') magazine, noted that due to its Polish setting, the manga is a valuable addition to Polish libraries. Similarly, Katarzyna Maciakiewicz, writing in 2018 in ''Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia ad Didacticam Biologiae Pertinentia'', found the manga intriguing for Polish readers. In her analysis, she stated that "the author does not depict real events in her manga and even embellishes history for the sake of the title", but at the same time "presents authentic costumes, architecture, and locations from the era". Wojciech Obremski, in his 2005 book ''Krótka historia sztuki komiksu w Polsce: 1945–2003'' (''Short History of Comic Art in Poland:'' ''1945–2003''), positively evaluated the comic, highlighting its educational value and praising, among other things, ''"''the faithful depiction of buildings, such as the Royal Castle in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, the

Palace on the Isle The Palace on the Isle (), also known as the Baths Palace (), is a classicist palace in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park, the city's largest park, occupying over 76 hectares of the city center. From 1674 this palace and the nearby Ujazdów Castle belonge ...

, and the tenements in Warsaw's

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

". Justyna Czaja offered a more critical analysis of the manga in a chapter dedicated to it in the book ''Wobec romantyzmu...'' (''Facing Romantism...''). According to Czaja, the manga offers a simplified history of Poniatowski, based on Polish romantic myths (such as legends of the

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

s and

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

) and

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

elements. Many characters are idealized. The depiction of Poniatowski's life is sanitized compared to historical accounts (the real Poniatowski was criticized for "moral excesses, numerous love affairs, sybaritism, nd...a lavish lifestyle", and troublesome relation with his relative, King Stanisław August Poniatowski – none of which appear in the manga). His romance with is described by Czaja as "a trivialized pop culture romance". Czaja also criticized the portrayal of Polish military leader

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

, who is devoid of "individual traits and represents a conventional hero-patriot type", noting that Kościuszko is beautified in the manga ("fitting into the stereotypical portrayal of a 'leader's' appearance") and lacks his trademark peasant characteristics (such as peasant attire he was fond of wearing). Czaja concludes that "Ikeda shows how mythologized biographies of heroes and national history look when filtered through the pop culture lens" and describes the manga as "a

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

with a patriotic character". Examples of historical changes made in the manga to enrich familial and romantic themes include replacing the real sister of Poniatowski with a fictional brother and worsening the relationship between Poniatowski's mother and her son. Another ahistorical element is the author's joke – a scene where the prince draws manga. The very title of the manga (''To the Borders of Heaven'') is derived from a lofty monologue, supposedly delivered by Poniatowski shortly before his death that has since been proven by historians to be a fabrication by later chroniclers. The portrayal of Poniatowski and other characters in manga style was also considered "unusual" for this subject by several scholars and reviewers. The manga is related to other titles by Ikeda (''

'', ''

''), as they all share a similar setting (characters and time period related to the era of

). However, ''The Rose of Versailles'' was published in Poland only in 2016, despite having been announced as "forthcoming" in the first edition of Polish edition of ''Ten no Hate Made'', which led to it being described as "the longest-awaited manga in Poland".

Reception

In 1997, Michał Janowski reviewed the manga for the newspaper ''

Rzeczpospolita () is a traditional Polish term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "rzeczpospolita", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage" "thing, matter" and "common" is analogous to the Latin ''rēs pūblica' ...

''. According to the reviewer, the dramatic events of Polish history often become amusing when translated into the comic medium. He particularly criticized the excessive use of manga

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

, which he found distracting or inappropriate at times. Janowski also deemed the historical narrative overly simplified due to the comic format's constraints on text length, and he criticized the inaccurate rendering of non-Polish character names, noting, "It is also unclear why

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

(Polish: ) is called Luis XV, and Frederick II (Polish: ) is Fridrich II"''.'' In 1998, Tomasz Tekliński reviewed the manga for the magazine '' Machina'', criticizing the medium and content for the "typical simplicity of spirit oundin manga". He was also not impressed by the application of the manga art style to the Polish setting, stating that "the depiction of a young Kościuszko with a

mongoloid Mongoloid () is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms ...

appearance reminiscent of '

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

' will astonish even the most resistant". A 2006 review on the Polish portal ''Manga Tanuki'' noted that, in the context of their classification of the manga as aimed at female readership, that despite the manga's focus on a soldier's life, it is "psychologically refined, with interpersonal relationships being the main plot thread" and "emotionally charged"''.'' The review highlighted the significance of relationships between historical figures, such as "the lifelong romance of Józef with , his friendship with

, and the hostility between his brother and stepmother". The reviewer, who identified as a historian, also noted that while the manga has educational value and depicts Polish history relatively accurately, it includes some deliberate historical inaccuracies for narrative purposes. The quality of the publication was praised, but the translation was criticized as "sometimes stiff", and the "European-style publication" (changing from right-to-left reading order to left-to-right) was also noted. In 2012, another reviewer on the same portal reviewed the 2008 reissue, writing: "The struggle for the homeland intertwines with romance, creating an engaging mix. Although Ikeda is not always completely faithful to the facts, her treatment of Polish history is still impressive"''.'' However, the review criticized the reissue for lacking improvements or corrections compared to the first edition. Both reviewers on ''Manga Tanuki'' also praised the author for noting most of the ahistorical changes in the manga's comments. The authors of Takeda biography at

Grodzisk Mazowiecki Grodzisk Mazowiecki () is a town in central Poland, the capital of Grodzisk Mazowiecki County in the Masovian Voivodeship, with 34,718 inhabitants (2024). Grodzisk Mazowiecki is a town that developed from an Early Middle Ages, early medieval forti ...

Library described the manga as successful in Poland and helping popularize manga in that country.

References

Bibliography

* {{Riyoko Ikeda 1991 manga Historical anime and manga Napoleonic Wars books Riyoko Ikeda Shōjo manga Cultural depictions of Józef Poniatowski Josei manga