is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Aiko Koyama. It has been serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

'' magazine since December 2016, with its chapters collected in twenty-one ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes as of October 2022. The series takes place in the

Geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...

district in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and follows the titular character Kiyo as she cooks up delicacies every day to support her friend Sumire and the other ''

maiko A is an apprentice geisha in Kyoto and Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the or other traditional Japanese instruments for visitors during banquets and parties, known as . are usually aged between 17 to 20 years ...

''. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by

J.C.Staff , is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...

aired worldwide from February 2021 to January 2022 on

NHK World NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...

, and it was followed by a Japanese broadcast on NHK E from October 2021 to June 2022. A

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

, executive produced, written and directed by

Hirokazu Kore-eda is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including '' Nobody Knows'' (2004), '' Still Walking'' (2008), and '' After the Storm'' ( ...

for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

, premiered in January 2023. By September 2022, the manga had over 2.7 million copies in circulation. In 2020, ''Kiyo in Kyoto'' won the 65th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...

for the '' shōnen'' category.

Synopsis

Kiyo and Sumire are childhood friends from

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

who move to

to become ''

''. During their training, Sumire excels through her talent and diligence. Kiyo, meanwhile, has difficulty learning the basic skills and is eventually expelled. However, Kiyo's talent in cooking is discovered, and she is hired as the new cook of the ''maiko'' house. Kiyo is happy with her new role: supporting Sumire and the other ''maiko'' through her cooking.

Characters

; : : :A 16 year-old girl from Aomori who came to Kyoto to become a ''maiko'', but her teachers thought she was too clumsy. However, the other apprentices loved her cooking, so she now works at the ''maiko'' house as a live-in cook. ; / : : :Kiyo's childhood friend from Aomori who came to Kyoto with her. Unlike Kiyo, Sumire has talent at being a ''maiko'', earning praise from the geisha overseeing her training. ; : :Kiyo and Sumire's childhood friend who goes to a high school in Aomori. ; : :A senior ''maiko'' who lives in the ''maiko'' house where Kiyo works. ; : :The "mother" of the ''maiko'' house. She is responsible for all of the ''maiko'' and geisha's living arrangements and for their training and preparation. ; : :An assistant of the ''maiko'' house. He is responsible for dressing the geisha and ''maiko'' in their kimonos. ; : :Provides tidbits of information on ''maiko'' culture and lifestyle.

Media

Manga

''Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House'' is written and illustrated by Aiko Koyama. The series began in

's ''

'' on December 28, 2016. The series went on hiatus from June 1–29, 2022. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual ''

'' volumes. The first volume was released on April 12, 2017. As of October 12, 2022, twenty-one volumes have been released. The manga has been licensed by

Elex Media Komputindo Elex Media Komputindo is a publishing company in Indonesia which publishes books, comics, magazines, novels and other print media. Established on January 15, 1985, Elex Media Komputindo is a subsidiary of Kompas Gramedia Group. Elex is headquarte ...

in Indonesia.

Volume list

Anime

In March 2020,

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

announced that the series would be adapted into an

television series. The series is animated by

, and directed by Yōhei Suzuki, with Susumu Yamakawa overseeing scripts, and Go Sakabe composing the series' music. It aired worldwide on the

NHK World-Japan NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...

channel from February 25, 2021, to January 27, 2022, and it was followed by a Japanese broadcast on NHK E from October 2, 2021 to June 11, 2022. The opening theme song is "Ashita Kitto" by

Ayano Tsuji is a J-pop singer famous in Japan for her unconventional light singing style and ukulele music. She rose to fame after performing the end-title track for the Studio Ghibli film ''The Cat Returns'' in 2002. Her other music for TV and anime includ ...

. In addition to each episode being on NHK World-Japan's free on-demand service for a year after broadcast,

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

is also streaming the series with English subtitles outside of Asia. In Southeast Asia, the series is licensed by JOYUPMEDIA and is streaming on

Bilibili Bilibili (stylized bilibili), nicknamed B Site, is a video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view and add overlaid commentary on videos. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its origi ...

. The series ran for 12 episodes. Each episode features a "Dish of the Day" segment, in which Kiyo, Sumire, and Tsurukoma discuss the dishes that appeared in each episode's three segments.

Episode list

Drama

In January 2022, it was announced that a nine-episode

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

adaptation, titled in English as '' The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House'', would premiere worldwide on

in 2023. It is directed by

, Megumi Tsuno, Hiroshi Okuyama and Takuma Sato, with Genki Kawamura in charge of planning; screenplay by Kore-eda, Tsuna, Okuyama, Sato and Mami Sunada; Yoshihiro Furusawa and Naomi Sato serving as executive producers; Kenji Yamada, Ai Kashima and Eiji Kitahara are producing the series; Risa Kitabayashi as an associate producer; and music composed by

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...

. It premiered on Netflix on January 12, 2023.

Reception

''Kiyo in Kyoto'' won the 65th

for the '' shōnen'' category in 2020. By October 2019, the manga had 700,000 copies in circulation; over 1 million copies in circulation by March 2020; and over 2.7 million copies in circulation by of September 2022.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{J.C.Staff 2021 anime television series debuts Anime series based on manga Cooking in anime and manga Crunchyroll anime Iyashikei anime and manga J.C.Staff Kyoto in fiction NHK original programming Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Television shows set in Kyoto Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga