is a novel by Japanese author Ryōtarō Shiba. It dramatizes the life of Hijikata Toshizō, a member of the

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

, active in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

during the ''

bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudali ...

'' (the end of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

). The novel was initially serialized from 1962 to 1964 in the

Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well a ...

weekly magazine '' Shūkan Bunshun''.

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in , 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), '' Ute ...

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 the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 561,344, and a population density of 3,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is ...

, in the Mibu area of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, and in

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan 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 railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...

released a 1966 film of the same title. Asahi Kurizuka played Hijikata. He repeated the role in the prime-time television ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

'' on NET.

Movie and TV adaptations

Cast (1966 film)

* Asahi Kurizuka as Hijikata Toshizō *Shun'ya Wazaki as

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and samurai of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyagawa ...

*Hidehiko Ishikura as Okita Sōji *Tetsuko Kobayashi as Sae *Keiji Takamiya as Niimi Nishiki

Cast (1966 TV series)

* Ryōhei Uchida as Hijikata Toshizō * Asao Koike as

* Ryōtarō Sugi as Okita Sōji *Reiko Hitomi as Osae

Cast (1970 TV series)

* Asahi Kurizuka as Hijikata Toshizō *Gen Funabashi as

*Junshi Shimada as Okita Sōji * Jūkei Fujioka as Endō *

Susumu Kurobe (born ; 22 October 1939) is a television, film and stage actor from Kurobe, Toyama, Japan, widely known for his portrayal of Shin Hayata, the first Ultraman in the '' titular character series'', a role he has played since the original series in ...

as Nagakura Shinpachi *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 (samurai), chūgen'', or low-ranking qua ...

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

Cast (1990 TV mini-series)

* Kōji Yakusho as Hijikata Toshizō *Tomoko Ogawa as Oyuki *Tetsuo Ishidate as

*Terutake Tsuji as Okita Sōji * Hisako Manda as Sae * Masaomi Kondō as Itō Kashitarō

Cast (2021 film)

Junichi Okada is an actor, fight choreographer and a former member of Japanese boy band V6. Career Music career In the summer of 1995, Okada participated in ''Johnny's Pre-School'', part of the NTV program . He passed the audition and joined Johnny & ...

as Hijikata Toshizō * Ko Shibasaki as Oyuki * Ryohei Suzuki as

Ryosuke Yamada is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a member of Hey! Say! JUMP.Hey! Say! JUMP Pro ...

as Okita Sōji * Hideaki Itō as Serizawa Kamo

Manga

* '' Moeyo Ken'' (2021–present) (written by Emeru Komatsu and illustrated by Yoshiki Kanata; serialized on '' Comic Bunch Kai'')

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 Japanese 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