Provided is a light absorbing agent that excels in miscibility with a resin, a method of manufacturing such a light absorbing agent, a composition that excels in dispersiveness of such a light absorbing agent, and an optical member that excels in visible light transmitting performance and near-infrared radiation blocking performance. The light absorbing agent contains a compound expressed by Formula (1) below and a copper ion.




In the above, R1 is a group expressed by Formula (2) above, R10 is an alkylene group or arylene group that may have a substituent, R12 is an alkylene group or arylene group that may have a substituent, and the other symbols are as described in the specification.