Ryuu - Ron

Kyouto, April 1928. Oshikouji Ryu (Ryu means dragon in Japanese, the title Ron is the Chinese pronunciation of dragon (Long)) is 17 years old, and is called 'Genius swordman, Dragon of Kyouto'. He will inherit the property of the noble Oshikouji family, but prefers practising Kendou. He enters a school for training Kendou swordman, but the seniors of school are very harsh and intolerable. But Ryu doesn't surrender and overcomes the problems, later on he impresses his seniors and they begin to like him.

Kosuzu, a geisha in Gion (famous red-light district in Kyouto), is Ryu's childhood friend. Ryu and Kosuzu love each other, but Ryu's uncle Takuma came in between and made Kosuzu his second wife. But their lives were still tied together, through Kyouto and the Japanese Imperialism. Tatsuru Tei, sent to Toukyou because of her family's debt, meets Ryu by accident. Ryu and his friends save her from a drunken mob, and Ryu teaches her never to give up even when the situation seems hopeless. She later becomes housemaid of an Oshikouji resident. When Ryu becomes a senior in school, he and Tatsuru fall in love. He tells his father he wants to marry Tei, but Kazuma (Ryu's father) will only allow him to marry her and return home after he earns 100 Yen (present value being about 2,500$). So Ryu searches for a job, but that's not easy as the Great Depression makes life very hard...

This manga tells a great story against the richly textured background of historical Japan and China, it has a refined and excellent artwork. Murakami's views on Chinese and Korean people is very warm, and not those of the previous invader and governor such as the extreme right party in Japan. Another interesting part of the manga is its rich depiction of Japanese colorful life (Gion, Geisha's dance, etc.). A typical example of the realistic style and a manga of high reputation in Korea and Japan.

(Source: MU)