is a novel by Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 author Ryōtarō Shiba

Ryotaro Shiba

, born in Osaka, Japan, was a Japanese author best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the rest of the world....

. It dramatizes the life of Hijikata Toshizō

Hijikata Toshizo

was the vice-commander of Shinsengumi, a great swordsman and a talented Japanese military leader who resisted the Meiji Restoration.-Background:...

, a member of 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...

, active in 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...

 during the bakumatsu (the end of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

).

The novel was initially serialized from 1962 to 1964 in the Bungeishunjū

Bungeishunju

, established in 1923, is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine Bungeishunjū. It also grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as the annual Naoki Prize for popular novelists. It also grants the annual...

 weekly magazine Shūkan Bunshun. Shinchosha

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.-Monthly:* ENGINE* Foresight* nicola*Shinchō-External links:*...

 published the complete novel in two volumes. The action takes place in the Ōkunitama Shrine in Fuchū

Fuchu, Tokyo

is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 255,394 and a population density of 8,700 persons per km². The total area was 29.34 km²...

, along the Asa River in and near Hachiōji

Hachioji, Tokyo

is a city located in Tokyo, Japan, about 40 kilometers west of the center of the special wards of Tokyo.As of January 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 551,901 and a population density of 2,962.27/km². The total area is 186.31 km². It is the eighth largest city in the...

, in the Mibu area of Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, and in Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

.

Shochiku

Shochiku

is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...

 released a 1966 film of the same title. Asahi Kurizuka

Asahi Kurizuka

Asahi Kurizuka is a Japanese actor. He specializes in jidaigeki. His most notable appearances include the following:* Shinsengumi Keppū-roku * Moeyo Ken * Ore wa Yōjinbō * Kaze, co-starring Sanae Tsuchida...

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

Jidaigeki

is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...

on NET

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

. The supporting cast included Susumu Kurobe

Susumu Kurobe

, given the birth name of , was born on in Kurobe, Toyama, Japan.He is commonly known for having played the character role Shin Hayata in the Ultraman series, a role he reprised in episode 47 of the 2006 television series Ultraman Mebius and its theatrical film adaption, Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman...

 as Nagakura Shinpachi

Nagakura Shinpachi

was the captain of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi.-Background:Nagakura Shinpachi Noriyuki, known as Eikichi or Eiji during his childhood, was born in the Matsumae clan's "kami-yashiki" in Edo on the 11th day of the fourth month of Tenpō 10 His father, Nagakura Kanji, was a retainer of the...

 and Shinsuke Mikimoto

Shinsuke Mikimoto

was a Japanese actor. His credits include at least fifty films, as well as numerous television appearances, in a career that spanned several decades....

 as Kiyokawa Hachirō.

Source

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)"