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

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

about a friendship between a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

and a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

in the final days 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 ...

. ''Hidamari no Ki'' received the

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 ...

in 1984 for general manga. The story is partly based on Tezuka's great-grandfather who was one of the Japanese physicians pushing for acceptance of Western medical practice at the time. The title is a metaphor for 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 ...

which is compared to an old

camphor tree ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

which has enjoyed the sunshine and shelter from the winds for 300 years, but is slowly dying because it is being eaten away from the inside by

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s and

gribble A gribble /ˈgɹɪbəl/ (or gribble worm) is any of about 56 species of marine isopod from the family Limnoriidae. They are mostly pale white and small ( long) crustaceans, although ''Limnoria stephenseni'' from subantarctic waters can reach . ...

s. It has been adapted into an anime series, by Madhouse and premiered in Japan on

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Television) ...

on April 4, 2000. It also was adapted into a

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

, and also a 2021 stage play starring Sugeta Rinne of the boyband 7 MEN Samurai.

Plot

The story follows two young men whose lives intersect during the political turbulence and social upheaval in Japan in the late 1800s. Dr. Ryoan Tezuka is a medical student attracted to the radical new of Western medicine, while Manjiro Ibuya is a samurai who is a staunch supporter of honor and tradition. They both encounter and fall in love with the same woman, O-Seki, the daughter of a respected Temple priest. Ryoan's idealism is gradually eroded, and he marries, settles down and takes over his father's medical practice. Meanwhile, Manjiro rises through the ranks of samurai society and the shogun initially gives him the delicate task of managing a United States emissary and later to turn farmers into an armed infantry.

Characters

; :Voiced by

Koichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with th ...

:Ryoan is a medical student with a gentle and inquiring nature, but also a well-known womanizer. He is the son of the doctor Ryosen Tezuka in

Azabu is an area in Minato,Tokyo, Japan. Built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo, its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts: Azabu-Jūban, Azabudai, Azabu ...

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

during the

Ansei was a after ''Kaei'' and before ''Man'en''. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * November 27, 1854 (): The new era name of ''Ansei'' (meaning "tranquil government") ...

era who is a proponent of integrating Western medicine into Japan. Ryoan is also attracted to the radical new Western medicine and travels to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

to study with Ogata Hiroshi. ; :

Mitsuru Miyamoto is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo. He is attached to Theatre Company Subaru. He is best known for Keiichi Nakagawa from ''Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo'', Roger Smith from ''The Big O'', Ougai Mori from ...

:Manjiro is a traditionalist and essentially a self-taught samurai who is inclined to be hot-headed. He initially joins the Gembukan dōjō to develop his skills, but is forced to leave after killing two of its members while defending Ryoan Tezuka. He is eventually recognized by the shogunate for evacuating displaced people of the Great Ansei earthquake and was selected as the guard of the US mission in Japan. ; :O-Seki is the beautiful daughter of a priest at the local Zenshouji Temple in Azabu and courted by both Ryoan Tezuka and Manjiro Ibuya.

Media

Manga

The manga was released by

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 ...

in eleven ''

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 ...

'' released between July 1, 1988 and January 1, 1989. The manga was re-released as eight ''

'', the first five on March 17, 1995 and the final three on July 17, 1995. The series was re-released in 6 '' kanzenbans'' between September 7, 1999 and January 27, 2000. The series was released in 6 '' widebans'', the first on August 29, 2008, the second and third on September 30, 2008 and the final three on October 30, 2008.

Volume listing

Anime

The series was adapted into a 25-episode

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 directed by Gisaburô Sugii. It was broadcast on

between April 4 and September 19, 2000. VAP released a series of 9 DVDs, each containing 2 or 3 episodes of the anime. They were released between June 21, 2000 and February 21, 2001.

Episode list

Soundtrack CD

On June 21, 2000, Vap released a soundtrack CD for the ''Hidamari no Ki'' anime. The songs are performed by

Keiko Matsui , is a Japanese keyboardist and composer, specializing in smooth jazz and New-age music. Biography Keiko Matsui was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her mother, Emiko, took her to her first piano lesson in the June following her fifth birthday. Japanese t ...

and are composed by Kazu Matsui.

TV drama

The manga was adapted into a live-action

. The series' script was written by

Yoichi Maekawa Yoichi may refer to: *Yōichi, Japanese given name *, district in Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan *, town in Yoichi District *, a Japanese whisky distillery in the town *, train station in Yoichi District * also Yoichi is a masculine Japane ...

and was directed by Takashi Fujio. It was produced by Kazukiyo Morishita and Takahisa Goto. Its twelve episodes were broadcast on

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 ...

between April 6, 2012 and June 22, 2012.

Cast

Hayato Ichihara is a Japanese actor who is best known for his roles in film and television, including the 2001 film ''All About Lily Chou-Chou''. In 2009 he was voted one of Oricon's "fresh Stars" of the year. In 2009 he was also voted the 4th most attractive ...

as Manjiro Ibutani *

Hiroki Narimiya (born September 14, 1982), better known as , is a former Japanese actor. Early life He was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. His parents are from Okinawa Prefecture. His parents divorced when he was young, and in his third year of junior high sch ...

as Ryoan Tezuka *

Mei Kurokawa is a Japanese actress and singer. Her given name ''Mei'' originates from her birth month (May) in English. She has been frequently featured in many Japanese dramas and Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro: Yūrei Mansion films. Filmography Film * (2005) * ...

as Oseki *

Tokuma Nishioka 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, ...

as Sensaburo Ibutani *

Kimiko Ikegami is an American-born Japanese actress. She is best known for playing the lead role of Gorgeous in the 1977 film ''House''. Early life Born in Manhattan, New York City, United States to Japanese parents, she moved to Kyoto at age 3. Kimiko graduat ...

as Otone *

Takashi Sasano is a Japanese actor. Career Sasano has appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films ''Bright Future (film), Bright Future'' (2003) and ''Before We Vanish'' (2017). He also appeared in Amir Naderi's 2011 film ''Cut (2011 film), Cut''. Filmography Film ...

as Ryōsen Tezuka *

Yūko Kotegawa is a Japanese actress from the city of Ōita. Biography Yūko graduated from high school in the city of Ōita. She placed first in the 1976 Miss Salad Girl contest (the runner-up was Yūko Natori). She landed a part in a Kanebo cosmetics com ...

* Shinobu Otsuka as Otsune *

Yuko Fueki Yuko Fueki (born June 21, 1979 in Tokyo) is a Japanese–Korean actress. She is most popular in South Korea, where she is known as Yoo Min. Fueki made her feature film debut in the 2001 in film, 2001 film ''Hotaru (film), Hotaru'' (''Firefly'') ...

Chihiro Otsuka is a Japanese actress. Her birth name in kanji is , but she transformed her given name into hiragana characters. Filmography Movie *''Dark Water (2002 movie), Dark Water'' (2002) *''Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.'' (2003) *''Be with You (2004 film), B ...

as Aya *

Masahiko Tsugawa , born Masahiko Katō (加藤雅彦 ''Katō Masahiko''; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director. Career Tsugawa was born January 2, 1940, in Kyoto, Japan. After acting as a child, he made his major debut at the age o ...

as Toko Fujita Source:

Reception

The ''Hidamari no Ki'' manga received the

in 1984 for general manga. The ''Hidamari no Ki'' anime received the Excellence Prize in the animation category at the 2000

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{Gisaburō Sugii 1981 manga 2000 anime television series debuts Historical anime and manga Madhouse (company) NHK original programming Nippon TV original programming Osamu Tezuka anime Osamu Tezuka manga Seinen manga Shogakukan manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga