A samurai is worried about the fact that his wife always seems to wear a forced smile whenever she's with him.

Growing up in the late 16th century Sengoku era Japan, Shinmen Takezō is shunned by the local villagers as a devil child due to his wild and violent nature. Running away from home with a fellow boy at age 17, Takezo joins the Toyotomi army to fight the Tokugawa clan at the Battle of Sekigahara. However, the Tokugawa win a crushing victory, leading to nearly three hundred years of Shogunate rule. Takezo and his friend manage to survive the battle and afterwards swear to do great things with their lives. However, after their paths separate, Takezo becomes a wanted criminal and must change his name and his nature in order to escape an ignoble death.... more>> style="line-height: 40px;"> Note: Won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2000. Won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002 and was nominated for the 2003 Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist category. <<less

When he woke up, Souma Tetsujirou, a samurai from Kamakura who had survived the Mongolian invasion, had found himself in an unfamiliar place.... more>>

He was told by Hirst, the girl who brought him there, that they are in Valhalla, a place where the souls of dead warriors congregate. In order for him to be revived, Tetsujirou now has no choice but to fight against the "dead warriors" from different eras in this mythical place of carnage that he's been thrown into.

This is the start of a samurai drama where one has to fight and strike down their enemies, even if it kills them!! <<less

Shimazu Toyohisa, a real-life samurai who fought in the pivotal Battle of Sekigahara. In his dying moments, Shimazu is transported to a world of magic with other famous warriors throughout history. These warriors are forced to fight each other in an endless battle.... more>>

Note: Nominated for the 4th and 5th Manga Taishou Awards. <<less

N/A

During the political upheavals and social strife at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan (1855), two parent-less brothers Yukimura Shoutarou and Yukimura Gentarou... more>> struggle to survive in these turbulent times. With their only possession being their deceased father's sword and clinging onto the wisdom of their mother's final words, the brothers seek to embark on the Path of the Warrior: Sidooh. <<less

In the year 1863, a time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining the Mibu-Roshi--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 famous) movements in Japanese history... the Shinsengumi!... more>>

In 2003 Kaze Hikaru won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shoujo. <<less

The two genius military advisors who led Toyotomi Hideyoshi to unify the nation, Kuroda Kanbei Yoshitaka and Takenaka Hambei Shigeharu. A dull and unmarried salaryman... more>> in his thirties wake up one day to find that he had become Takanaka HanbeL He had been reborn along with seven other men of the same age and circumstance! That night, he suddenly found himself in an empty room with a PC with a chatroom called "Tea room' open. Apparently, he could use this to chat with his fellow reincarnators?? Will they be able to survive in this era of battle and strife? <<less

The battle for succession that continued for three generations of shogun in the Keichou era culminated in a gruesome battle of ninja arts between the Kouga and Iga clans. Amidst a rain of flower petals, a man and woman who had decided to live for love were separated once again, beautiful in their transience. ... more>>

However, it is said that by the hand of Hattori Hanzo's adopted son, Kyouhachirou, these two flower petals, whether temporarily or permanently, were given life again and left two mementos behind. These children, born with a destiny of their own, were called Kouga Hachirou and Iga Hibiki. The former had eyes like his father's, and the latter had eyes like her mother's.

It is now the Kan'ei era, and the land is at peace. As ninjas begin to disappear into the shadows after being deemed unnecessary, the Kouga and Iga clans ask a favor of Hachirou and Hibiki in hopes of reinforcing their foundations. <<less

For the past 500 years, a certain country has spent day and night fighting countless wars. However, the appearance of General Kuroda Kyoutaka seemed to... more>> foretell the end of this war-torn world with eighty percent of the country already under his rule. His followers are the People Hunters, indiscriminate murderers who suddenly started killing under Kuroda's orders 15 years earlier. In foreign countries, in their own villages, men, women, children and the old... there were no distinctions made. Kuroda's followers simply murdered... and enjoyed it. Happening upon a lone priest with the eyes of his dead sister, a displaced young man named Kazuma struggles against the demons of his past and present. In this strife ridden land how will he fare? <<less

The year is 1863 as the tumultuous samurai era is coming to an end, Japan is split between the pro-shogunate and anti-shogunate factions. The fate... more>> of the world is threatened as an army of historical revisionists are sent from the future to alter the course of history. In order to bring these forces down and protect the real history, two sword warriors, spirits who are swords brought to life by Saniwa (sage), rush to Edo. The polite and thoughtful Horikawa Kunihiro and the short tempered yet skillful Izuminokami Kanesada, who served the same master, confront the invading army along with a lively gang of other warriors including Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Yagen Toushirou, Tombokiri, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga. As the fate of history lies in these hero's hands, what meets the blade is yet to be uncovered... [ANN] <<less

The story of a ninja-slaying samurai who won't rest until he kills every last shinobi for the sake of his revenge.

In the 17th century, the Holy Roman Empire was ravaged by the Thirty Years' War. In the middle of this chaos appeared a japanese mercenary... more>> named Isaak. His fierce battle begins. <<less

A martial arts historical series about a peasant turned samurai and caught in the turmoil of the final year of the Edo Period (1868).... more>>

Included one-shot: Inu no Seikatsu. <<less

History classes have never interested Saburo. He never saw the point of learning something that happened in the past, let alone a few hundred years ago. But when he falls off a wall, he travels through a wormhole and ends up in 16th century ancient Japan. He meets a very young Oda Nobunaga, one of the most influential figures in Japanese history, who turns out to be identical in appearance as Saburo. The real Nobunaga, sick of the castle life and wanting to travel, orders Saburo to take his place. Without knowing how to get back to his time, Saburo tries to make sure history isn’t rewritten for the infamous Oda Nobunaga. [vyc]... more>>

Won the 57th Shogakukan Manga Award for shounen. <<less

Kounosuke Ryuudo is a samurai who is stuck in perpetual poverty. Looking for a job is fruitless, as he cannot wield a blade. Quite literally, in fact.... more>>

One day, after being accosted by some criminals and wishing to only reach the sweet embrace of death, he receives a marriage proposal from a mysterious woman...

The newest work from the author of Kasane. <<less

The people have demanded change; Criterion boxes were created for the purpose of the people to leave their complaints in it. The result of this were two changes: the first being the creation of 'Koishigawa Youjoujo' for the people, the second being an inner-city magistrate office, known as the Mushibugyo.... more>>

Tsukishima Jinbee is a warrior who aims to be best, under the belief that a weak warrior isn't a warrior at all. He was scouted out by a representative to join the Mushibugyo and told to go to Edo with the instructions that he'd knew what to do once he got there. Shortly after arriving at Edo, he hears a scream and goes to check it out only to find a giant spider-like creature devouring some citizens of Edo. Being a warrior, there's no way he could stand this... <<less

At the end of the age of shogunates, a great man is given a second chance to restore a crumbling, feudal Japan.... more>>

Toward the end of the Edo Period, samurai and visionary Sakamoto Ryouma led a revolutionary movement to overthrow the Takagawa Shogunate. Inspired by the Western principle of "all men created equal", he envisioned a modern Japanese government, free of oppressive feudalism. In 1867, he and his close friend Nakaoka Shintaro were assasinated before his dreams could be realized.

Tenshou no Ryouma explores the historical alternative-universe where Ryouma is saved through Shintaro's sacrifice. Given this second chance, will Ryouma finally be able to establish a new, modern Japan? <<less

With Japan in the midst of a bloody revolution, an elite cadre of samurai swordsmen known as the Shinsengumi must protect the embattled city of Kyoto. Tetsunosuke Ichimura has spent his life dreaming of working at the Shinsengumi, and his wish has recently been fulfilled. As a page for Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshizo, he is privy to a wealth of secrets and is among Japan's highest ranking officials, some of whom are actual historical figures. When a strange gun-toting swordsman, Ryoma Sakamoto, recognizes Tetsunosuke and his brother as the sons of someone he calls the "Peacemaker," trouble brews and the other Shinsengumi run the outsider out of town. ... more>>

Full of action, this sword-fighting and gun-toting story is centered on the bakumatsu, a chaotic and bloody time of revolution that would ultimately result in the disbanding of the samurai and the opening up and Westernization of Japan. Fifteen-year-old Tetsu must witness the war around him, and perhaps gain some amount of wisdom about the samurai. <<less

N/A

What if the Meiji Restoration never happened? Bakufu still holds sway, the class system has never been abolished, and there is no westernization. The story... more>> is set in modern-era Edo, which had never been renamed to Tokyo, where people go to Kabuki for entertainment and hang out at pancake house. It centers around Sobi, the sister of an Edo magistrate who goes to school with Michisato, who prefers to be called Michel, the eccentric son of the ruling Tokugawa clan's Mito family. <<less

A collection of oneshots.... more>>

1. Yume-Zamurai

2. Sengoku Juuhei Magoichi

3. Raiden Tokkou

4-5. Dangan Gaki

6. Chigusa-touge no Arashi

8. Rapid Fire: Follows Dolores as she trains in self-defense, and her reasons for doing so.

9. Gaikou-kakkaku (Luminous and brightness) <<less

Mounted warriors line up and rush to the assault. Brandishing swords on horseback, the warriors slash at each other... This kind of image of feudal... more>> combat is all a lie. Well, then, how did Samurai really fight? A declaration of war has now been made against the lie of combat that was forged during the Edo period, and continued uncontested to this very day. <<less

Ryo thinks she is a normal girl living a normal high school life in modern day Tokyo. But is she? On a school trip, a... more>> mysterious man attacks her and claims that he is Benkei, the legendary warrior monk who collected 999 of his opponents' swords in battle during the Heinan era. And he also claims that she is Ushiwakamaru, the 1000th opponent, that according to folklore, beat Benkei and became his master. But...Ushiwakamaru was a man! And Benkei and Ushiwakamaru existed in 13th century feudal Japan! <<less

After being bullied at his old school, Makoto wants to be the main character of his own story. When he finds a bill with his... more>> face on it on a school trip to Kyoto, he takes it as a sign, which leads him to fall into a river. Once he comes to, he realizes that he has been transported back to the period of time in Japan known as the Bakumatsu! <<less