is a novel by Japanese author Ryōtarō Shiba. It dramatizes the life of

Hijikata Toshizō was a Japanese warrior. As of the ''Shinsengumi'', he resisted the Meiji Restoration and fought to his end. Background was born on May 31, 1835, in the Ishida village, Tama region of Musashi Province (present day Ishida, Hino, Tokyo), Jap ...

, a member of the

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when ...

, active in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

during the '' bakumatsu'' (the end of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

). The novel was initially serialized from 1962 to 1964 in the Bungeishunjū weekly magazine '' Shūkan Bunshun''.

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: ''Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), ...

published the complete novel in two volumes. The action takes place in the Ōkunitama Shrine in Fuchū, along the Asa River in and near

Hachiōji is a Cities of Japan, city located in the Western Tokyo, western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 561,344, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography ...

, in the Mibu area of

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 in

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

released a 1966 film of the same title.

Asahi Kurizuka Asahi Kurizuka () (born May 9, 1937) is a Japanese actor. He made his film debut with "Bukinaki Tatakai" directed by Satsuo Yamamoto in 1960. In 1966, he received the Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. He specializes in ''jidaigeki'' . Espe ...

played Hijikata. He repeated the role in the prime-time television '' jidaigeki'' on NET.

Movie and TV adaptations

Cast (1966 film)

*Shun'ya Wazaki as Kondō Isami *Hidehiko Ishikura as Okita Sōji *Tetsuko Kobayashi as Sae *Keiji Takamiya as Niimi Nishiki

Cast (1966 TV series)

Ryōhei Uchida was a Japanese ultranationalist political theorist, Pan-Asianist, and martial artist, active in the pre-war Empire of Japan. Biography Uchida was born in Fukuoka prefecture. He was the son of ''Shinto Muso-ryu'' practitioner Uchida Ryōgorō,M ...

Asao Koike was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing yakuza roles. He is also known as voice actor. In 1950, he joined the Bungakuza Theatre Company. In 1963, he left the Bungakuza Theatre Company and established the Kumo Theatre Company. He appea ...

as Kondō Isami *

Ryōtarō Sugi (born 14 August 1944, Kobe) is a Japanese singer and actor. He is the father of actor Jundai Yamada. He appeared in ''Sukima Kaze'', which sold over a million copies. His acting credits include 18 films. On television, he specialized in ''jid ...

as Okita Sōji *Reiko Hitomi as Osae

Cast (1970 TV series)

*Gen Funabashi as Kondō Isami *Junshi Shimada as Okita Sōji * Jūkei Fujioka as Endō * Susumu Kurobe as

Nagakura Shinpachi was the former captain of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi, He was later known as during the Meiji era. History Early life Nagakura Shinpachi Noriyuki, known as Eikichi or Eiji during his childhood, was born in the Matsumae clan's "kami-yash ...

*Ryō Nishida as

Harada Sanosuke was a Japanese warrior (''samurai'') who lived in the late Edo period. He was the 10th unit captain of the Shinsengumi, and died during the Boshin War. Background Harada was born to a family of ''chūgen'', or low-ranking quasi-samurai, who ser ...

*Seiya Nakano as Yamazaki Susumu *Eizō Kitamura as Inoue Genzaburō

Cast (1990 TV mini-series)

* Kōji Yakusho as

*Tomoko Ogawa as Oyuki *Tetsuo Ishidate as Kondō Isami *Terutake Tsuji as Okita Sōji *

Hisako Manda is a Japanese actress. She represented Japan at Miss Universe 1978 in Acapulco, Mexico, but did not advance to the semifinals. Selected filmography Film * ''Maison Ikkoku: Apartment Fantasy'' (1986) * ''Florence My Love'' (1991) * '' The Inu ...

as Sae * Masaomi Kondō as Itō Kashitarō

Cast (2021 film)

* Junichi Okada as

* Ko Shibasaki as Oyuki *

Ryohei Suzuki is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency Horipro. Early life He graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a Bachelor's degree in English Studies in March 2006. When he was a student, he worked part-time in NHK. ...

as Kondō Isami * Ryosuke Yamada as Okita Sōji * Hideaki Itō as Serizawa Kamo

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* This article incorporates material from 燃えよ剣 (''Moeyo Ken'') in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on March 15, 2008.

External links

司馬遼太郎『燃えよ剣〔上〕』｜新潮社
"Shiba Ryōtarō ''Moeyo Ken (vol. 1)''"
司馬遼太郎『燃えよ剣〔下〕』｜新潮社
"Shiba Ryōtarō ''Moeyo Ken (vol. 2)''" 1964 novels Japanese historical novels Japanese novels adapted into films Jidaigeki Novels first published in serial form Novels set in Japan Works originally published in Japanese magazines Cultural depictions of Tokugawa Yoshinobu