is a Japanese

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 film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

produced by

Studio Pierrot is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...

. An adaptation of the 1989 novel ''

Kōkyū Shōsetsu is a Japanese fantasy novel written by Ken'ichi Sakemi, published in 1989. It was Sakemi's first novel and was released in two forms: hardcover and bunkobon. The novel won the 1st Japan Fantasy Novel Award in 1989, and was adapted into the 1990 ...

'' by

Ken'ichi Sakemi is a Japanese writer, whose works have been adapted into other formats, including films, manga, and anime. Life and career Sakemi was born in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. In 1988, In 1988 he graduated from Aichi University, Faculty of Letters, ...

. It was broadcast on the

Nippon Television Network System Nippon Television Network System (; NNS) is a Japanese television network organized by The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings through its subsidiary NTV. NTV feeds entertainment and other non-news programming over NNS to 29 affiliated stations. Distrib ...

on March 21, 1990 (

Vernal Equinox Day is a public holiday in Japan that occurs on the date of the Northward equinox in Japan Standard Time (the vernal equinox can occur on different dates in different time-zones), usually March 20 or 21. The date of the holiday is not officially d ...

Production

''Like the Clouds, Like the Wind'' is an anime adaptation of Ken'ichi Sakemi's debut novel ''Kōkyū Shōsetsu'', which won the first grand prize of the

Japan Fantasy Novel Award The is an annual award which began in 1989 and is sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun and Shimizu Corporation with the backing of publisher Shinchōsha. The winner gets a contract to have their unpublished work published by Shinchōsha and receives ¥ ...

, and was produced and broadcast as part of the 20th anniversary project of Mitsui Real Estate Sales Co., Ltd. (now Mitsui Fudosan Realty Co., Ltd.). The film had its premier broadcast on March 21, 1990, during the vernal

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

national holiday, and was shown in an unprecedented commercial-free presentation. It was released on VHS video and

laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

shortly after broadcast, and on Region 2 DVD in 2002. Then it was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

in HD

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed video in 2021. For the anime adaptation, the characters' settings were changed and some episodes and descriptions were omitted in consideration of the wide age range of viewers.

Hisayuki Toriumi , sometimes credited as Eikō Toriumi, was a Japanese animation director, storyboardist, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for directing the TV show ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' and also credited for his contributions to several ot ...

, known for his work on

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is a Japanese animated franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman ...

, was the director, and , who has worked on many animes in the

World Masterpiece Theater was a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. Commonly abbreviated to ...

series as well as

live-action film 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 ...

s, was the scriptwriter. Many staff members involved in the

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

productions of the time, including

Katsuya Kondō is a Japanese manga artist, character designer, animator and animation director. He is best known for his character design work on the Studio Ghibli films ''Kiki's Delivery Service'' and ''Ocean Waves'', as well as the PlayStation game '' Jad ...

, who designed characters for ''

Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...

'', participated in the production of the film, and its distinctive visuals were talked about in Japan at the time as being reminiscent of Ghibli. It was for some time inaccurately understood to be produced by Studio Ghibli outside Japan, due to the presence of Ghibli staff and the first

fan translation Fan translation (or user-generated translation) refers to the unofficial translation of various forms of written or multimedia products made by fans (fan labor), often into a language in which an official translated version is not yet available. ...

mistaking screenwriter Akira Miyazaki for

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

. ''Kumo Kaze'', as it is sometimes called, is currently licensed in North America by

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

who subsequently released it on DVD and

Story

Set in a fictional country dynasty reminiscent of early 17th century China, the story follows the strange fate of Ginga, a young girl who volunteers to be the wife of the new emperor. Ginga is a simple—yet energetic—country girl, living with her father far from the capital city of the empire. When she learns of an opportunity to become a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

of the young new

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, with the possibility of getting a regular food supply in the bargain, Ginga convinces her father to let her go. Once there, she meets all of the other potential head wives, each of whom have various reasons for being there. All of them must learn to read and write, learn the history of their country, and learn the proper mannerisms for being in the royal court. Ginga's enthusiasm tends to get her in trouble more often than not, but it works to her advantage when they learn that the former emperor's head wife, who is not the mother of the current emperor, is plotting treachery against the new emperor, and that a rebellion is headed toward the capital.

Cast

*Ginga:

Ryōko Sano Ryōko or Ryouko is a Japanese female given name. The meanings of Ryoko vary depending on which Kanji is used to write the name. Possible writings * 涼子 – "refreshing, child" * 亮子 – "helpful, child" * 良子 – "good, child" * 諒子 ...

*Koryūn: Emiya Ichikawa *Kōyō:

Yō Inoue , also known by her stage name , was a Japanese voice actress. Inoue was diagnosed with lung cancer in late 2001, underwent treatments during 2002, and her condition deteriorated rapidly in the last month of her life. At the time of her death she ...

*Seshaamin:

Yōko Asagami is a Japanese voice actress who is represented by Aksent. She is most known for the roles of Yuki Mori (''Space Battleship Yamato'') and Saeko Nogami (''City Hunter''). Her married name is . Asagmi was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō. In 1992, she b ...

*Tamyūn:

Atsuko Takahata is a Japanese actress, voice actress and tarento from Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. She is married to actor Ryosuke Otani. They have a son, Yuta Takahata. Filmography Drama * ''Kyojuu Tokusou Juspion (1985) – Space Witch Gilza * ''Kamen Rider ...

*Kakuto: Kinto Tamura *Kikkyō:

Yūji Mitsuya (born October 18, 1954) is a Japanese actor, voice actor, director of audiography, voice director and sound supervisor from Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture who is affiliated with Combination. He graduated from Meiji University. He is best known for ...

*Iryūda (Heishō):

Nobuaki Fukuda Nobuaki (written: 信著, 信朗, 信明, 信昭, 信秋, 伸顕, 伸明, 伸彰, 修光 or 陳爾) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese Go player *, Japanese baseball player *, American Imperial Ja ...

*Konton: Akiji Kobayashi *Empress Kin:

Ikuko Tani is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Tokyo Prefecture. She is best known for her roles in ''Tanoshii Moomin Ikka'' (as Moominmamma), ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (as Patrick Star) and the Japanese dubs of the '' Harry Potter'' fil ...

*Taruto-baba:

Hisako Kyōda is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Some of her major voice roles include Genkai in ''Yu Yu Hakusho'', Omusubiman in ''Soreike! Anpanman'' and Yukari Godai in ''Maison Ikkoku''. Kyōda is affiliated with the talent agency Haikyō. Film ...

*Mano:

Kōichi Kitamura , better known by the stage name , was a Japanese voice actor born in Osaka, Japan. Kitamura was employed by the talent management agency Mausu Promotion. He is known for dubbing roles played by Peter Cushing. He died on October 2, 2007 of pneum ...

*Ino:

Yōsuke Akimoto is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo. He is attached to Mausu Promotion. He is a graduate of the Hosei University business school A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administr ...

*Narrator: Tadashi Nakamura *

Atsushi Ii was a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actor from Tokyo. He was formerly attached to Mausu Promotion and before settling at Arts Vision. Roles Television animation *''GeGeGe no Kitaro, GeGeGe no Kitarō'' (fourth series) (Grandpa) *''GeGe ...

Tomie Kataoka is a Japanese horror manga series written and illustrated by Junji Ito. ''Tomie'' was Ito's first published work he originally submitted to ''Monthly Halloween'', a Shōjo manga#Shōjo magazines in Japan, ''shōjo'' magazine in 1987, which ...

Eken Mine was a Japanese actor and voice actor from Nagasaki. Filmography Anime *3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (Federico) * Alps no Shōjo Heidi (bakery owner) * Anime Sanjushi (Bonacieux) *Candy Candy (Garcia) *DNA² (Saburo Kurimoto) *Doraemon (role ...

Tetsuo Mizutori was a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo who was attached to Arts Vision at the time of his death. His family name and his first name are often misprinted as "Mizushima" (水島) and "Tetsuya" (鉄矢) by numerous journals. He was a lecturer in the ...

* Midori Nakazawa * Akemi Shinohara *

Masaaki Tsukada was a Japanese actor and voice actor working for Mausu Promotion. His wife, Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Throughout her life, she has been affiliated with Production Baobab, 81 Produce and self-owned Office ...

Akiko Yajima is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata. Her best-known role is as the title character Shinnosuke Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan''. She also voices Mipple in the original ''Futari wa Pretty Cure'', S ...

Music

The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

was composed by Haruhiko Maruya.

Theme song

''Kumo no yō ni Kaze no yō ni'' :Lyrics: Anju Mana :Composed by: Tetsurō Kugizaki :Arranged by: Etsuko Yamakawa :Vocals: Ryōko Sano

References

External links

Studio Pierrot
(official site)
VAP Video
(official site) *
Nausicaa.net
*

{{Pierrot films Japanese animated films 1990 anime films 1990 anime television series debuts 1990s animated television specials Anime films based on novels Anime and manga based on novels Alternate history anime and manga Drama anime and manga Fantasy anime and manga Historical anime and manga Historical fantasy anime and manga Romance anime and manga Alternate history anime Works set in fictional countries Television series set in fictional countries Pierrot (company) Nippon TV original programming Discotek Media