is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series by Taeko Watanabe

Taeko Watanabe

is a Japanese manga artist. Her works consist mainly of shōjo manga and is best known for Kaze Hikaru. She has twice received the Shogakukan Manga Award, in 1991 for Hajime-chan ga Ichiban! and in 2003 for Kaze Hikaru.-Works:...

.

Kaze Hikaru is set in the bakumatsu. After her father and older brother are murdered, Tominaga Sei decides to pose as a boy named so that she can join the Mibu-Roshigumi

Roshigumi

The Rōshigumi , the "Kyoto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai , founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1863. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokugawa shogun....

(later known as the Shinsengumi

Shinsengumi

The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...

) and avenge their deaths. Trained by Okita Soji

Okita Soji

, was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, a special police force in Kyoto during the late shogunate period. He was one of the best swordsmen of the Shinsengumi, along with Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi....

, she soon finds herself falling in love with him.

The series has been published in Japan by Shogakukan

Shogakukan

is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...

 since 1997. It is published in the North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 by VIZ Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

 and ran in VIZ media's Shojo Beat

Shojo Beat

Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to Shonen Jump, it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty...

magazine from the magazine's start until its September 2006 issue, when it was replaced by Backstage Prince

Backstage Prince

is a manga by Kanoko Sakurakoji. Was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Betsucomi in 2004 and 2005 and collected in two bound volumes. It is licensed in North America by Viz Media, which serialized it in Shojo Beat magazine from October 2006 to March 2007.- Story :Akari is an average high...

. In 2003, it won the Shogakukan Manga Award

Shogakukan Manga Award

The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...

 for shōjo

Shojo

The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...

.

Title

The title of this series is a reference to this haiku:

風光る

まこと　の　はたに

花ごろ　も

kaze hikaru

makoto no hata ni

hana goro mo

("Wind shines/around truth's flag/and the symphony of flowers as well")

Characters

A fictional character created by Watanabe Taeko, she is the daughter of a doctor, and the main heroine of the story. She poses as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburo and joins the Miburōshi (later renamed Shinsengumi) in order to avenge the death of her father and older brother at the hands of members of the Chōshū clan. During her stay, her gender is discovered by Okita, who promises to keep it a secret after he is compelled to help her carry out her desire. She eventually develops feelings for Okita, which often cause her frustration due to his occasional merciless teasing and nonchalant behavior towards her. While she intended on leaving the Shinsengumi after fulfilling her revenge, she soon decides to stay with the group once she realizes for herself what exactly it means to be a follower of the Bushido code, in other words, having something to stand by and protect at all costs. She cites the main reason of staying with the Shinsengumi and remaining on the path of a Samurai is that she would rather fight by Okita's side, rather than stay at home praying for his safety as most women did for their husbands who had to go off to battle. Sei's motivation to protect Okita proves to be a powerful force during the Ikedaya affair, when she turns into a formidable warrior after Okita is downed in battle and she assumes he'd been killed. Though it was later revealed that Okita had fainted from heat stroke, the event earned Sei the nickname of "Ashura" (god of war). Kondo, aware of her skills and good fortune in battle, even once offered to adopt "Kamiya Seizaburou" as his son before she turned the offer down because of her circumstances of being a girl. Okita often attempts to make her go back to her girl's life but, but her stubborn, spirited nature always managed to convince Okita to let her stay. She often argues with Hijikata. Sei goes to visit her brother's former lover, Akesato, for help whenever she has her period or other private concerns. Because of her monthly visits to Akesato, she has led her comrades to believe Akesato is "Seizaburo's lover", though this causes her to be the object of more unwanted crude teasing. Sei's lack of masculine features eventually does become a point of concern to her peers who believe her to be a boy, especially as she grows older. Eventually this issue is dealt with when a friend of her father's, another Doctor named Matsumoto who had met Sei as a child, helps her fabricate a condition to explain why she has a feminine body and seemingly will never go through puberty.

The genius swordsman and officer of the Shinsengumi. He has a carefree personality and a friendly, sometimes child-like disposition, but displays frighteningly deadly skill in combat situations. He loves sweets, and has an affinity with children, with whom he loves to play with and who adore him in return. He is first assigned as the assistant vice captain; later in the series, he gets assigned as the captain of the first squad. He has strong bonds with Kondo, who essentially raised Okita from the age of nine after Okita's mother and siblings could no longer afford to care for him, and Hijikata, whom he loves and respects like a brother. He is the first person to discover Sei's true gender and he is her main confidant on any matters relating to the fact. He'd wanted her to go back to a normal girl's life after she had gotten her revenge due to the brutality of the life of a Samurai, and he often tries again to convince her to do so whenever situations that he doesn't think she can handle arise. In contrast to this mentality, he more often sees her as a boy, sometimes even forgetting that she is a girl, which Sei is both irritated by and grateful for. As Sei's mentor, he trains her, and is not afraid to be strict or at times, even cold towards her if he feels she needs it, but he is more often found hugging, teasing or being silly around her, and is in fact noted to be "too soft" on her by his peers. He is protective of Sei, and has concern for her well being, often worrying about what she's doing or where she is. He's always quick to rush by her side if he feels she's in danger, and he frequently serves as a form of comfort and reassurance to her. After the Ikedaya Affair

Ikedaya Jiken

The , also known as the Ikedaya Affair or Ikedaya Incident, was an armed encounter between the shishi which included masterless samurai formally employed by the Chōshū and Tosa clans , and the Shinsengumi, the Bakufu's special police force in Kyoto on July 8, 1864 at the Ikedaya Inn in Kyoto,...

, he admits he has come to care for Sei as if she were his own kin (like he does Hijikata), but it isn't until over a year following those events that he realizes he's actually in love with her. Ironically, everyone else (except for Sei) had already assumed that he and Sei were romantically involved with each other quite some time before that. Okita's obliviousness to love stems from a traumatic incident that occurred when he was 17, when a woman he'd turned down attempted suicide in front of him. Though the woman in question survived, the incident troubled Okita deeply and he came to the conclusion that falling in love wasn't worth such pain, and consequently he kept his distance from women ever since (something he later realizes didn't occur when he met Sei, because of her nature as a girl who wanted to be thought of as a man). Another hindrance to any potential romance he may have is that he has dedicated his life to the path of the Samurai, and has long since vowed to himself that he'd never marry. Because of this, despite his feelings, he is more willing to let Sei live the life of a normal girl and even get married to someone else, than to vocalize any desire to be with her, as he doesn't see himself as one who could bring her true happiness.

The Shinsengumi's vice-commander. He is known to many as cruel and strict taskmaster with a high standard of morals. Though that is simply facade because he simply had to learn to be the devils advocate due to his best friend Kondou Isami's inability to put people in their place. Therefore, Hijikata plays the 'bad guy' to maintain order, and it is a role he plays well. Hijikata's softer side is his love of poetry, evident in a book filled with his haiku

Haiku

' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...

, one of which the series actually derives its name from. He is incredibly self-conscious about his haiku hobby, and initially tried to hide it from everyone. Despite what his harsh personality may lead others to believe, he is actually a bit shy, and cares deeply for the people around him. Hijikata often argues with Sei, and Okita has commented that Hijikata and Sei have similar personalities when they're angry, something that neither of them are willing to acknowledge.

The leader of all the Shinsengumi. He is a kind gentle man who cares about every single member of the Shinsengumi. He is a natural leader and really devoted to his cause. However, because of his kindheartedness, he's not particularly suited to discipline, which Hijitaka often does admirably in his place. His mother died when he was young and he was raised by his father and brothers. Kondo was adopted into another family at the age of 16. Kondo met Okita when Okita was sent to live with his household at the age of 9 when his family could no longer care for him. Kondo recognized and understood the young boy's discomfort and insecurity with living with a new family and welcomed him warmly. He served as Okita's mentor, older brother, and at times, even father, while Okita was growing up. Okita is grateful to him and extremely loyal to the point of vowing that he'd commit seppuku should Kondo die. Kondo is fond of Sei and recognizes her as having great ability as a member of the Shinsengumi.

Saito is level headed and mature with combat skills rival that of Okita. He sometimes serves as a spy or scout for gathering information for the Shinsengumi. Since he has an uncanny resemblance to Sei's deceased brother, she sometimes address him as "aniue" (a respectful term for older brother). Coincidentally, he also trained alongside and was a friend of her brother during their apprenticeship days He quickly grows fond of Sei and becomes something of a silent protector to her; willing to listen to her worries or console her should something be upsetting her (usually something related to Okita), and often keeps an eye out her in case she runs into trouble. Saito's personality comes off to others as laconic, bland and very serious, but he does have a dry sense of humor that tends to come out around Okita, and also a more hysterical side that later starts to make its presence show when regarding his relationship with Sei. Although he is unsure of whether or not Sei is actually a girl, he eventually realizes he's in love with her, something which greatly confuses him. Over time Saito finds himself increasingly more agitated with people who make romantic quips or passes at her, as well as with Okita's extreme obliviousness to love, and is less able to control his feelings.

External links

• http://www.shojobeat.com/manga/kh/
• Hajimenokizu - A site dedicated to Saitou Hajime and the Shinsengumi in various fictional and historical incarnations.
• Shining Wind - A fansite devoted to the Kaze Hikaru manga.