Atsuo Moroki

The year 1864: The Shinsengumi, the shogun’s armed force in Kyoto ripped the city apart, with blades in hand, searching for pockets of resistance, slaughtering the samurai who sought to bring down the shogunate and restore Japan’s emperor to power. By chance, Murao Mayumi and his sister Shiho, meet samurai Kurata. Murao, seeking his fortune with his sword-arm, will join Shinsengumi, never suspecting his friend Kurata is secretly Kurama Tengu, who hides his face in a black hood, and who will tear a bloody swath through Shinsengumi’s massed blades, to aid the samurai who had taken up the emperor’s cause. Will friend kill friend in a time of war?

Genjuro’s crime was assassination, his punishment was to survive a faked execution and lose his home, lose his identity, and emerge as Maboroshi Shinigami, the Phantom Assassin. When his wife is kidnapped and tortured to reveal his whereabouts and dragged to the executioner for crucifixion by corrupt clan officials, Genjuro faces an army of swords to save her. Evil men aim to frame Genjuro for another murder. For their scheme they need only one thing, Genjuro’s dead body. Genjuro will have to cut down their swordsmen and challenge Sarashina Gunpei, deadliest blade in Japan in a final blood-soaked battle.

The government in Edo era is suffering from a financial crisis. It hires "Kage" to provoke the collapse of small hans (prefectures). "Kagekari" are people who were hired by Daimyos (mayors of local governments) to resist kage. The young mayor of Suwa Takashiwa, Tadamaru was assaulted by a kage on his way to Edo. Zyubei and Gennnosuke, the Kagekaris, try to carry injured Tadamaru to Edo.

After two thugs are killed, Dobu and his crew have three days to catch the murderers. Dobu suspects a hidden mastermind influencing the magistrate.

This is a story of "Takechiyo," the previous name of Iemitsu Tokunaga, the third Shogun (General). Takechiyo got sick of daily run-of-the-mill tasks, and it put him off being the Shogun, saying "there is no truth". Then, Hikozaemon Ookubo took him to Tasuke Isshin to bring him up into a full-fledged and admirable man.

The fish market is to be moved to Shinagawa, and Tasuke Isshin (Jun Inoue) got in trouble. Hikosaemon Ookubo (Eijiro Tono) heard of it from Tasuke, and ask about it to Iemitsu (Ken Tanaka). However, on the contrary, Hikosaemon received penitence for a bribe that he doesn't know.