Ikkyū (manga)

Ikkyū (Japanese: あっかんべェ一休, Hepburn: Akkanbe Ikkyū; lit. 'Taunting Ikkyū') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hisashi Sakaguchi, based on the life of the 14th century Zen monk Ikkyū. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from May 1993 to November 1995, left unfinished when Sakaguchi died from acute heart failure at the age of 49. The manga posthumously received the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1996.

Set during the tumultuous Muromachi period, the manga focuses on Ikkyū's spiritual struggles and transformation into an unorthodox, wandering monk. The story combines and truncates many of the facts and fictions of Ikkyū's life and draws influence from Noh theatre.