Yōko Kondō

is a Japanese manga artist. Beginning her career in 1979 in the alternative manga magazine Garo, she is known for her historical and folklore-inspired works as well as for adaptations of classic Japanese literature.

Life Kondō was born on May 11, 1957 in Niigata. She started being interested in manga after reading Sanpei Shirato's Kamui Gaiden and started drawing by imitating his style. In highschool, she met Rumiko Takahashi and together they founded a manga club at their school. Kondō supported Takahashi in the beginnings of her trying to start a career as a manga artist. She was also interested in folklore, influenced by the works of Shinobu Orikuchi, which is why she studied folklore at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo after finishing high school.

In her last year at university in 1979 she published her first work as a professional manga artist in the alternative manga magazine Garo, the short story "Monorōgu". She was an active contributor to several gekiga magazines after this and profited from the boom in erotic gekiga publications such as Gekiga Alice. She also worked as an assistant for manga artist Murasaki Yamada.

In 1984, when the boom of erotic gekiga was subsiding, she was approached by the editors of Weekly Manga Sunday to publish in the magazine. This led her to publish short stories about the daily life of neighbors in a quarter of Niigata in the magazine from 1984 until 1985. The ensuing short story collection Miharashi ga oka nite was a success and she won the excellence award at the Japan Cartoonists Association Award 1986 for it. She kept publishing manga with similar daily life themes for several years. translated by Ryan Holmberg (translator of Murasaki Yamada's Talk to My Back) as "three daughters of Garo". Holmberg argued that the moniker was "highly misleading", and that while male artists were not usually distinguished by gender, the moniker does so for the female artists. Holmberg argued that, therefore, the moniker displays sexism.

Besides the Excellence Prize at the Japan Cartoonists Association Award that she received in 1986 for Miharashi ga oka nite, she won the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival 2014 for her adaptation of 's fantasy novel Goshiki no Fune. The jury commented: "We cannot help but admire KONDO’s sincerity and creativity when she addressed issues. This masterpiece, praised unanimously by its readers for its beauty in staunchly portraying the cruelty concealed in the world while at the same time providing the humor and courage to live, compels us to give something back." Her manga Sensō to Hitori no Onna, based on a novel by Ango Sakaguchi, was among the jury-selected works of Japan Media Arts Festival 2013.

She has been nominated twice for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize; once in 2005 for a re-edition of her 1980s series Suikyō Kitan and once in 2022 for her series Takaoka Shinnō Kōkaiki.

Several of her manga have been adapted for film or television. Her manga series Roommates was adapted into a live-action TV series in 1996.

In the late 2010s, some of her works were translated into French, Italian

Works Title Year Notes Refs 1979 Published in Garo 1985 Short stories published in Weekly Manga SundayPublished by Jitsugyō no Nihonsha in 1 vol. Tōku ni Arite (遠くにありて)1987–1990Serialized in Big ComicPublished by Shogakukan in 2 vol. Horizon Blue1988–1990Serialized in GaroPublished by Seirindo in 1 vol. Suikyō Kitan (水鏡綺譚)1988–1990Serialized in AsukaPublished by Kadokawa Shoten in 2 vol. Utsurigi Honki (移り気本気)1989–1990Serialized in Big Comic for LadyPublished by Shinchosha in 1 vol. 1991–1996 Serialized in Big ComicPublished by Shogakukan in 4 vol. Yōreiboshi (妖霊星)1992–1993Serialized in GaroPublished by Seirindo in 1 vol. Kokoro no Meikyū (心の迷宮)1993–1998Serialized in Big GoldPublished by Shogakukan in 3 vol. Acacia no Michi (アカシアの道)1995Serialized in Weekly Manga ActionPublished by Futabasha in 1 vol. Akegata Rouge (あけがたルージュ)1997–2000Serialized in Big Comic and Big Comic ZōkanPublished by Shogakukan in 2 vol. Tsukikage no Onhaha (月影の御母)1997–1999Serialized in NemukiPublished by Asahi Sonorama in 1 vol. Virginia (ヴァージニア)1999–2000Serialized in Office You and Office You PlusPublished by Seirinkogeisha in 1 vol. Hagane no Musume (鋼の娘)2001–2002Serialized in Feel YoungPublished by Shodensha in 1 vol. Hitori no Yoru mo Bagakunai (独りの夜も長くない)2001–2003Serialized in Big Comic Zōkan and Big ComicPublished by Shogakukan in 1 vol. Kinu no Himo (絹の紐)2002–2003Serialized in Manga Erotics FPublished by Ohta Publishing in 1 vol. Ani Kaeru (兄帰る)2005–2006Serialized in Big ComicPublished by Shogakukan in 1 vol. Takara no Yome (宝の嫁)2006Published by Bunkasha in 1 vol. Yūyake Kōen (ゆうやけ公園)2009–2011Serialized in HontomoPublished by Tokuma Shoten in 1 vol. 2012 Based on a novel by Ango SakaguchiPublished by Seirinkogeisha in 1 vol. 2013 Based on a novel by Yasumi TsuharaSerialized in Comic BeamPublished by Enterbrain in 1 vol. Shisha no Sho (死者の書)2014–2016Based on a book by Shinobu OrikuchiSerialized in Comic BeamPublished by Kadokawa Shoten in 2 vol. 2016 Based on the short story collection Ten Nights of Dreams by Natsume SōsekiPublished by Iwanami Shoten in 1 vol. Takaoka Shinnō Kōkaiki (高丘親王航海記)2019–2021Based on a book by Tatsuhiko ShibusawaSerialized in Comic BeamPublished by Kadokawa Shoten in 4 vol.