Short answers, pulled from the story.
Akira Yasuda, known at Capcom by the nickname Akiman, proposed and led the design of Ibuki for Street Fighter III: New Generation. Series artist Kinu Nishimura also contributed, emphasizing the cute quality in her artwork and designing Ibuki's school outfit.
Ibuki first appeared in Street Fighter III: New Generation, released in 1997. She was introduced as a young ninja tasked by her clan with retrieving a document connected to the game's antagonist, Gill.
Ibuki's long ponytail caused her to have between 1.2 and 1.3 times the character data of other fighters in Street Fighter III. This required several months of extra work to complete, with producer Tomoshi Sadamoto helping personally at the end.
Designer Akira Yasuda incorporated elements of koppojutsu, a martial art that was drawing public attention at the time, alongside ninjitsu into Ibuki's character design and movements.
Ibuki appeared in Street Fighter comic books including Street Fighter: Unlimited. She also starred in the four-issue miniseries Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki, written by Jim Zubkavich and illustrated by Omar Dogan, published by UDON Entertainment in 2010.
Computer and Video Games magazine described Ibuki as the most popular and powerful character of Street Fighter III: New Generation's cast. However, Next Generation and Official UK PlayStation Magazine noted that some players saw her as a replacement for Chun-Li, which reportedly caused resentment toward the character in the first two Street Fighter III titles.