10 Works of Historical Manga

Kyūdōshikon: Kyōto sanjūsangendō tōshiya monogatari [The Spirit of Archery: A tale of the archery contest at Sanjusangen-do, Kyoto] by Hiroshi Hirata

The Sanjusangen-do temple is a popular tourist destination in Kyoto. It is the setting of Kyūdōshikon, a manga based on the historical facts surrounding the Tōshiya archery contest held there. 

The story begins in 1637, during the early Edo period, and follows the protagonist Kanzaemon Hoshino, a young, low-ranking samurai who actually existed, as he takes on the brutal challenge of setting a new record for the Tōshiya contest.

“Hiroshi Hirata (1937–) is synonymous with the intensity of his illustrations. Of his works based on historical facts, Satsuma Gishiden (The Legend of the Satsuma Samurai) is famous, but in it he tends to put off telling the story as he pleases. 

Kyūdōshikon is where he best faces the facts to construct a coherent narrative of history.”

“Back when manga artist Mitsuyoshi Sonoda illustrated his version of Sangokushi, in the scene of ‘an army of 50,000 men fighting,’ he depicted the army of 50,000 in realistic detail across a two-page spread.  In contrast, even in this scene of the army of 50,000, Yokoyama only drew around 10 commanders fighting in the form of silhouettes.

It is truly done simply. Yokoyama said of his manga, ‘trimming it down is my first priority.’ This lack of showiness is what allows it to enter into the hearts of many people and remain popular for so long.”

Upon traveling to Germany in 1936 to cover the events there, Sohei Toge learns that his younger brother has been killed for documenting top confidential information on Adolf Hitler and sending it back to Japan. His document reveals the secret of Hitler’s birth,  that he has Jewish blood in his veins…    

This work was serialized in the journalistic magazine Shūkan Bunshun and stands out as a strikingly serious social drama among the works of Osamu Tezuka (1928–1989), one of Japan’s most iconic manga artists. “Osamu Tezuka disliked 
the gekiga (realistic, graphic novel) style of manga targeted at adults that were being created at the time, but all of his later works, including this one, approach that style. Perhaps realistic and serious works were what he had actually wanted to draw.”

“Edo period customs are properly depicted in this manga. There is one episode where the entire story is nothing more than a depiction of people living in the city of Edo coughing, which may have been easy for the author because there’s not much of a plot to speak of, but the illustrator must have found it unbearable (laughs). 

For example, in episode three, titled “Rurizesshō” (Monkey Fire Song), scenes of the tatami makers are illustrated in great detail, which is probably something that could have only been done by Goseki Kojima (1928–2000) because he understood the profession so well.”

Plinius by Mari Yamazaki and Miki Tori



Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23–79) was an ancient Roman intellectual whose fame as the author of Natural History, an encyclopedia that covers knowledge of the entire natural world, has continued to the present day. This manga is a work of historical fiction that depicts the turbulent life and times of this legendary man through a mixture of fiction and fact.

This work was created through a powerful collaboration between Mari Yamazaki (1967–), known for the gag manga Thermae Romae (Enterbrain) inspired by the public baths of ancient Rome and contemporary Japan, and Miki Tori (1958–),  a science fiction manga artist famed for her intellectual jokes. Regarding the “collaboration” or creative system behind this manga, Minamoto says, “It subverts the concept of manga and makes you think about the meaning of a ‘collaboration.’”

Saigō Takamori: Kangun no sōdaishō [Takamori Saigo: Leader of the imperial army], from the Gakken Manga Jinbutsu Nihonshi series by Jiro Ota

“The way he draws kimono-clad figures is exceptional,” says Minamoto of Jiro Ota (1923–1982), who was born in the Taisho period and debuted as a manga artist in 1941 during World War II.

 In the last years of his life, he drew three volumes for the biographical manga series Gakken Manga Jinbutsu Nihonshi on Takamori Saigo, Yukichi Fukuzawa, and Yoshimune Tokugawa, legendary figures in Japanese history.“He is brilliant at depicting kimono, from the way his characters put on hakama (a traditional form of trousers) to their posture and movements when they wear kimono. 

The manga artists and illustrators of his generation had experienced living together with people who still wore kimono. Contemporary artists, who are unaccustomed to seeing the kimono in everyday life, cannot draw kimono the way he did.”

Jiro Ota died in 1982 at age 59. In recent years, research has been conducted on his work, resulting in the first exhibition of his original drawings, titled “The Original Drawings of Manga Artist Jiro Ota: The World of Jiro Ota Exhibition” held in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Cleopatra by Hisashi Sakaguchi

Hisashi Sakaguchi’s Cleopatra is a manga adaptation of the adult animated film Cleopatra (1970) from the Animerama series created by Osamu Tezuka’s Mushi Production (MushiPro) animation studio. 

It is a narrative of historical science fiction that begins in the 21st century when humankind has made it to space and three earthlings transport their spirits back in time to Ancient Egypt in the era of Queen Cleopatra’s reign.The highlight of this work is Sakaguchi’s “craftsman-like, superior artistic talent.”

The creator of the manga adaption, Hisashi Sakaguchi (1946–1995), became an animator when he joined MushiPro in 1963, where he was in charge of animating, drawing, and directing films. 

He debuted as a manga artist in 1969. Praised as a “genius” for his elaborate and experimental compositions and beautifully polished drawings, he was also deeply trusted by Tezuka himself.

Chō no Michiyuki (Flight of the Butterflies) by Kan Takahama

A story of love and death illustrated by Kan Takahama (1977–), an up-and-coming manga artist who has attracted attention both in Japan and abroad, and whose majority of works have been translated into French. 

Set in the yūkaku (licensed brothel district) of Nagasaki during the late Edo period, this manga depicts the life of Kicho-dayu, an oiran (high-ranking courtesan) of unmatched beauty. 

It captivates readers with its story of the painful and pure love of a woman who sells her body for one man, as well as its careful depiction of the world of these prostitutes. “I found myself crying during the last scene… I need not say more.” 

Okinawa Kessen (Battle of Okinawa) by Kenshin Shinzato

Kenshin Shinzato was born in 1946 in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture. Born in the year after the end of WWII, he spent his early childhood among streets that bore the scars of the Battle of Okinawa and heard about the carnage of the war directly from his parents. 

He had the idea of “conveying the war through manga” during his high school years and debuted in 1973 with Okinawa Kessen, based on the events of the Battle of Okinawa. “I heard reviews of the manga from the time it was published, but I didn’t read it until this past decade.It was just as I expected. If you read several of Shinzato’s works, you will understand his consistency as an author, born in Okinawa, who researches the history of the land to give a solid portrayal of the Battle of Okinawa.” 

Shinsei Kigeki [Divine Comedy] by Kyojin Onishi, Nobuhisa Nozoe, and Kazuhiro Iwata

“They did an amazing job turning that immense story into a manga. For that alone they deserve acknowledgment.” Minamoto is referring to Shinsei Kigeki, a full-length novel by Kyojin Onishi. Serialized from 1960 to 1970 and released in book form from 1978 to 1980, it is a monumental work of postwar Japanese literature that was published over a long period of time. 

Set in 1942, the story focuses on the Japanese military during World War II. Protagonist Taro Todo, who possesses a superhuman memory, is deployed to the Tsushima Fortress Heavy Artillery Regiment and continues to resist the irrational organization of the army in the midst of extreme “new recruit training.” The six-volume manga version uses the expressive form of manga to breathe new life into the original story’s heavy and peculiar composition. 

Fūunjitachi, a long-running manga set during the Bakumatsu, the end of the Edo period, is a major work by Taro Minamoto, the manga artist interviewed for this feature. 

 It was serialized starting in 1979, appeared in magazines Monthly Shōnen World and Comic Tom (both issued by Ushio Publishing), and has continued to this day in Comic Ran (Leed Publishing). 

While it also incorporates abundant comical elements such as parodies and gags, the basis of the manga is Minamoto’s own research of historical materials. 

“Even when I read through all of the works of Ryotaro Shiba (a master of the historical novel), I couldn’t get a grasp of what the Bakumatsu was like. That feeling of dissatisfaction is what led me to drawing historical manga. 

 When I read Shiba’s Ryōma ga Yuku [Ryoma Goes His Way], it seemed as if Ryoma Sakamoto was solely responsible for accomplishing the Meiji Restoration, which of course can’t be true. That’s why I thought I should try to depict all kinds of people side-by-side in my works, not just the well-known figures—but ten, twenty, thirty years go by and I’m still not finished (laughs). But just as there’s the expression “standing on the shoulder of giants,” all kinds of historical events and discoveries are built upon the work of our predecessors.”