Special Talk with Riyoko Ikeda and Teiko Maehashi, Volume 3

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Riyoko Ikeda
Riyoko Ikeda is a manga artist, author, and vocalist. She made her debut in 1967 with Bara Yashiki no Shojo (The Maiden of the Rose Mansion)In 1972, her series The Rose of Versailles began running in Margaret, the shôjô manga magazine published by Shueisha The series sparked a craze and became a social phenomenon. In 1980, she won the Japan Cartoonists Association Award of Excellence for The Window of Orpheus. In 1995, at the age of 47, after having published numerous manga works, she enrolled in Tokyo College of Music’s Department of Vocal Music.Since graduating, she has been performing as a soprano singer and has appeared in opera productions. She was awarded France's prestigious Legion of Honour in 2009. In August 2021, a new opera created by Ikeda, Nemuru Otoko (The Sleeping Man), was performed in Finland. Her latest book, Ikeda Riyoko Dai1 kashuu:Sabishiki Hone (Riyoko Ikeda's First Songbook:Lonely Bones), which contains her thoughts in the form of tanka poetry and essays, is now on sale. "The Rose of Versailles 50th Anniversary Exhibition - The Rose of Versailles Forever -" will be held at Tokyo City View, 52F, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, from September 17 to November 20, 2022.

Official Website
http://www.ikeda-riyoko-pro.com/

Teiko Maehashi
Teiko Maehashi is one of Japan's leading international violinists. After studying with Anna Ono at the age of five, she enrolled in to the Leningrad Conservatory at the age of 17 to study with Mikhail Vaiman. In addition to other world-renown orchestras and artists, she has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. She continues to entrance many audiences with her graceful and sophisticated playing. In recent years, she has been giving recitals throughout Japan with programs filled with widely loved music. In 2004, she received the Japanese Art Academy Prize. She was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal in the spring of 2011, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette in the spring of 2017. She plays on a Del Gesu Guarneri violin made in 1736.

Official Website
https://teikomaehashi-violin.com/

"The cold, dark corridors of the Leningrad dormitories are always on my mind."

Maehashi　There was also a Russian language class, where they made us recite poems by Pushkin and Lermontov. I was a student without any deep knowledge, so I couldn't recite the poems, and I didn't have the time to learn them. The teacher was a small woman with bobbed hair who looked like something out of a Rembrandt portrait. She was a woman who had lost her entire family in the war and was devoting her life to teaching both the language and the history of Russia to foreign students. Looking back, I should have put more effort into her class (laughs). In February, the anniversary of Pushkin's death, I went to see the place where he had his final duel, waist-deep in snow. I got to experience things like that. So when I play Tchaikovsky's violin concertos, I often remember those moments, even today. I always have the cold, dark corridors of the Leningrad dormitory on my mind.
Ikeda　I gave up on my dream of playing music and created a manga called The Window of Orpheus instead. It was something of a substitute.
Maehashi　You went to Regensburg, right?
Ikeda　 I was.

(From Volume 9 of the paperback edition of The Window of Orpheus)

Ikeda　When I traveled to Europe for interviews and mentioned to people the kind of story I planned to create, distinguished professors at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and other institutions would tell me to visit them. I wasn't studying, but I was able to hear people playing in front of me. That's how I was able to witness the atmosphere you mentioned earlier, with students having to perform in front of other students who were just watching. At the time, the status of manga was still very low in Japan, but people over there were very supportive and respectful of my desire to draw manga. The instructor I approached said, "You the professor who visits Japan, aren’t you?" And he played for me and showed me around the school.
Maehashi　But at that time, you were creating something completely from scratch, right? From the story all the way to the techniques, here I mean the art. When and how did you come up with these ideas?
Ikeda　For Orpheus, I happened to be in Regensburg with a manga artist friend. We took the train into Germany from Vienna and decided to get off the train after dark. We would get off at a station and spend the night there. As a result, I happened to end up in Regensburg, and I rather liked it. My friend quickly moved on to another place, but I stayed behind and kept walking around the city, when someone asked me if I was Japanese. He told me there was a Japanese student at the music school, so he took me to the dormitory. That made me realize, "I want to write about students studying in a place like this," and I came up with the story. But basically, I wanted to depict the Russian Revolution, so I had to work very hard to somehow connect Regensburg to Russia (laughs). What I still feel is different from Japan is that when you go to Regensburg and stay overnight, you hear the church bells ringing all over the city early in the morning.
Maehashi　I remember.
Ikeda　I felt the cultural difference in the sound of the bells.

Maehashi　Exactly. I know what you mean. I never ended up in Regensburg, but I lived in Switzerland at the time. In Germany, there's an orchestra in every city. The top one is of course the Berlin Philharmonic, but there are dozens of them. I often went to Germany to perform with those orchestras. I used to take the train from Switzerland so often that I had memorized the menu in the dining car (laughs). So I can picture the story you just told me. But I think it's really a great talent to be able to develop that story to such an extent and turn it into a work of art.
Ikeda　I don't know. I gave up early on the idea that I was talented enough to attend music school for piano.
Maehashi　It may sound rude to call it a setback, but maybe that was part of your path. You've done a great job building such a wonderful world.
Ikeda　 You're too kind.
Maehashi　Do you decide on the complete story from the very beginning?
Ikeda　There were parts that I had decided on, and other times, I would just come up with a scene and start from there. For example, there's a scene where the main character goes to Russia and sees the Neva River for the first time. I would decide on a few scenes like that, and then I would create stories that led up to those scenes.
Maehashi　You actually went to see the Neva River, right?
Ikeda　I did, when I visited the Soviet Union. The Neva River was frozen.
Maehashi　That’s right. The river freezes, and it gets 20 to 30 degrees below zero. That's one aspect of it, but don't you think the frozen Neva River has a unique atmosphere?
Ikeda　When I saw it, I was strangely shocked to see a building on the other side of the Neva River, near its mouth.
Maehashi　Wasn't it beautiful? The golden building, right?

(From Volume 6 of the paperback edition of The Window of Orpheus)

Ikeda　True. It was so beautiful. I felt that I wanted to include it in a scene no matter what.
Maehashi　So is it moments like that where you come up with ideas, right?
Ikeda　Exactly. Sometimes I depict what I actually saw, so I decide on the scene first. For example, in Germany, I wanted to depict a scene in the forest, or the music school and student dormitory that I was taken to in Regensburg, and it gradually led from there. When it comes to the characters in the story, I ask myself, "What's their blood type? What's their birth month?" and so on, and I draw them while thinking about how they would act in each situation.
Maehashi　By the way, it turns out we have the same sign. You were born in December, right?
Ikeda　I'm a Sagittarius.
Maehashi　I am as well (laughs).
Ikeda　Fantastic, we have the same sign! Were you bad at sports as a kid?
Maehashi　I wasn't just bad. I couldn't do anything (laughs).
Ikeda　I was the same. I've never finished anything but last place in a race! I'm happy to learn we share the same zodiac sign (laughs).
Maehashi　Ha ha. Is that right (laughs)?

"This violin might take me to another level."

M A　Thank you for these wonderful stories. Ms. Maehashi kindly brought her trusted violin with her today. It's via a screen, but we still wanted Ms. Ikeda to watch you play.
Maehashi　The violin I am playing now is a Del Gesu Guarneri. Stradivarius and Guarneri are the best violins, and this one was made in 1736. I'll show it to you now.
Ikeda　Wow, that's amazing!
Maehashi　 I first touched this violin in 2003.

Ikeda　I've actually been to Cremona, where there is a museum of violins and string instruments. I felt that string instruments have a truly beautiful shape.
Maehashi　You are right. It's quite important for violinists to know what kind of instrument to play on, and although they can be very expensive, there's a good reason for the price, and they're not just expensive just for the sake of it. There is a chemistry between the instrument and the player, and there are cases where even a high-quality instrument just doesn't feel right. You'll know when you play it. I acquired this one in 2003, so it's been 18 years we have been together. Even back then, I had very good violins. I had one Stradivarius and one Guarneri.
Ikeda　Impressive. Those are quite some assets.
Maehashi　Right. I figured I could just sell one of them when I get old (laughs). I go to London about twice a year for instrument maintenance. Violins are made of pine and maple, and they are put together with hide glue. If they used wood glue or something else, it would crack, so they use only hide glue. But hide glue is sensitive to humidity, especially during the rainy season in Japan, so it peels off. That's why the violins need to be regularly maintained. I travel all the way to London to visit a luthier to maintain them. Nowadays, there are organizations that lend good instruments to young people, but in my time, unless you acquired one yourself, they only lent you a violin for a few weeks and then you had to return it. That's why I worked hard to secure my own violin, no matter what it took.
I had two of them at the time, and when I visited the music store in London, as I usually do, and I happened to ask, "What kind of violins do you have now?" even though I wasn't particularly interested in purchasing a new one. It was just after 5 o'clock, and they were closing the store. He asked me if I wanted to take a look, and this is what he showed me. I tried playing it, and it was a whole other world. I thought I had found something amazing, so I asked, "How much does this violin cost?" He said, "It's a really great instrument, and there are three people in the world who are waiting for it, and I need to hear from them first. I will get back to you." So, about two or three months later, I received a call from him saying it was my turn. The people who had been waiting for it gave up because they couldn't afford the cost, and I was next on the list. I flew to London, thinking that I could buy this one if I gave up the two violins I already had. It was a big gamble because I was originally planning to use one of the two violins to fund my retirement. But I felt that if I was able to play this violin, I would move up to the next level.
Ikeda　That's a feeling that people who have never played the violin will probably never understand.

(From Volume 5 of The Rose of Versailles: Complete Edition)

Maehashi　That's true, and I was already getting old. I was quite conflicted. I didn't even know what kind of world I would be living in, and I didn't have to take that kind of risk. But I had a strong feeling that this violin might be able to take me to another level. I can't really explain it, but I wanted to get my hands on it no matter what.
Ikeda　As a violinist of your caliber, aren't you able to receive support from the government?
Maehashi　No. I can't count how many banks I visited to ask. When Japan was in the middle of a bubble economy, I used my father's land as collateral, and I think he earnestly questioned whether I would be able to pay him back (laughs). It was like that in those days. I've really only played the violin, and I've only done one thing, but I've been able to do it for so long because of the Soviet era. I am very happy to have met you. We come from different worlds, but you're someone who has come so far as a pioneer of your era.
Ikeda　I'm really glad to meet you as well. I never thought I'd be able to talk to someone who I've seen perform on stage and watched with such admiration. I said to myself, "No way! Did Ms. Maehashi really agree to do this talk with me?"
Maehashi　When you get older, you can't run or jump like you did when you were young. There is this dilemma when you perform, if you know what I mean. It might not go the way you planned. That's where wisdom and creativity come in. But I want to keep performing on stage as long as possible.
Ikeda　That's beautiful.
Maehashi　 If you have time, I hope you will come see one of my concerts.
Ikeda　I'll certainly go to see you perform when things have settled down in Tokyo.
Maehashi　Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again someday.

(Composition: Aya Okamura)