is a Japanese

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

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, based on the novel ''Ichi-Mu-An Fūryūki'' by

Keiichiro Ryu Ryu, Keiichiro. The Blade of the Courtesans. back cover. was a Japanese editor, acclaimed screenplay writer, and historical fiction writer. List of novels # '' The Blade of the Courtesans'' (, 2008, Vertical Inc Vertical is a Japanese novel ...

and illustrated by

Tetsuo Hara is a Japanese manga artist. He is best-known for creating the post-apocalyptic martial arts series ''Fist of the North Star'' (1983–1988) with writer Buronson, which is one of the best-selling manga in history with over 100 million copies i ...

. It was serialized in

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...

'' from March 1990 to August 1993. The story serves as a fictionalized account of the life of

Keiji Maeda , better known as or Keijirō (慶次郎), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period through early Edo period. He was famously the nephew of Maeda Toshiie and Maeda Matsu. In legends and fictions, he is one of the most celebrated ''kabukimono ...

. ''Hana no Keiji'' is one of best-selling ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' manga series of all time, with over 17 million copies in circulation. An English adaptation was published in ''

Raijin Comics ''Raijin Comics'' is a discontinued manga anthology published from 2002 until 2004 in North America by the now-defunct Gutsoon! Entertainment and largely backed by the Sega Corporation at its inception. The collected volumes of ''Raijin Comics'' t ...

'' under the shortened title ''Keiji''.

Characters

; :A tall military commander who is said to be the best "

kabukimono or were gangs of samurai in feudal Japan. First appearing in the Azuchi–Momoyama period (between the end of the Muromachi period in 1573 and the beginning of the Edo period in 1603) as the turbulent Sengoku period drew to a close, were eit ...

" on Earth. Although the son of

Takigawa Kazumasu , also known as Sakonshōgen (左近将監), was a samurai retainer and military commander of Oda Nobunaga, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during Japan's Sengoku period. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Toshihisa and later Kazumasu ...

, he was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, Toshiie's older brother. Despite this, Toshiie dislikes him. A free-spirited warrior who lives by his own will. His beloved horse is named . ; :A pint-sized

shinobi A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 21� ...

who formerly served Yotsui Shume. Even though his younger brother was trampled to death by Keiji and his horse Matsukaze, he becomes fascinated with Keiji to the point of infatuation and becomes his follower. ; :A character original to the manga. A resident from the Village of Seven Faces who has the face of an oni. He fought against Keiji at first in order to rescue his adoptive daughter Ofū, but comes to admire Keiji's character and eventually becomes one of his followers. He possesses enormous strength, as well as the ability to read minds. ; ; ;

Media

Manga

''Hana no Keiji'' is based on the novel by

and illustrated by

. It was originally published as a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

manga in issue #50 of 1989 of the ''shōnen'' manga anthology ''

'', released on November 27. The regular serialization started in 1990 in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from issue #13, dated March 12, and finished in 1993, in issue #33 dated August 2. 18 ''

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 were published by

under the "Jump Comics" imprint between July 10, 1990, and November 4, 1993. The series was republished in a 10-volume ''bunkōban'' edition by Shueisha, published between March 18 and November 18, 1999. A 15-volume ''kanzenban'' edition by

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, m ...

was released from September 30, 2004, to October 29, 2005. In 2003, an English version of the manga was serialized in the short-lived anthology ''

'' published by the now-defunct

Gutsoon! Entertainment Gutsoon! Entertainment, Inc. is a now defunct publisher of English translated manga. The company, headquartered in Encino, Los Angeles,

, where the first 26 chapters were printed, until ''Raijin Comics'' ceased its publication in 2004. No collected volumes were published.

Spin-offs

In 2008, a ''Keiji'' spin-off titled ''Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari-'', written by Tetsuo Hara and Nobuhiko Horie and illustrated by Yuji Takemura, began serialization in

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), ...

's ''

Weekly Comic Bunch is a Japanese manga anthology marketed to a ''seinen'' audience that was edited by Coamix and published weekly by Shinchosha from 2001 throughout 2010 and became monthly since 2011. The collected editions of their titles are published under the ...

'' on November 7. The series was stopped on August 27, 2010, after ''Weekly Comic Bunch'' ended its publication. Nine volumes were published. In 2010, a sequel entitled ''Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari'' started in the brand new magazine ''

Monthly Comic Zenon is a Japanese manga anthology. It is marketed to ''seinen'' public (young adult men), edited and published monthly by Coamix. From 2010 to 2020, it was formerly published by North Stars Pictures and Tokuma Shoten. It was produced as a replaceme ...

'' by

on October 25, 2010. The manga finished on January 27, 2014, with ten volumes being published. A final arc entitled ''Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Hana-gatari'', written by Hara and Horie and illustrated by Masato Deguchi, was published in the May issue of ''Monthly Comic Zenon'' on March 24, 2014. The series finished on October 25, 2018. As of November 20, 2018, fourteen volumes have been published.

Related media

Shueisha released an audiobook version of ''Hana no Keiji'' in December 1993. The audiobook stars

Akio Ōtsuka is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is attached to Mausu Promotion. The astringent and calm quality of his deep voice has landed him many roles in films, dubbing, animation, and video games. He is ...

as the voice of Keiji Maeda. A ''Hana no Keiji'' video game was developed by

TOSE () (also called Tose Software) is a Japanese video game development company based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's Game & Watch ports and remakes#Game & Watch Gallery series, ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series, various ''Drago ...

and published by Yojigen for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

on November 18, 1994. It is a competitive weapon-based

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

which adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning and up until the

Fūma Kotarō was the name adopted by the leader of the ninja during the Sengoku era of feudal Japan. He was retainer of Later Hōjō clan. According to some records, his name was originally Kazama Kotarō (風間小太郎). The Fūma clan and Fūma Kota ...

arc. ''Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari'' has been adapted into an anime television series aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

on July 2, 2013, entitled ''Gifū Dōdō!! Kanetsugu to Keiji'', and was streamed on

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 ...

. The 25-episodes series aired until December 17, 2013.

References

External links

''Gifū Dōdō!!'' official website
* {{Studio Deen 1990 manga 1994 video games Anime series based on manga Historical anime and manga Japan-exclusive video games Samurai in anime and manga Shinchosha manga Shōnen manga Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga Studio Deen Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Tokuma Shoten manga Tose (company) games TV Tokyo original programming Yojigen games Fighting games Video games based on anime and manga Video games developed in Japan