Keiji (manga)

Keiji (花の慶次 -雲のかなたに-) is a period manga authored by Tetsuo Hara, which was serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1990 to 1993. It is an adaptation of the novel  Ichi-Mu-An Fūryūki (一夢庵風流記) by Ryu Keiichiro and serves as a fictionalized account of the life of Keiji Maeda.

Main characters

 * Maeda Keiji (前田 慶次)
 * A tall military commander who is said to be the best "kabukimono" on Earth. Although the son of Takigawa Kazumasu, he was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, Toshiie's older brother. Despite this, Toshiie dislikes him. A free-spirited warrior who lives by his own will. His beloved horse is named Matsukaze (松風).


 * Sutemaru (捨丸)
 * A pint-sized shinobi who formerly served Yotsui Shume. Even though his younger brother was trampled to death by Keiji and his horse Matsukaze, he becomes fascinated with Keiji to the point of infatuation and becomes his follower.


 * Ganbei (岩兵衛)
 * A character original to the manga. A resident from the Village of Seven Faces who has the face of an oni. He fought against Keiji at first in order to rescue his adoptive daughter Ofū, but comes to admire Keiji's character and eventually becomes one of his followers. He possesses enormous strength, as well as the ability to read minds.


 * Ofū (おふう)
 * Matsu (まつ)
 * Maeda Toshiie (前田 利家)

Publication
Hana no Keiji was originally published as a one-shot manga published in issue 50 of 1989 of the Weekly Shōnen Jump. The serialized version was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump as well from issue 13 of 1990 to issue 33 of 1993. 18 tankōbon editions were published under the Jump Comics imprint. The series was republished in a 10-volume bunkokan edition by Shueisha and a 15-volume kanzenban edition by Tokuma Shoten from 2004 to 2005.

An English version of the manga was serialized in the short-lived anthology Raijin Comics published by the now-defunct Gutsoon! Entertainment, where the first 24 chapters were printed, although no collected volumes were published. Solicitations were released for the first two unpublished collected volumes under the Raijin Graphic Novels imprint.

Related media

 * Shueisha released an audiobook version of Hana no Keiji on December 1993. The audiobook stars Akio Ohtsuka as the voice of Keiji Maeda.


 * A Hana no Keiji video game was released for the Super Famicom by Yojigen on November 18, 1994. It is a competitive fighting game which adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning and up until the Kotaro Fuma arc.

Related works
After the conclusion of Keiji, Tetsuo Hara adapted another of Keiichiro Ryu's novels titled Kagemusha Tokugawa Ieyasu, centering around Tokugawa Ieyasu's body double. It was followed by a spinoff titled Sakon, centering around Sakon Shima. In 2008, a Keiji spinoff titled ''Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu, written by Tetsuo Hara and Nobuhiko Horie and illustrated by Yuji Takemura, began to be serialized in the Weekly Comic Bunch''.