Hyouge Mono

Hyouge Mono (へうげもの) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Yamada. It was serialized in the seinen manga magazine Weekly Morning from 2005 to 2017 and collected into 25 tankōbon volumes by publisher Kodansha. Hyouge Mono won an Excellence Prize for manga at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009. It also won the Grand Prize at the 14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes in 2010. The manga was adapted into an anime television series in 2011.

Plot
During the Sengoku period in Japan, while the shadow of Oda Nobunaga still looms over the land, the warlord Furuta Sasuke loses his soul to the tea ceremony. While war shakes the world around him, he faces his own conflict between his desire for promotion and his love for his art.

Characters

 * Furuta Sasuke (古田 左介)
 * A vassal of Oda Nobunaga. He is an aesthete, a person who holds a dear appreciation of art and beauty. He is obsessed with the form of glazed pottery, tea, and architecture. He is married to Osen (voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi).
 * A vassal of Oda Nobunaga. He is an aesthete, a person who holds a dear appreciation of art and beauty. He is obsessed with the form of glazed pottery, tea, and architecture. He is married to Osen (voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi).


 * Oda Nobunaga (織田 信長)
 * An ambitious man who seeks control over not only Japan, but also the Ming (Chinese) and Joseon (Korean) dynasties. Sasuke is one of his vassals.
 * An ambitious man who seeks control over not only Japan, but also the Ming (Chinese) and Joseon (Korean) dynasties. Sasuke is one of his vassals.


 * Sen no Sōeki (千 宗易)
 * The most influential tea master. He greedily pursues a life centered around the wabi worldview. Sasuke is one of his pupils.
 * The most influential tea master. He greedily pursues a life centered around the wabi worldview. Sasuke is one of his pupils.


 * Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴 秀吉)
 * A sharp vassal of Oda Nobunaga who becomes a powerful person after Nobunaga's death. He likes women and has no sense of aesthetics.
 * A sharp vassal of Oda Nobunaga who becomes a powerful person after Nobunaga's death. He likes women and has no sense of aesthetics.


 * Akechi Mitsuhide (明智 光秀)
 * An idealistic vassal of Oda Nobunaga, he feels antipathy to his lord's policy.
 * An idealistic vassal of Oda Nobunaga, he feels antipathy to his lord's policy.


 * Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康)
 * A loyal vassal from Mikawa. He has a strong sense of justice, and succeeds Oda in his work to reunify Japan.
 * A loyal vassal from Mikawa. He has a strong sense of justice, and succeeds Oda in his work to reunify Japan.


 * Oda Nagamasu (織田 長益)
 * A younger brother of Nobunaga. He is a smart playboy and smooth fellow.
 * A younger brother of Nobunaga. He is a smart playboy and smooth fellow.


 * Ishida Mitsunari (石田 三成)
 * A loyal vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is a meticulous person and has little interest in art.
 * A loyal vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is a meticulous person and has little interest in art.

Other characters include Nobunaga's African retainer Yasuke (voiced by Takaya Kuroda), tea connoisseur Hechikan, Hideyoshi's wife Kita no Mandokoro and his concubine Lady Chacha, his mother Ōmandokoro, and the painter Hasegawa Tōhaku.

Manga
Hyouge Mono premiered in Kodansha's Weekly Morning magazine in 2005. It ended its serialization in the magazine's 2017 53rd issue on November 30, 2017. Kodansha collected the individual chapters into 25 tankōbon volumes published from December 21, 2005, to January 23, 2018.

Anime
The manga was adapted into an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and animated by Bee Train. It aired for 39 episodes on the NHK's Broadcast Satellite (BS) channels from April 7, 2011, to January 26, 2012.

The first opening theme of the anime is "Bowl Man" by Cro-Magnon featuring Yoshi Ikuzō, and the ending theme is "KIZUNA" by Yuki Saito. In April 2011, Cro-Magnon band member Tsuyoshi Kosuga was arrested on suspicion of violating Japan's Cannabis Control Law. As a result, the NHK changed the opening theme to "Naghol Jumping" by Quasimode for episodes five through ten. Starting with episode 11, the opening was changed to "Ebi Sukui" by Taku Takahashi of m-flo.

In June 2011, for unstated reasons, series creator Yoshihiro Yamada and the editors of Weekly Morning quit consulting for the anime series, and Yamada had his credit changed from the author of the "original story" to the author of the "original concept".

Reception
Hyouge Mono won an Excellence Prize for manga at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009. It also won the Grand Prize at the 14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes in 2010.