Kojin Tokuda

When the seventh shogun, Ietsugu died, shogunate officials chose Yoshimune, Lord of Kishu, to succeed him. Since then Yoshimune has led a double life.In court he remains a dedicated leader, but outside he travels incognito as a wandering swordsman, seeking out crime and corruption. With his trusted friends and his ninja, he’ll expose anyone who perverts the shogun’s justice and oppresses his people and he’ll ruthlessly put them down with his lightning-fast sword. But since he became shogun, many high-placed officials look on with jealousy, and long to destroy him. One such man, Lord Owari, tries to unseat Yoshimune by exposing his mother as a practitioner of an outlaw religion, Christianity, an offense punishable by crucifixion!

This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga ("picture of a beautiful woman") that Uemura painted at the age of 61. The main character, Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Tsuya, who loves painting more than anything and is hopeless at housework, attends art school and at age 15 receives the name Shōsui (from the characters for "pine" and "green") from her teacher. The crown prince of England purchases one of her works, propelling her to fame overnight. The novel portrays the remainder of her stormy life, during which she is impregnated by her teacher and raises a fatherless child; through it all she devotes herself to her painting, undaunted.

Sashichi is a dapper and handsome man. He is called a doll Sashichi because he is "a nice man like a doll." On top of that, he is a considerable young boss. This is a story in that Kanda solves the murder spree in Edo where a famous boss of Otamaga pond, Sashichi lives in.

Himeshiro is a wandering yakuza, his father was the best doctor in the eight provinces of the Kanto region, and Himeshiro took over the knowledge of medicine from his father. If he encounters a sick person on the way, he uses his right hand, wrapped in a rosary, to give medical attention, while if he sees a bad person, he draws his sword with his left hand and uses it to punish the evildoers. So he travels on the verge of life and death along the Nakasendo highway...