Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 25

Romance between "swordsmen," based on a true-life adventure of a young girl determined to be a part of history.

In the 1860s in Japan, a new era is dawning. During this time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the shogunate system. This group becames one of the greatest (and most infamous) movements in Japanese history…the Shinsengumi!

Shinsengumi vice captain Toshizo recounts his youth as an aspiring swordsman and his budding relationship with captain Kondo. Later, Kondo, Toshizo and Tominaga Sei, a female samurai living as a man, confront internal strife when money goes missing from the Shinsengumi’s coffer. Sei must face her fears when Shinsengumi leadership hands down a terrible punishment to a fellow warrior.

Taeko Watanabe debuted as a manga artist in 1979 with her story Waka-chan no Netsuai Jidai (Love Struck Days of Waka). Kaze Hikaru is her longest-running series, but she has created a number of other popular series. Watanabe is a two-time winner of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the girls’ category—her manga Hajime-chan go Ichiban! (Hajime-chan Is Number One!) claimed the award in 1991, and Kaze Hikaru took it in 2003. Watanabe read hundreds of historical sources to create Kaze Hikaru. She is from Tokyo.