Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 30

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. In time, this group would become one of the greatest (and most infamous) movements in Japanese history… the Shinsengumi!

Posing as a man, Sei trains with the Shinsengumi and does her best to survive the turbulent times. Emperor Komei dies shortly after the brash aristocrat Yoshinobu becomes shogun, and the political climate darkens. Then the scheming Councilor Ito invites Saito, who has been like a brother to Sei, and Nagakura, leader of the Second Troop, to a private banquet. Will he risk their lives by keeping them out past curfew?!

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.