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Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story(Japanese:るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-,Hepburn:Rurōni Kenshin -Meiji Kenkaku Romantan-),[lower-alpha 1] also known as Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against the bakufu, Hitokiri Battosai disappears to become Himura Kenshin: a wandering swordsman who protects the people of Japan with a vow to never take another life. Watsuki wrote the series upon his desire to make a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published at the time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued. The manga revolves around themes of atonement, peace, and romance.
The manga initially appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from April 1994 to September 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes, while years later it was reprinted into twenty-two kanzenban volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen and SPE Visual Works adapted the manga into an anime series which aired in Japan from January 10, 1996 to September 8, 1998. Besides an animated feature film, two series of original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. The first adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the second was a sequel to the manga. Several art and guidebooks for Rurouni Kenshin have been published and writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official light novels which were published by Shueisha. Many video games have also been released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable consoles. A successful live-action theatrical film adaptation was released in 2012, with limited international screenings.
The manga, as well as the first light novel and first guidebook, has received a complete North American release by Viz Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English releases. The TV series was later licensed in North America and released on DVD by Media Blasters. The first two seasons aired on the United States Cartoon Network as part of the Toonami block, while the third season was only featured on DVD. The English-language versions of the OVAs, as well as the film, were originally released as Samurai X in North America, although the original name was included on the later DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases.
The Rurouni Kenshin manga has over 70 million copies in circulation as of 2014, making it one of the best-selling manga series, while its anime has ranked among the 100 most watched series in Japan multiple times. The series has received praise and criticism from various publications for manga, anime and other media, with both having received good response on the characters' designs and historical setting. In 2017, Watsuki began a direct sequel titled Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc in Jump Square.
Plot

In the early Meiji era, after participating in the Bakumatsu war as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai", Himura Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan with a reverse blade katana, offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who is in the middle of a fight with a murderer - who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai - tarnishing the name of the swordsmanship school that she teaches. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai. After discovering that Kenshin is the real infamous assassin, Kaoru offers him a place to stay at her dojo noting that he is peace-loving and not cold-hearted, as his reputation implies. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member; Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family who is also living with Kaoru as her student; and a doctor named Takani Megumi, caught in the opium trade. However, he also deals with his fair share of enemies, new and old, including the former leader of the Oniwabanshū, Shinomori Aoshi and a rival from the Bakumatsu turned police officer, Saitō Hajime.
After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction, Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him. However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao, whom he meets in his travels, decide to help him in his fight. After his first meeting with him, Kenshin realizes he needs to get stronger to defeat Shishio without becoming the cold assassin he was in the past and returns to the man who taught him kenjutsu, Hiko Seijūrō, in order to learn the school's final technique. He finally accepts his friends' help and defeats Shishio in a close fight; Shishio dies being engulfed in flames due to the rise in his body temperature caused by his severe burns.
When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, he finds Yukishiro Enishi, who plans to take revenge by killing his friends. At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin was to be married to a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe. She had initially wanted to avenge the death of her 1st fiancé whom Kenshin had killed, but instead they both fell in love and she got proposed to. It is then discovered that Tomoe was related to a group of Edo guards that wanted to kill Kenshin, and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait. Kenshin rushes to rescue her, killing both his assailant and believed to accidentally slay Tomoe, who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a corpse doll bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set out to rescue her. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins, he and Kaoru return home. Four years later, Kenshin has married Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji. Now at peace with himself, Kenshin gives his reverse-blade sword to Yahiko.
Production
A prototype series titled Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story appeared as a pair of separate short stories published in 1992 and 1993.[2][3] The first story, published in December 1992 in the Weekly Shōnen Jump Winter Special issue of 1993, featured an earlier version of Kenshin stopping a crime lord from taking over the Kamiya family dojo. Watsuki described the first Rurouni story, echoing the "Megumi Arc", as a "pilot" for Rurouni Kenshin. According to Watsuki, the final Rurouni Kenshin series was not composed entirely from his free will. Describing the creation of historical stories as "hard," Watsuki initially wanted to make his next series in a contemporary setting. An editor approached Watsuki and asked him to make a new historical story. With the historic concept, Watsuki intended to use the Bakumatsu time period from Moeyo Ken (Burn, O Sword) with a story akin to Sugata Sanshirō. Watsuki experimented with various titles, including Nishin (Two-Hearts) Kenshin, Yorozuya (Jack-of-All-Trades) Kenshin, and variations of "Rurouni" and "Kenshin" with different kanji in that order.[2]
The second Rurouni story, published in April 1993 in the Weekly Shōnen Jump 21-22 double issue of that year, featured Kenshin helping a wealthy girl named Raikōji Chizuru. Watsuki recalled experiencing difficulty when condensing "everything" into 31 pages for that story. He said that he "put all [his] soul into it" but sighs when looking at it from his perspective after the publication of the Rurouni Kenshin Volume 1 graphic novel in Japan. Watsuki describes that second Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story as receiving mediocre reviews and about two hundred letters.[3] He referred to it as a "side story."[2]
During his childhood, Watsuki used to practice kendo which influenced him in the making from the series. Although, Watsuki developed various one-shots prior to the official serialization from the series, he mentioned he based the series from Crescent Moon in the Warring States, a story which introduced Kenshin's fighting style and his teacher. While naming the characters, he based some of their names from places he used to live such as Makimachi Misao's "Makimachi" and Sanjō Tsubame, who are named after places from Niigata.[4]
Being fascinated by the Shinsengumi, Watsuki designed the characters by basing their characteristics to that of the real Shinsengumi members and also used fictional representation of them and other historical characters from the Bakumatsu period of Japan.[5][6] The historical characters were considered to be a hard task by Watsuki. Due to problems with the characterization from Sagara Sōzō, Watsuki decided to illustrate Saitō Hajime in his own style avoiding the historical figure. He felt very good with Saitō's character having noted he fit very well in the manga.[7] However, Watsuki mentioned that many Japanese fans of the Shinsengumi complained about the personality of Saitō, as he was made sadistic.[5]
When questioned about the series' theme being Kenshin's self-redemption, Watsuki mentioned that when he was young he used to read shōjo and that it influenced his writing of Rurouni Kenshin. He added that he wanted to make a story different from other comics as he considers the main character Kenshin is neither a good nor evil character. Since volume 7, Watsuki mentioned the series took a more adult tone due to the various conflicts in the story, but commented it was influenced by the shōjo manga he read. Through the series' development, Watsuki was deciding if Kamiya Kaoru's character was going to die prior to the end. However, he later decided to keep Kaoru alive as he came to the conclusion he wanted a happy ending and that the manga is aimed at young readers.[7] Watsuki said he was an "infatuated" type of person rather than a "passionate" kind of person, so therefore Rurouni Kenshin is a "Meiji Swordsman Story" as opposed to being a "Meiji Love Story."[8]
When the manga series started to be published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Watsuki had little hope in the development of the series. He planned to finish the story in approximately 30 chapters, ending with Kenshin's departure from Tokyo in a similar manner to the one from volume 7. Kenshin's enemies would have been people from Kyoto who would send an assassin to kill Kenshin. When the Oniwabanshū were introduced during the serialization, Watsuki noted that the series could be longer as he had created various main characters. In that time, there was a survey, and the series had become very popular.[7]
When the series reached seven volumes, Watsuki's boss suggested him that it was time to make a longer story-arc, which resulted in the creation of the fights between Kenshin and Shishio Makoto. The arc was only meant to be serialized for one year, but it ended up being one year-and-a-half long. This arc was also done to develop Kenshin's character as he considered him not to have a weak point. Watsuki commented that his artistic skills were honed with this arc, as he could draw everything he wanted to. The last arc from the manga was meant to be much shorter, but it turned out to be a fairly long one as he could not present it in a simplistic manner. This arc was originally made by Watsuki prior to the series' start, having already thought about how would Kenshin's scar had been made.[7] Watsuki also had ideas to create a "Hokkaido episode, a sequel" but wanted to start a new manga and so ended Rurouni Kenshin with the last arc he made.[9] In 2012, Watsuki revealed that when he clashed with the editorial staff at the end of the series, his editor Hisashi Sasaki understood his intentions and saw that he was at his physical limit and backed him up. He said it was out of respect and appreciation for the readers that he ended the popular series while it was still popular.[10] The Hokkaido sequel, Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc, began serialization in 2017.
Anime production
In a manga volume prior to the release of the anime, Watsuki said that while some fans might object to the adaptation of the series into anime, Watsuki looked forward to the adaptation and felt it would work since the manga was already "anime-esque." He had some worries about the series since he felt since the creation of the series was sudden and the series had a "tight" production schedule.[11] In another note in the same volume Watsuki added that he had little input in the series, as he was too busy with the publishing.[12] In addition his schedule did not match the schedule of the anime production staff.[13] Watsuki said that it would be impossible to make the anime and manga exactly the same, so he would feel fine with the anime adaptation as long as it took advantage of the strengths of an anime format.[12]
After the anime began production, Watsuki said that the final product was "better than imagined" and that it was created with the "pride and soul of professionals." Watsuki criticized the timing, the "off-the-wall, embarrassing subtitles," and the condensing of the stories; for instance he felt the Jin-e storyline would not sufficiently fit two episodes. Watsuki said that he consulted a director and that he felt the anime would improve after that point.[14] The fact that the CD book voice actors, especially Megumi Ogata and Tomokazu Seki, who portrayed Kenshin and Sanosuke in the CD books, respectively, did not get their corresponding roles in the anime disappointed Watsuki. Watsuki reported receiving some letters of protest against the voice actor change and letters requesting that Ogata portray Seta Sōjirō; Watsuki said that he wanted Ogata to play Misao and that Ogata would likely find "stubborn girl" roles more challenging than the "pretty boy" roles she usually gets, though Watsuki felt Ogata would have "no problem" portraying a "stubborn girl." Watsuki said that the new voice actor arrangement "works out" and that he hoped that the CD book voice actors would find roles in the anime.[15] Watsuki said that the reason why the CD book voice actors did not get the corresponding roles in the anime was due to the fact that many more companies were involved in the production of the anime than the production of the CD books, and therefore the "industry power-structure" affected the series.[13]
The second season of the anime television series had some original stories not in the manga. Watsuki said that some people disliked "TV originals," but to him the concept was "exciting". Watsuki said that because the first half of the original storyline that existed by the time of the production of Volume 10 in Japan was "jammed" into the first season, he looked forward to a "more entertaining" second season. Watsuki added that it was obvious that the staff of the first season "put their hearts and souls" into the work, but that the second series will be "a much better stage for their talents."[13]
Themes
The series' main theme is responsibility as seen through Kenshin's action as he wants to atone for all the people he killed during the Bakumatsu by aiding innocent people by wielding a non-lethal sword.[16] Marco Olivier from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University said that the sakabatō symbolizes Kenshin's oath not to kill again which has been found challenging by other warriors appearing in the series.[17] This theme also encourages former drug dealer Takani Megumi into becoming a doctor upon learning of Kenshin's past and actions. Another theme is power which is mostly seen by Sagara Sanosuke and Myojin Yahiko. However, like Megumi, these two characters are also influenced by the main character as they wish to become stronger in order to assist Kenshin across the plot. Additionally, the series discourages revenge as seen in the final arc when Yukishiro Enishi believes he succeeded in getting his revenge on Kenshin but starts having hallucinations of his late sister with a sad expression on her face.[16]
Media
Manga

Written and drawn by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the first chapter of Rurouni Kenshin premiered in Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 25, 1994[18] and was serialized in the magazine until September 21, 1999.[19][20][21] The 255 individual chapters were collected and published in 28 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first volume released on September 9, 1994 and the last on November 4, 1999.[22][23] In July 2006, Shueisha began re-releasing the series in a twenty-two kanzenban special edition volumes. A single chapter follow up to the series that follows the character of Yahiko Myōjin, Yahiko no Sakabatō(弥彦の逆刃刀, "Yahiko's Reversed-Edge Sword"), was originally published in Weekly Shōnen Jump after the conclusion of the series. Left out of the original volumes, it was added as an extra to the final kanzenban release.[24]
In December 2011, Shueisha announced Watsuki would be putting his current series, Embalming -The Another Tale of Frankenstein-, on hold to begin a "reboot" of Rurouni Kenshin, called Rurouni Kenshin Cinema Version(るろうに剣心 -キネマ版-,Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-ban), as a tie-in to the live-action movie. The series began in the June 2012 issue of Jump Square, which was released on May 2, 2012,[25] and ended in the July 2013 issue on June 4, 2013.[26] The reboot depicts the battles that are featured in the first live-action film. Shueisha released the first tankōbon volume in Japan on September 4, 2012,[27] and the second on July 4, 2013.[28] Another special titled Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story: Chapter 0(るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 第零幕,Rurōni Kenshin -Meiji Kenkaku Roman Tan- Dai Rei-maku), was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in August 2012 as a prologue to Cinema Version and included in its first volume.[29] In 2014, Watsuki wrote a two-chapter spin-off titled Rurouni Kenshin: Master of Flame(炎を統べる -るろうに剣心・裏幕-,Honō wo Suberu -Rurouni Kenshin: Uramaku-) for Jump SQ., which tells how Shishio met Yumi and formed the Juppongatana. It was collected into one volume on October 3, 2014 by Jump Comics.[30][31][32]
Watsuki and his wife, Kaworu Kurosaki, collaborated on a two chapter spinoff titled Rurouni Kenshin Side Story: The Ex-Con Ashitaro for the ninth anniversary of Jump SQ. in 2016.[33] It acts as a prologue to the Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc, which began in September 2017 as a sequel to the original main plot manga series.
Rurouni Kenshin was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media. The first volume of the series was released on October 7, 2003.[34] Although the first volumes were published on an irregular basis, since volume 7 Viz established a monthly basis due to good sales and consumer demands.[35] Therefore, the following volumes were published until July 5, 2006, when the final volume was released.[36] Yahiko no Sakabatō was also serialized in English Shonen Jump during 2006.[37] In January 2008, Viz began re-releasing the manga in wideban formats called both "Three-In-One" & "Viz Big Edition", which is a collection of three volumes in one.[38] The final four-in-one "Viz Big Edition" ninth volume included the 4th special Yahiko no Sakabatō (Yahiko's Sakabatō), and the extra story Haru ni Sakura (Cherry Blossoms In Spring) chapters. Which, take place after the series. Viz uses the actual ordering of Japanese names, with the family name or surname before the given name, within the series to reduce confusion and because Rurouni Kenshin is a historical series. Since then, Japan has released their own three in one (Cinema Version) volume manga comics going from vol. 1 up to vol. 14 featuring the live–action movie star cast members on the secondary outer slip covers of the Otaku comic books.[39] On May 7, 2012, it was announced in Viz Media's digital manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha that the Rurouni Kenshin: Ginmaku Soushihen graphic novel would join its line-up under the title Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration, and would be published monthly starting on May 21.[40] Viz Media released the first volume on June 4, 2013,[41] and the second was published on January 14, 2014.[42] Jump Comics also published Rurouni Kenshin: Master of Flame in both the Weekly Shonen Jump & "Jump SQ" magazines/books & a one volume three part graphic novel.[31]
Anime series

The anime, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, began airing on Japan's Fuji TV on January 10, 1996 and ended on September 8, 1998. It was produced by Aniplex and Fuji TV, and was animated from episode 1 to 66 by Studio Gallop, whereas the episodes from 67 onwards were animated by Studio Deen.[43][44] The anime only adapts the manga up until the fight with Shishio, from then on it features original material not in the manga.[45] The final episode did not air in Japan, but was a bonus episode for the VHS and DVD releases.[46] Since its premiere in Japan, episodes from the series have been collected in DVDs various times: two DVDs series with both of them featuring four episodes per volume and three DVD boxes.[47][48][49] 26 collected DVD volumes were released in Japan.[50]
Sony Pictures Television International (then under the name Columbia Pictures Television) created their own English dub of the series, under the name Samurai X, which aired outside North America.[51][52] In 1999 Sony had tried and failed to market the series in the United States via an existing company.[53] The TV series was again licensed for North America by Media Blasters, who split it up into "seasons", and released on DVD. It began airing in the US on Cartoon Network as a part of the Toonami Block on March 17, 2003, but ended at the completion of the "second season" (episode 62).[54] Some of the show's depictions of obscene language, intense violence, and tobacco and drug usage were subject to heavy editing on Toonami. Episodes 63-95 did not air, but were included in the DVD release.[55]  The "seasons" were released in three premium "Bento box" DVD boxes on November 18, 2003, March 30, 2004 and July 27, 2004.[56][57][58] They were re-released as "economy box" sets on November 15, 2005, January 17, 2006 and February 14, 2006.[59][60][61] As of May 2017, all three seasons with both the original Japanese audio and the Media Blasters dub (Bang Zoom! Entertainment) are available to stream on Netflix.
Animated films
Requiem for the Ishin Patriots
The series also has a movie called Rurouni Kenshin: The Motion Picture, known in Japan as Ishin Shishi e no Chinkonka(―維新志士への鎮魂歌,Requiem for the Ishin Patriots) and originally released in North America as Samurai X: The Motion Picture, which tells a story where Kenshin meets a samurai who was very close to a man Battōsai murdered in the war. The samurai is trying to start a revolution to overthrow the Meiji government. The film was directed by Hatsuki Tsuji and it premiered in Japan on December 20, 1997. The Japanese DVD was released on August 21, 1998.[62] It has been republished twice in 2000 and 2002, adding new content to the DVD.[63][64] It was also released on December 7, 2005 on Universal Media Disc format.[65] In North America, the film was released on DVD on March 27, 2001.[66] The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in North America on October 26, 2011 by Aniplex of America.[67]
New Kyoto Arc
A new Rurouni Kenshin project was announced in April 2011's Jump Square. Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Studio Deen, and the original cast returned after nine years (except Hirotaka Suzuoki who died in 2006; Saitō Hajime was voiced by Ken Narita).[68][69] The project was split into two parts and is a remake of the second arc, the Kyoto arc, with some changes.[69] Part I was released on December 17, 2011 and titled Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc: The Cage of Flames(焔の獄（ホムラのオリ）,Zenpen Homura no Ori), which was selected from a fan suggestion,[70] ran at Tokyo's Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro theater and Osaka's Cine-Libre Umeda theater for one week only.[71] Part II, Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc: The Chirps of Light(光の囀（ヒカリのサエズリ）,Hikari no Saezuri), was released on June 23, 2012 and ran for three weeks in ten theaters.[72] Aniplex of America announced at Otakon 2011 that they were in "negotiations" for the English language rights to the films.[73] Aniplex released part I on DVD and Blu-ray on March 21, 2012 in Japan,[70] while Part II was released on August 22, 2012.[74] In 2013, North American licensor Sentai Filmworks released both films together on DVD and Blu-ray, editing them into a single movie.[75]
Original video animations

There are also two Rurouni Kenshin original video animation (OVA) series which was trailered at the end of season 3, Tales Of The Meiji, to begin the Enishi saga & Ashitaro saga for the next seasonal portions of the TV series (Season 4 & 5). The first of them, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, collectively known in Japan as Tsuiokuhen(追憶編,Remembrance), was released in 1999 as four episodes in Japan, and later edited into a two-hour theatrical film with some new animated sequences (Director's Cut). It is set during the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate and during Kenshin's job as an assassin.[76] ADV Films released the series on two VHS or DVD sets in 2000 under their Samurai X name in North America, and the film version in 2003. Aniplex of America released it on Blu-ray in 2011 in North America.[67]
The second OVA is Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection, known in Japan as Seisōhen(星霜編,Time). It is composed of two episodes and was later edited into a theatrical film (Director's Cut). The first episode was originally released on December 12, 2001 in Japan and the second on March 20, 2002. It is set both during and after the timeline of the series and tells of Kenshin and Kaoru's later days, much of which is not derived from the manga.[77][78] Although Nobuhiro Watsuki had checked the script from the OVA, he gave it disapproval due to its sad ending, and he stated that it is not canon and should not be treated as canonical.[79] It was released in the United States by ADV Films on DVD on March 25, 2003 under their Samurai X name, while the movie edition was released the following year.[80][81] Aniplex of America released it on Blu-ray in 2011 in North America.[67]
Live-action films

On June 28, 2011, a live-action film adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin was announced.[82] Produced by Warner Bros., with actual film production done by Studio Swan, the film was directed by Keishi Ōtomo and stars Takeru Satoh (of Kamen Rider Den-O fame) as Kenshin, Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke Sagara  and Emi Takei as Kaoru.[83] The film was released on August 25, 2012 in Japan.[84] In August 2013, it was announced that two sequels were being filmed simultaneously for release in 2014. Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends adapt the Kyoto arc of the manga.[85]
Soundtracks

All of the series music was composed by Noriyuki Asakura and several CDs have been released by Sony Records. The first, Rurouni Kenshin OST 1 was released on April 1, 1996 and contained twenty-three songs that were used during the first episodes of the series.[86] The second one, Rurouni Kenshin OST 2 - Departure was released on October 21, 1996 and contained fifteen tracks that were first used before the start of the Kyoto Arc.[87] The next one, Rurouni Kenshin OST 3 - Journey to Kyoto was released on April 21, 1997 and contained the thirteen tracks that originally used in the Kyoto Arc.[88] For the next arc, Rurouni Kenshin OST 4 - Let it Burn was released on February 1, 1998 and contained twelve tracks.[89]
For the OVAs series, all themes were composed by Taku Iwasaki and the CDs were released by Sony Visual Works. The first, Rurouni Kenshin Tsuioku Hen OST was released on March 20, 1999 and contained sixteen tracks that were used in Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal.[90] For the Reflection OVA a soundtrack called Rurouni Kenshin Seisō Hen OST was released on January 23, 2002 and contained eighteen tracks.[91]
Several compilations of the anime songs were also released in collection CDs. Thirty tracks were selected and joined in a CD called Rurouni Kenshin - The Director's Collection, that was released on July 21, 1997.[92] Rurouni Kenshin Best Theme Collection was released on March 21, 1998 and contained ten tracks.[93] All of the opening and ending themes were also collected in a CD called Rurouni Kenshin OP/ED Theme Collection.[94] The Japanese voice actors of the series also composed songs that were released as two Cds Rurouni Kenshin Songs Album. All of the anime tracks, including OVAs and films tracks were collected in Rurouni Kenshin Complete CD-Box that was released on September 19, 2002. It contains the four TV OSTs, the two OVA OSTs, the movie OST, the two game OSTs, an opening & closing theme collection, and the two Character Songs albums.[95] On July 27, 2011, Rurouni Kenshin Complete Collection, which includes all the opening and ending themes and the theme song of the animated film, was released.[96]
Several drama CDs, which adapted stories in the Rurouni Kenshin manga, were also released in Japan. Each of them featured different voice actors from that one that worked in the anime adaptation.[97] In Volume 5 of the manga Watsuki stated that he anticipated that the script of the third volume, which has the stories involving the character Udō Jin-e, would be "pretty close" but would have additional lines belonging to Sanosuke and Yahiko.[98]
Stage shows
In 2016, the Takarazuka Revue performed a musical adaptation of the manga called Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story. The show ran from February to March, and starred Seina Sagiri as Kenshin and Miyu Sakihi as Kaoru.[99]
Art and guidebooks
Two encyclopedias of the Rurouni Kenshin manga were released in Japan. The first one, Rurouni Kenshin Profiles(原典), was released first in Japan on July 4, 1996 by Shueisha and in the United States by Viz Media on November 1, 2005.[100][101] Kenshin Kaden(剣心華伝), released on December 15, 1999 includes the story Haru no Sakura(春の桜, lit."Cherry Blossoms in Spring"), which details the fates of all of the Rurouni Kenshin characters. The story takes place years after the manga's conclusion, when Kenshin and Kaoru have married and have a young son, Kenji. Many of the series' major characters who have befriended Kenshin reunite or otherwise reveal their current whereabouts with him in a spring picnic.[102] For the anime, three Kenshin Soushi artbook were published from 1997 to 1998. While the first two were based on the TV series, the third one was based on the film. The film one was named Ishin Shishi no Requiem Art Book and was released along with the movie.[103][104][105] Also released was Rurouni-Art Book, which contained images from the OVAs. A guidebook from the kanzenban imprint of the series was published on June 4, 2007.[106]
Light novels
The Rurouni Kenshin light novels were published by Shueisha's Jump J-Books line and co-written by Kaoru Shizuka. Most of them are original stories which were later adapted in the anime. Others are adaptations of manga and anime stories. The first novel, Rurouni Kenshin: Voyage to the Moon World, which was published in Japan on October 10, 1996 and in North America on October 17, 2006 details another adventure involving the return of Tales Of The Meiji Season 3's Beni-Aoi Arc characters like Kaishu Katsu.[107][108] The second, Yahiko's Battle, was released on October 3, 1997. It retells various stories featured in the manga and anime series.[109] The third novel, TV Anime Shimabara Arc, was published on February 4, 1999.[110] A novel adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-ban, titled Rurouni Kenshin -Ginmaku Sōshihen-(るろうに剣心 ―銀幕草紙変―) and written by Watsuki's wife Kaoru Kurosaki, which was released on September 4, 2012 is a Japanese light novel version of America's Restoration's New Kurogasa (Jin-E) Arc mangas featuring Banshin & a different younger Gein. Both are Ishin members of Enishi's team of the Jinchu/Tenchu (Judgment of Earth/Heaven) portions of the Enishi saga in the main plot manga series.[111]
Video games
There are five Rurouni Kenshin games released for the PlayStation console. The first, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Ishin Gekitōhen(るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 維新激闘編) was released on November 29, 1996. It was developed by ZOOM Inc.. The game is a 3D fighter game with 5 playable characters, while the plot focuses in the first seven volumes from the manga.[112]  The second one, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Jūyūshi Inbō Hen(るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 十勇士陰謀編 - The Ten Warrior Conspiracy) was released on December 18, 1997 and was re-released in the PlayStation The Best lineup on November 5, 1998. The game is a role-playing video game with a story unrelated to either the manga or anime.[113]
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Enjō! Kyōto Rinne(るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 炎上!京都輪廻) is the only video game for the PlayStation 2 console. Its Japanese release was slated for September 13, 2006.[114] The game has sold over 130,000 copies in Japan.[115] A 2D fighting game titled Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Saisen(るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 再閃) was released for the PlayStation Portable in March 10, 2011 in Japan.[116][117] On August 30, 2012, a sequel, Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Kansen(るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 完醒), was released.[118]
Himura Kenshin also appears in the 2005 and 2006 Nintendo DS games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars as a battle character, while others were support characters and help characters.[119] Kenshin and Shishio appear as playable characters in the 2014 PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita game J-Stars Victory VS,[120][121] and in the 2019 game Jump Force for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[122]
Merchandise
Watsuki commented that there was a lot of Rurouni Kenshin merchandise released for the Japanese market. He recommended that buyers consider quality before paying for merchandise items and for them to consult their wallets and buy stuff that they feel is "worth it." Watsuki added that he liked the prototype for a stuffed Kenshin doll for the UFO catcher devices.[123]
Reception
Manga
Rurouni Kenshin has been highly popular, having sold over 55 million tankōbon copies in Japan alone up until February 2012, making it one of Shueisha's top ten best-selling manga series.[124] In 2014, it was reported that the series had 70 million tankōbon copies in circulation.[125] Volume 27 of the manga ranked second in the Viz Bookscan Top Ten during June 2006,[126] while volume 21 and 20 ranked second and tenth, respectively, in the Top 10 Graphic Novels of Viz of 2005.[127] Rurouni Kenshin volume 24 also ranked in 116th position in the USA Today's best selling book list for the week ending February 26, 2006.[128] During the third quarter from 2003, Rurouni Kenshin ranked at the top of ICv2's Top 50 Manga Properties.[129] In the same poll from 2005, it was featured at the top once again based on sales from English volumes during 2004.[130] In the Top Ten Manga Properties from 2006 from the same site, it ranked ninth.[131]
The manga has received praise and criticism from various publications. Mania Entertainment writer Megan Lavey found that the manga had a good balance between character development, comedy and action scenes. The artwork of Watsuki was said to have improved as the series continued, noting that characters also had reactions during fights.[132] Steve Raiteri from Library Journal praised the series for its characters and battles. However, he noted some fights were too violent so he recommended the series to older teenagers as well as adults.[133] Zac Bertschy from Anime News Network (ANN) praised the story from the manga, but noted that by volume 18 of the series, Watsuki started to repeat the same type of villains who were united to kill Kenshin. Although he praised Watsuki's characters, he commented that some of them needed some consistency due to various "bizarre" antagonists.[45] IGN reviewer A.E. Sparrow liked the manga's ending, praising how the storylines are resolved, and how most of the supporting cast end up. He also praised the series' characters, remarking that Kenshin "belongs in any top ten of manga heroes."[134] Otaku USA reviewer Daryl Surat said that the manga's quality was good until the "Revenge Arc," where he criticized the storyline and the new characters.[135] Surat described the series as an example of a "neo-shōnen" series, where a shōnen series also appeals to a female audience; Surat stated that, in such series character designs are "pretty" for female audiences, but not too "girly" for male audiences. Surat cited Shinomori Aoshi and Seta Sōjirō, characters who ranked highly in popularity polls even though, in Surat's view, Aoshi does not engage in "meaningful" battles and Sōjirō is a "kid." Surat explained that Aoshi appears "like a Clamp character wearing Gambit's coat and Sōjirō always smiles despite the abuse inflicted upon him.[136] Surat said that the character designs for the anime television series were "toughened up a bit." He added that the budget for animation and music was "top-notch" because Sony produced the budget.[137] As a result of the series taking a darker tone in latter story arcs with Kenshin facing new threats and at the same time his Battosai self, Kat Kan from Voice of Youth Advocates recommended it to older teens. Kan also found that the anime viewers will also enjoy Watsuki's drawings due to the way he illustrates battles.[138]
Before becoming an official manga author, Masashi Kishimoto decided he should try creating a Chanbara manga since Weekly Shōnen Jump had not published a title from that genre. However, during his years of college, Kishimoto started reading Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal and Rurouni Kenshin which used the said genre. Kishimoto recalls having never been surprised by manga ever since reading Akira and found that he still was not able to compete against them.[139]
In a review about the series' reboot, Publishers Weekly praised the manga for appealing to both newcomers as well as old fans of Rurouni Kenshin. The reviewer also noted the manga had light parts during its comedy which he found strange in the samurai genre.[140] Kat Kan of Voice of Youth Advocates shared similar feelings, but suggested it to try it for older teens rather than children as a result of its violent content.[141] Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network praised the reboot, praising the focus on Kenshin and Yahiko's development but criticized Kaoru and Saito for lacking focus.[142]
Anime series
When TV Asahi, a television network in Japan, conducted a nationwide survey for the one hundred most popular animated television series, the Rurouni Kenshin anime came in sixty-sixth place.[143] They also conducted an online web poll, in which Rurouni Kenshin was placed at number 62.[144] Nearly a year later, TV Asahi once again conducted an online poll for the top one hundred anime, and Rurouni Kenshin anime advanced in rank and came in twenty-sixth place.[145] It also ranked at tenth place in the Web's Most Wanted 2005, ranking in the animation category.[146] The fourth DVD of the anime was also Anime Castle's best selling DVD in October 2001.[147] Rurouni Kenshin was also a finalist in the American Anime Awards in the category "Long Series" but lost against Fullmetal Alchemist.[148][149]
The anime has also been commented on by Chris Shepard from ANN noting a well crafted plot and good action scenes. However, he also criticized that during the first episodes the fights never get quite interesting as it becomes a bit predictable that Kenshin is going to win as the music of moments of victory is repeated many times.[150] However, Mark A. Grey from the same site mentioned that all those negatives points disappear during the Kyoto Arc due to amazing fights and a great soundtrack.[151] Tasha Robinson from SciFi.com had a similar opinion on the anime, and added that the characters' personalities' allowed the plot to develop into a good variety of interesting stories. She also liked the historical setting as it makes all the situations seem authentic.[152] Lynzee Loveridge from Anime News Network highlighted as the most known series to use the Meiji period and saw the Kyoto Arc as one of the best ones.[153] Although Them Anime's Carlos Ross also liked the action scenes and storyline, he added that the number of childish and violent scenes make the show a bit unbalanced, saying it is not recommended for younger children.[154] Surat approved of the anime series, stating that while half of the first-season episodes consisted of filler, the situation "clicks" upon the introduction of Saitō Hajime and that he disagreed with people who disliked the television series compared to the OVAs. Surat said that while the Media Blasters anime dub is "well-cast," the English dub does not sound natural since the producers were too preoccupied with making the voice performances mimick the Japanese performances.[155] Surat said that while he "didn't mind" the first filler arc with the Christianity sect, he could not stomach the final two filler arcs, and Japanese audiences disapproved of the final two filler arcs.[135] Robin Brenner from Library Journal noted that despite its pacifist messages, Rurouni Kenshin was too violent, recommending it to older audiences.[156]
OVAs
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal has received significant praise for its story, animation, art, music and Japanese voice acting from various critics. Mike Crandol from ANN noted Trust & Betrayal as one of the greatest OVA series of all time, celebrating the new characters designs as well as the fights scenes which were also noted to be "terribly bloody" and beautiful at the same time.[157] Although DVD Talk reviewer Don Houston mentioned the OVAs were very violent for teenagers, he found the story and music to be "solid". The director's cut version received positive comments by how the four OVAs were arranged with Houston commenting it "seems more like a movie that stands alone, rather than just the precursor to a long lasting series."[158]
Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection received mixed reviews. While Nobuhiro Watsuki had checked the script from the OVA, he gave it disapproval due to its sad ending.[79] Crandol also later commented that fans from the manga may be disappointed when seeing Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection since most of the fighting scenes have been deleted in the OVA. Nevertheless, the music and animation featured in the Reflection were highly praised again as one of the best ones from Japan.[159]
Films
At the box office, the 2012 live-action film Rurouni Kenshin grossed $39 million worldwide, including ¥3.01 billion ($38 million) in Japan,[160] $847,605 in other Asian territories,[161] $8,389 in the United Kingdom,[162] and $32,445 in the United States.[163] At the 2014 worldwide box office, the sequel Kyoto Inferno grossed $52.9 million and the finale The Legend Ends grossed $42.7 million.[164] In total, the live-action film trilogy grossed $134 million at the worldwide box office.
Notes

Further reading

 (in Japanese)
 (in Japanese)
 (in Japanese)

 (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Does Kenshin take place during the Meiji era?


Main Page

The Tale of Genji(源氏物語,Genji monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu in the early years of the 11th century. The original manuscript no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or "orihon" style[1]: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other, around the peak of the Heian period. The work is a unique depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period, written in archaic language and a poetic and confusing style that make it unreadable to the average Japanese without dedicated study.[2] It was not until the early 20th century that Genji was translated into modern Japanese, by the poet Akiko Yosano. The first English translation was attempted in 1882, but was of poor quality and incomplete.
The work recounts the life of Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji", the son of an ancient Japanese emperor, known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo, and a low-ranking concubine called Kiritsubo Consort. For political reasons, the emperor removes Genji from the line of succession, demoting him to a commoner by giving him the surname Minamoto, and he pursues a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be considered a classic. While regarded as a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate.
Historical context
The Tale of Genji may have been written chapter by chapter in installments, as Murasaki delivered the tale to aristocratic women (ladies-in-waiting). It has many elements found in a modern novel: a central character and a very large number of major and minor characters, well-developed characterization of all the major players, a sequence of events covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. The work does not make use of a plot; instead, events happen and characters simply grow older. One remarkable feature of the Genji, and of Murasaki's skill, is its internal consistency, despite a dramatis personæ of some four hundred characters. For instance, all characters age in step and the family and feudal relationships maintain general consistency.
One complication for readers and translators of the Genji is that almost none of the characters in the original text is given an explicit name. The characters are instead referred to by their function or role (e.g. Minister of the Left), an honorific (e.g. His Excellency), or their relation to other characters (e.g. Heir Apparent), which changes as the novel progresses. This lack of names stems from Heian-era court manners that would have made it unacceptably familiar and blunt to freely mention a person's given name. Modern readers and translators have used various nicknames to keep track of the many characters.
The Tale of Genji was written in an archaic court language that was already unreadable a century after it was written.[3] Thus, the Japanese have been reading annotated and illustrated versions of the work since as early as the 12th century.[3] It was not until the early 20th century that Genji was translated into modern Japanese, by the poet Akiko Yosano.[4]
Authorship

The debate over how much of Genji was actually written by Murasaki Shikibu has gone on for centuries and is unlikely to ever be settled unless some major archival discovery is made. It is generally accepted that the tale was finished in its present form by 1021, when the author of the Sarashina Nikki wrote a diary entry about her joy at acquiring a complete copy of the tale. She writes that there are over 50 chapters and mentions a character introduced at the end of the work, so if other authors besides Murasaki Shikibu did work on the tale, the work was done very near to the time of her writing. Murasaki Shikibu's own diary includes a reference to the tale, and indeed the application to herself of the name 'Murasaki' in an allusion to the main female character. That entry confirms that some if not all of the diary was available in 1008 when internal evidence suggests convincingly that the entry was written.[5]
Lady Murasaki is said to have written the character of Genji based on the Minister on the Left at the time she was at court. Other translators, such as Tyler, believe the character Murasaki no Ue, whom Genji marries, is based on Murasaki Shikibu herself.
Yosano Akiko, the first author to make a modern Japanese translation of Genji, believed that Murasaki Shikibu had only written chapters 1 to 33, and that chapters 35 to 54 were written by her daughter Daini no Sanmi.[6] Other scholars have also doubted the authorship of chapters 42 to 54 (particularly 44, which contains rare examples of continuity mistakes).[6] According to Royall Tyler's introduction to his English translation of the work, recent computer analysis has turned up "statistically significant" discrepancies of style between chapters 45–54 and the rest, and also among the early chapters.[6]

Plot

The work recounts the life of Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji", the son of an ancient Japanese emperor, known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo, and a low-ranking, but beloved concubine called Kiritsubo Consort. For political reasons, the emperor removes Genji from the line of succession, demoting him to a commoner by giving him the surname Minamoto, and he pursues a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time.
Genji's mother dies when he is three years old, and the Emperor cannot forget her. The Emperor Kiritsubo then hears of a woman (Lady Fujitsubo), formerly a princess of the preceding emperor, who resembles his deceased concubine, and later she becomes one of his wives. Genji loves her first as a stepmother, but later as a woman, and they fall in love with each other. Genji is frustrated by his forbidden love for the Lady Fujitsubo and is on bad terms with his wife (Aoi no Ue). He engages in a series of unfulfilling love affairs with other women, but in most cases his advances are rebuffed, his lover dies suddenly during the affair, or he becomes bored with his lover.
Genji visits Kitayama, the northern rural hilly area of Kyoto, where he finds a beautiful ten-year-old girl. He is fascinated by this little girl (Murasaki), and discovers that she is a niece of the Lady Fujitsubo. Finally he kidnaps her, brings her to his own palace and educates her to be his ideal lady — that is, like the Lady Fujitsubo. During this time Genji also meets the Lady Fujitsubo secretly, and she bears his son, Reizei. Everyone except the two lovers believes the father of the child is the Emperor Kiritsubo. Later, the boy becomes the Crown Prince and Lady Fujitsubo becomes the Empress, but Genji and Lady Fujitsubo swear to keep their secret.
Genji and his wife, Lady Aoi, reconcile. She gives birth to a son but dies soon after. Genji is sorrowful, but finds consolation in Murasaki, whom he marries. Genji's father, the Emperor Kiritsubo, dies.  He is succeeded by his son Suzaku, whose mother (Kokiden), together with Kiritsubo's political enemies, takes power in the court.  Then another of Genji's secret love affairs is exposed: Genji and a concubine of the Emperor Suzaku are discovered when they meet in secret. The Emperor Suzaku confides his personal amusement at Genji's exploits with the woman (Oborozukiyo), but is duty-bound to punish his half-brother. He exiles Genji to the town of Suma in rural Harima Province (now part of Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture). There, a prosperous man known as the Akashi Novice (because he is from Akashi in Settsu Province) entertains Genji, and Genji has a love affair with Akashi's daughter. She gives birth to Genji's only daughter, who will later become the Empress.
In the capital, the Emperor Suzaku is troubled by dreams of his late father, Kiritsubo, and something begins to affect his eyes. Meanwhile, his mother, Kokiden, grows ill, which weakens her powerful sway over the throne. Thus the Emperor orders Genji pardoned, and he returns to Kyoto. His son by Lady Fujitsubo, Reizei, becomes the emperor.  The new Emperor Reizei knows Genji is his real father, and raises Genji's rank to the highest possible.
However, when Genji turns 40 years old, his life begins to decline. His political status does not change, but his love and emotional life are slowly damaged. He marries another wife, the Third Princess (known as Onna san no miya in the Seidensticker version, or Nyōsan in Waley's). Genji's nephew, Kashiwagi, later forces himself on the Third Princess, and she bears Kaoru (who, in a similar situation to that of Reizei, is legally known as the son of Genji).  Genji's new marriage changes his relationship with Murasaki, who becomes a nun (bikuni).
Genji's beloved Murasaki dies. In the following chapter, Maboroshi ("Illusion"), Genji contemplates how fleeting life is. Immediately after Maboroshi, there is a chapter entitled Kumogakure ("Vanished into the Clouds"), which is left blank, but implies the death of Genji.
The rest of the work is known as the "Uji Chapters". These chapters follow Kaoru and his best friend, Niou. Niou is an imperial prince, the son of Genji's daughter, the current Empress now that Reizei has abdicated the throne, while Kaoru is known to the world as Genji's son but is in fact fathered by Genji's nephew. The chapters involve Kaoru and Niou's rivalry over several daughters of an imperial prince who lives in Uji, a place some distance away from the capital. The tale ends abruptly, with Kaoru wondering if Niou is hiding the lady the former loves away from him. Kaoru has sometimes been called the first anti-hero in literature.[7]
Completion
The tale has an abrupt ending. Opinions vary on whether the ending was the intended ending of the author. Arthur Waley, who made the first English translation of the whole of The Tale of Genji, believed that the work as we have it was finished. Ivan Morris, author of The World of the Shining Prince, believed that it was not complete, with later chapters missing.  Edward Seidensticker, who made the second translation of the Genji, believed that it was not finished, and that Murasaki Shikibu would not have had a planned story structure with an "ending", and would simply have gone on writing as long as she could.
Literary context
Because it was written to entertain the Japanese court of the eleventh century, the work presents many difficulties to modern readers. First and foremost, Murasaki's language, Heian period court Japanese, was highly inflected and had very complex grammar. Another problem is that naming people was considered rude in Heian court society, so none of the characters are named within the work; instead, the narrator refers to men often by their rank or their station in life, and to women often by the color of their clothing, or by the words used at a meeting, or by the rank of a prominent male relative. This results in different appellations for the same character depending on the chapter.
Another aspect of the language is the importance of using poetry in conversations. Modifying or rephrasing a classic poem according to the current situation was expected behavior in Heian court life, and often served to communicate thinly veiled allusions. The poems in the Genji are often in the classic Japanese tanka form. Many of the poems were well known to the intended audience, so usually only the first few lines are given and the reader is supposed to complete the thought themselves, much like today we could say "when in Rome..." and leave the rest of the saying ("...do as the Romans do") unspoken.[8]
As with most Heian literature, the Genji was probably written mostly (or perhaps entirely) in kana (Japanese phonetic script) and not in Chinese characters because it was written by a woman for a female audience. Writing in Chinese characters was at the time a masculine pursuit; women were generally discreet when using Chinese symbols, confining themselves mostly to native Japanese words (yamato kotoba).
Outside of vocabulary related to politics and Buddhism, the Genji contains remarkably few Chinese loan words (kango). This has the effect of giving the story a very even, smooth flow. However, it also introduces confusion: there are a number of homophones (words with the same pronunciation but different meanings), and for modern readers, context is not always sufficient to determine which meaning was intended.
Structure
The novel is traditionally divided in three parts, the first two dealing with the life of Genji, and the last dealing with the early years of two of Genji's prominent descendants, Niou and Kaoru.  There are also several short transitional chapters which are usually grouped separately and whose authorship is sometimes questioned.
Genji's rise and fall
Youth, chapters 1–33: Love, romance, and exile
Success and setbacks, chapters 34–41: A taste of power and the death of his beloved wife
The transition (chapters 42–44): Very short episodes following Genji's death
Uji, chapters 45–54: Genji's official and secret descendants, Niou and Kaoru
The 54th and last chapter "The Floating Bridge of Dreams" is sometimes argued to be a separate part from the Uji part by modern scholars. It seems to continue the story from the previous chapters, but has an unusually abstract chapter title.  It is the only chapter whose title has no clear reference within the text, but this may be because the chapter is unfinished. This question is more difficult because we do not know exactly when the chapters acquired their titles.
List of chapters
The English translations here are taken from the Arthur Waley, the Edward Seidensticker, the Royall Tyler (academic),  and the Dennis Washburn translations. The first column refers to Waley's translation, the second to Seidensticker's, the third to Tyler's, and the fourth to Washburn's. It is not known for certain when the chapters acquired their titles.  Early mentions of the Tale refer to chapter numbers, or contain alternate titles for some of the chapters.  This may suggest that the titles were added later. The titles are largely derived from poetry that is quoted within the text, or allusions to various characters.

The additional chapter between 41 and 42 in some manuscripts is called 雲隠 (Kumogakure) which means "Vanished into the Clouds" — the chapter is a title only, and is probably intended to evoke Genji's death. Some scholars have posited the existence of a chapter between 1 and 2 which is now lost, which would have introduced some characters that (as it stands now) appear very abruptly.
The Waley translation completely omits the 38th chapter.
Later authors have composed additional chapters, most often either between 41 and 42, or after the end.
Manuscripts

The original manuscript written by Murasaki Shikibu no longer exists. Numerous copies, totaling around 300 according to Ikeda Kikan, exist with differences between each.  It is thought that Shikibu often went back and edited early manuscripts introducing discrepancies with earlier copies.[9]
The various manuscripts are classified into three categories:[10][11]
Kawachibon(河内本)
Aobyōshibon(青表紙本)
Beppon(別本)
In the 13th century, two major attempts by Minamoto no Chikayuki and Fujiwara Teika were made to edit and revise the differing manuscripts. The Chikayuki manuscript is known as the Kawachibon; edits were many beginning in 1236 and completing in 1255.  The Teika manuscript is known as the Aobyōshibon; its edits are more conservative and thought to better represent the original. These two manuscripts were used as the basis for many future copies.
The Beppon category represents all other manuscripts not belonging to either Kawachibon or Aobyōshibon. This includes older but incomplete manuscripts, mixed manuscripts derived from both Kawachibon and Aobyōshibon, and commentaries.
On March 10, 2008, it was announced that a late Kamakura period manuscript was found in Kyōto.[12][13] It is the sixth chapter "Suetsumuhana" and is 65 pages in length. Most remaining manuscripts are based on copies of the Teika manuscript which introduced revisions in the original.  This newly discovered manuscript belongs to a different lineage and was not influenced by Teika.  Professor Yamamoto Tokurō, who examined the manuscript said, "This is a precious discovery as Kamakura manuscripts are so rare."  Professor Katō Yōsuke said, "This is an important discovery as it asserts that non-Teika manuscripts were being read during the Kamakura period."
On October 29, 2008, Konan Women's University announced that a mid-Kamakura period manuscript was found.[14][15][16]
It is the 32nd chapter, Umegae, and is recognized as the oldest extant copy of this chapter dating between 1240–80. This beppon manuscript is 74 pages in length and differs from Aobyōshi manuscripts in at least four places, raising the "possibility that the contents may be closer to the undiscovered Murasaki Shikibu original manuscript".[14]
Illustrated scroll

A twelfth-century scroll, the Genji monogatari emaki, contains illustrated scenes from the Genji together with handwritten sōgana text.  This scroll is the earliest extant example of a Japanese "picture scroll": collected illustrations and calligraphy of a single work.  The original scroll is believed to have comprised 10-20 rolls and covered all 54 chapters.  The extant pieces include only 19 illustrations and 65 pages of text, plus nine pages of fragments.  This is estimated at roughly 15% of the envisioned original.  The Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya has three of the scrolls handed down in the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan and one scroll held by the Hachisuka family is now in the Gotoh Museum in Tokyo. The scrolls are designated National Treasures of Japan. The scrolls are so fragile that they normally are not shown in public. The original scrolls in the Tokugawa Museum were shown from November 21 to November 29 in 2009. Since Heisei 13, they have been displayed in the Tokugawa Museum always for around one week in November. An oversize English photoreproduction and translation was printed in limited edition by Kodansha International (Tale of Genji Scroll, ISBN0-87011-131-0).
Other notable versions are by Tosa Mitsuoki, who lived from 1617 to 1691. His paintings are closely based on Heian style from the existing scrolls from the 12th century and are fully complete. The tale was also a popular theme in Ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period.
Modern readership
Japanese

The complexities of the style mentioned in the previous section make it unreadable by the average Japanese person without dedicated study of the language of the tale.
Therefore, translations into modern Japanese and other languages solve these problems by modernizing the language, unfortunately losing some of the meaning, and by giving names to the characters, usually the traditional names used by academics. This gives rise to anachronisms; for instance Genji's first wife is named Aoi because she is known as the lady of the Aoi chapter, in which she dies.
Both scholars and writers have tried translating it. The first translation into modern Japanese was made by the poet Yosano Akiko. Other known translations were done by the novelists Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Fumiko Enchi.
Because of the cultural differences, reading an annotated version of the Genji is quite common, even among Japanese. There are several annotated versions by novelists, including Seiko Tanabe, Jakucho Setouchi and Osamu Hashimoto.[17] Many works, including a manga series and different television dramas, are derived from The Tale of Genji. There have been at least five manga adaptations of the Genji.[18] A manga version by Waki Yamato, Asakiyumemishi (The Tale of Genji in English), is widely read among Japanese youth, and another version, by Miyako Maki, won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1989.[19]
Most Japanese high-school students read selections of the Genji (the original, not a translation) in their Japanese classes.
English translations
The first partial translation of Genji Monogatari into English was by Suematsu Kenchō, published in 1882. Arthur Waley published a six-volume translation of all but one chapter, with the first volume published in 1921 and the last in 1933.[20]  In 1976, Edward Seidensticker published the first complete translation into English, made using a self-consciously "stricter" approach with regards to content if not form.[21] The English translation published in 2001 by Royall Tyler aims at fidelity in content and form to the original text.[6] The most recently written ("Genji and the Luck of the Sea") dates from 2007. Its initial version has been extensively revised, retitled, and updated for this publication.[22]
In 2008, WorldCat identifies 88 editions of this book. The major translations into English are each slightly different, mirroring the personal choices of the translator and the period in which the translation was made. Each version has its merits, its detractors and its advocates, and each is distinguished by the name of the translator. For example, the version translated by Arthur Waley would typically be referred to as "the Waley Genji".
Major English translations in chronological order
The Suematsu Genji (1882) — Suematsu's Genji was the first translation into English, but is considered of poor quality and is not often read today.  Significantly, only a few chapters were completed.
The Waley Genji (1921–1933) — Waley's Genji is considered a great achievement for his time,[23] although some purists have criticized Waley's changes to the original.[24] Others have criticized as overly-free the manner in which Waley translated the original text. Regardless, it continues to be well-appreciated and widely read today.[25] When the Waley Genji was first published, it was eagerly received.  For example, Time explained that "the reviewers' floundering tributes indicate something of its variegated appeal. In limpid prose The Tale combines curiously modern social satire with great charm of narrative. Translator Waley has done service to literature in salvaging to the Occident this masterpiece of the Orient."[26]
The Seidensticker Genji (1976) — Seidensticker's Genji is an attempt to correct what were perceived to have been Waley's failings without necessarily making his translation obsolete. Seidensticker hews more closely to the original text, but in the interests of readability, he takes some liberties.  For example, he identifies the cast of characters by name so that the narrative can be more easily followed by a broad-based audience of Western readers. (In 2008, a 4,400-page Braille version of the Seidensticker Genji was completed. This Braille edition was the product of five Japanese housewives from Setagaya, Tokyo, working voluntarily for 5 years and was subsequently donated to the Japan Braille Library (日本点字図書館) and the Library of Congress. It is also available for download.[27])
The McCullough Genji (1994) — An abridgement.
The Tyler Genji (2001) — Tyler's Genji contains more extensive explanatory footnotes and commentary than the previous translations, describing the numerous poetical allusions and cultural aspects of the tale. Tyler consciously attempted to mimic the original style in ways that the previous translations did not.  For example, this version does not use names for most characters, identifying them instead by their titles in a manner which was conventional in the context of the 11th-century original text - "...while wonderfully evocative of the original, can be difficult to follow..."[28]. Tyler's version "makes a special virtue of attending to a certain ceremonial indirectness in the way the characters address one another. The great temptation for a translator is to say the unsaid things, and Tyler never gives in to it."[29] This has been praised by critics as "preserving more of what once seemed unfamiliar or strange to English readers", as understanding the culture of Lady Murasaki's time is arguably a chief reason for reading Genji.[25]
The Washburn Genji (2015) — Dennis Washburn's Genji separates the poems from the prose and puts interior thoughts in italics. The translation is received slightly more controversially than Tyler's. [30]
Reception and legacy
The Tale of Genji is an important work of Japanese literature, and modern authors have cited it as inspiration, such as Jorge Luis Borges who said of it, "The Tale of Genji, as translated by Arthur Waley, is written with an almost miraculous naturalness, and what interests us is not the exoticism—the horrible word—but rather the human passions of the novel. Such interest is just: Murasaki's work is what one would quite precisely call a psychological novel ... I dare to recommend this book to those who read me. The English translation that has inspired this brief insufficient note is called The Tale of Genji."[31] It is noted for its internal consistency, psychological depiction, and characterization. The novelist Yasunari Kawabata said in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech: "The Tale of Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature. Even down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to compare with it."

The Genji is also often referred to as "the first novel",[32] though there is considerable debate over this — some of the debate involving whether Genji can even be considered a "novel". Some consider the psychological insight, complexity and unity of the work to qualify it for "novel" status while simultaneously disqualifying earlier works of prose fiction.[33] Others see these arguments as subjective and unconvincing.
Related claims, perhaps in an attempt to sidestep these debates, are that Genji is the "first psychological novel" or "historical novel",[34] "the first novel still considered to be a classic" or other more qualified terms.  However, critics have almost consistently described The Tale of Genji as the oldest, first, and/or greatest novel in Japanese literature,[35][36] though enthusiastic proponents may have later neglected the qualifying category of in Japanese literature, leading to the debates over the book's place in world literature.  Even in Japan, the Tale of Genji is not universally embraced; the lesser known Ochikubo Monogatari has been proposed as the "world's first full-length novel", even though its author is unknown.[37]  Despite these debates, The Tale of Genji enjoys solid respect among the works of literature, and its influence on Japanese literature has been compared to that of Philip Sidney's Arcadia on English literature.[35]
The novel and other works by Lady Murasaki are staple reading material in the curricula of Japanese schools. The Bank of Japan issued the 2000 Yen banknote in her honor, featuring a scene from the novel based on the 12th-century illustrated handscroll. Since a 1 November, 1008 entry in The Diary of Lady Murasaki is the oldest date on which a reference to The Tale of Genji has appeared, November 1st was designated as the official day to celebrate Japanese classics. According to Act on Classics Day, the “classics” that are honored not only include literature, but encompass a wide range of arts such as music, art, traditional performing arts, entertainment, lifestyle art including tea ceremony and flower arrangement and other cultural products.[38]
The names of the chapters became a central element a sort of incense based game called Genjikō, part of the larger practice of  Monkō popular among the nobility. In Genjikō, players must match the scents of a series of five incense samples without being told the names of said samples. Each possible combination was matched to a symbol, called a genji-mon, that represented a chapter from the story.[39]
Adaptations in other media
12th century illustrated hand scroll, Genji Monogatari Emaki
1951 film The Tale of Genji by Kōzaburō Yoshimura
1966 film by Kon Ichikawa
1980 manga Asaki Yume Mishi by Waki Yamato
1987 anime film by Gisaburō Sugii - covers only the first 12 chapters, while adding in some psychological motivation that is not explicit in the novel.
1987 film O Desejado
1988 manga by Miyako Maki
2000 opera by Miki Minoru
2001 film Sennen no Koi Story of Genji
2009 anime series Genji Monogatari Sennenki by Osamu Dezaki
2011 film Genji Monogatari: Sennen no Nazo
See also

List of The Tale of Genji characters
The Tale of Genji Museum
Jūnihitoe
sudare
Ghost stories
Hagiwara Hiromichi
Heian literature
Yang Guifei
Notes

Bibliography

De Wolf, Charles (2014). "Glimpses of Genji Through the Looking-Glass of Language". The Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. fifth series, volume 6.

Kornicki, P. F., "Unsuitable Books for Women? "Genji Monogatari" and "Ise Monogatari" in Late Seventeenth-Century Japan", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 60, No. 2 (Summer, 2005), pp.147–193, Sophia University,

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Sestili Daniele (1996). Musica e danza del principe Genji. Le arti dello spettacolo nell’antico Giappone. Lucca: LIM,

 A complete English translation of the work, free for non-commercial use, Edward G. Seidensticker's translation.
 Library of Congress, Asian Division. The edition in the Library of Congress is a complete and well-preserved set including the complete main text (54 volumes) of Tale of Genji, also Meyasu (3 volumes, commentary on key words and phrases in the text, Keizu (genealogy), Yamaji no tsuyu (a sequel to the work by a later author), and Hikiuta (index).

 Contains the 1882 Suematsu translation of the first 17 chapters of The Tale of Genji, with an introduction and notes.
 Original text, romanized version, and modern Japanese translation of The Tale of Genji at the University of Virginia Library.
 Woodcut illustrations and accompanying excerpts at the UNESCO Global Heritage Pavilion.
 Some scans of the Genji Monogatari Emaki (Tale of Genji Scroll). Only about half of the images are from the twelfth-century scroll; they are the darker colored, more faded images.
 A photographic guide to The Tale of Genji.
 Japanese reading of 7 of 54 chapters from the original text, mp3 files.
 The Kyoto Prefecture commemorative coin set for release in October 2008 features a scene from The Tale of Genji.
 Paper carvings by Noda Kazuko reproducing the 18 extant illustrations of the 13th-century Genji monogatari emaki.
 A nice collection of Ukiyo-e and Shin-hanga, including illustrations of The Tale of Genji by such artists as Ebina Masao and Utagawa Kunisada.
 Available at Dartmouth College, it covers the first 16 chapters of the tale.
 Paper cuts by renowned artist Miyata Masayuki.
World Digital Library presentation of  Library of Congress.  Primary source moveable type book. 1596-1615, first printed edition of the world's first great novel.
 public domain audiobook at LibriVox


Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg.[1] It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks. The primary natural purpose of egg white is to protect the yolk and provide additional nutrition for the growth of the embryo (when fertilized).
Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which is dissolved about 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins). Unlike the yolk, which is high in lipids (fats), egg white contains almost no fat, and carbohydrate content is less than 1%. Egg whites contain about 56% of the protein in the egg. Egg white has many uses in food (e.g. meringue, mousse) and also many other uses (e.g. in the preparation of vaccines such as those for influenza[2]).
Composition
Egg white makes up around two-thirds of a chicken egg by weight. Water constitutes about 90% of this, with protein, trace minerals, fatty material, vitamins, and glucose contributing the remainder.[3]  A raw U.S. large egg contains around 33grams of egg white with 3.6grams of protein, 0.24grams of carbohydrate and 55 milligrams of sodium. It contains no cholesterol and the energy content is about 17 Calories.[3] Egg white is an alkaline solution and contains around 148 proteins.[4] The table below lists the major proteins in egg whites by percentage and their natural functions.[3][5]

Ovalbumin is the most abundant protein in albumen. Classed as phosphoglycoprotein, during storage, it converts into s-ovalbumin (5% at the time of laying) and can reach up to 80% after six months of cold storage. Ovalbumin in solution is heat-resistant. Denaturation temperature is around 84°C, but it can be easily denatured by physical stresses.
Conalbumin/ovotransferrin is a glycoprotein which has the capacity to bind the bi- and trivalent metal cations into a complex and is more heat sensitive than ovalbumin. At its isoelectric pH (6.5), it can bind two cations and assume a red or yellow color.  These metal complexes are more heat stable than the native state. Ovomucoid is the major allergen from egg white and is a heat-resistant glycoprotein found to be a trypsin inhibitor.  Lysozyme is a holoprotein which can lyse the wall of certain Gram-positive bacteria and is found at high levels in the chalaziferous layer and the chalazae which anchor the yolk towards the middle of the egg. Ovomucin is a glycoprotein which may contribute to the gel-like structure of thick albumen. The amount of ovomucin in the thick albumen is four times greater than in the thin albumen.
Foam

The physical stress of beating egg whites can create a foam.  Two types of physical stress are caused by beating them with a whisk, the first of which occurs as the whisk drags the liquid through itself, creating a force that unfolds the protein molecules. This process is called denaturation. The second stress comes from the mixing of air into the whites, which causes the proteins to come out of their natural state.  These denatured proteins gather together where the air and water meet and create multiple bonds with the other unraveled proteins, and thus become a foam, holding the incorporated air in place, because the proteins consist of amino acids; some are hydrophilic (attracted to water) and some are hydrophobic (repelled by water). This process is called coagulation.[6][3]
When beating egg whites, they are classified in three stages according to the peaks they form when the beater is lifted: soft, firm, and stiff peaks.  Overbeaten eggs take on a dry appearance, and  eventually collapse. Egg whites do not beat up correctly if they are exposed to any form of fat, such as cooking oils or the fats contained in egg yolk.
Stabilizing foam for culinary purposes
Copper bowl
Copper bowls have been used in France since the 18th century to stabilize egg foams. The copper in the bowl assists in creating a tighter bond in reactive sulfur items such as egg whites.  The bond created is so tight that the sulfurs are prevented from reacting with any other material.  A silver-plated bowl has the same result as the copper bowl, as will a pinch of powdered copper supplement from a health store used in a glass bowl.  Drawbacks of the copper bowl include the expense of the bowl itself, and that the bowls are difficult to keep clean.  Copper contamination from the bowl is minimal, as a cup of foam contains a tenth of a human's normal daily intake level.[3][7]

Health issues
Although egg whites are prized as a source of low-fat, high-protein nutrition, a small number of people cannot eat them.  Egg allergy is more common among infants than adults, and most children will outgrow it by the age of five.[8] Allergic reactions against egg white are more common than reactions against egg yolks.[9]  In addition to true allergic reactions, some people experience a food intolerance to egg whites.[9]
Eggs are susceptible to Salmonella contamination. Thorough cooking eliminates the direct threat (i.e. cooked egg whites that are solid and not runny), the threat of cross-contamination remains if people handle contaminated eggs and then touch other foods or items in the kitchen, thus spreading the bacteria. In August 2010, the FDA ordered the recall of 380 million eggs because of possible Salmonella contamination.[10]
Uses

Egg white is a fining agent that can be used in the clarification and stabilization of wine. Egg white can also be added to shaken cocktails to create a delicate froth. Some protein powders also use egg whites as a primary source of protein.
In the 1750s, egg whites were believed to prevent swelling, and were used for that purpose. To help soothe areas of skin that were afflicted, egg white mixed with Armenic bole could help restore the fibers. Egg whites are also used in bookbinding during the gilding process, where it is referred to as 'glaire', and to give a book cover shine.[11]
See also
Egg yolk
Albumen print
Haugh unit, a unit of measure for egg albumen
Meringue, a dessert or dessert ingredient made from egg white

Further reading
Gilbertus. Compendium Medicine Gilberti Anglici Tam Morborum Universalium Quam Particularium Nondum Medicis Sed & Cyrurgicis Utilissimum.  Lugduni: Impressum per Jacobum Sacconum, expensis Vincentii de Portonariis, 1510.
Good Eats, . DVD. Television Food Network, June 13, 2001.

Elmhurst College,
Exploratorium,

 The dictionary definition of albumen at Wiktionary
 The dictionary definition of glair at Wiktionary

What protein structure is in egg whites?