is a Japanese fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Yumi Tamura. The story takes place in a future Japan, reduced to a barren desert by a catastrophe at the end of the 20th century. The main character is Sarasa, a girl whose twin brother, Tatara, is prophesied to be the "child of destiny" ( or ) who will bring back the country's independence and stop the tyrannical rule of the Empire, namely the Red King. When Tatara is killed, Sarasa pretends to be him in order to keep the downtrodden from losing hope.
The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's Bessatsu Shōjo Comic magazine from September 1990 to June 1998. Shogakukan collected the individual chapters into 27 bound volumes under the Flower Comics imprint from March 1991 to March 2000. The manga won the 38th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo (girls) category in 1993. Viz Media licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America; they published 27 volumes from August 2003 to May 2008.
Basara was adapted into a 13-episode anime television series titled , which aired in Japan from April to June 1998. It was produced by KSS and directed by Noburu Takamoto.
The manga was also adapted into several stage plays in Japan, the first of which premiered in 2012. A filmed performance was released on DVD in July 2013. The second stage play was performed at Theater 1010 in Tokyo from January 9 to January 14, 2014. The third stage play was performed at Kinokuniya Hall in Tokyo from January 25 to January 28, 2019. The fourth stage play was performed at Theater Sun Mall in Tokyo from January 13 to January 24, 2022.
Overview In Basara's post-apocalyptic setting, Japan has been controlled by a succession of corrupt and oppressive rulers of Saffron Clan. The current one is the Golden Emperor, a sovereign so obsessed with maintaining his power that he has had most of his children killed. He later appointed territories to the remaining children, allowing them to rule as subordinate kings and expend their energies in rivalries among each other, instead of trying to dethrone him. As a result, most of the Kings neglect the people they rule.
Though the peasants have been downtrodden for decades, they have not completely lost their rebellious spirit. Four swords named for the gods of the Four Symbols—Byakko, Suzaku, Seiryū and Genbu—forged for fallen rebel leaders two generations past, are the symbols of underground resistance groups across Japan. The sword of Byakko is kept in Byakko Village, and according to a prophet, a child of fate who will lead a revolution will be born there. When twins are born—a girl and a boy—the prophet says that one of them is the child of destiny. Villagers believe the boy, Tatara, is the child of destiny, but ultimately the girl, Sarasa, is the leader. When the local ruler, the Red King, destroys her village and has her brother beheaded, she assumes his name and duty to lead her people in rebellion.
Sarasa undergoes psychological strain over having to pretend to be a boy. As such, she often visits hot springs to "let her hair down." During these visits, she runs into a mysterious young man named Shuri, and they fall in love with each other.
Unknown to Sarasa, Shuri is really the Red King, upon whom she has sworn revenge for destroying her village and killing her family. The Red King is likewise unaware that Sarasa, in her alter ego, is the rebel leader he is trying to kill. As the story progresses, the pair's relationship deepens even as their struggle becomes more bloody.
Characters Main characters
The protagonist, a 15-year-old girl who takes the name of her murdered twin brother Tatara, who was known as the child of fate. As Tatara, she wields the sword of Byakko and leads the survivors of Byakko Village. Even among her allies few people know she is a girl. Sarasa hopes to create a land that is fertile, full of flora, and free of strife. Though she is quick to cry and psychologically weak in some respects, over the course of the story she develops undeniable skills in leadership and swordplay, and becomes the central figure of the Tatara Army. Byakko sword: One of the four swords descended from the Basarano rebels. It was Genshou, Tatara's and Sarasa's great-grandfather's, weapon. The name Sarasa refers to calico cloth.
Sarasa's pet owl, the runt of his hatching. Sarasa is unwilling to let the other chicks crowd him out, and decides to take care of him.
The 17-year-old youngest son of the Emperor, he rules over Saikoku (western Japan) which includes Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyūshū. In the early parts of the story Shuri stands out as brutally cruel to those who do not obey him, because he is responsible for the destruction of Byakko Village and the murder of Tatara. Later he meets Sarasa, unaware that they are enemies, and falls in love with her. Though he is merciless to his enemies, Shuri is a capable ruler and very proud of his realm. He is big-hearted, with a free-spirited personality and is generally quite personable, though he tends to be overly competitive. Shuri is an expert swordsman.
Byakko Village The Deceased
Sarasa's twin brother, raised as the child of fate in order to protect Sarasa. Respected by everyone in Byakko Village, Tatara is very responsible, and very close to his sister. He is killed by General Kazan, one of the Red King's subordinates. The name Tatara refers to bellows, as used to smelt metal. It is also the Japanese name of Bond, a Mansion under the White Tiger (Byakko).
Sarasa's childhood friend, who died in Tatara's place at about 8 years of age.
The Revival
The blind prophet who foretold the coming of the child of fate, Nagi was also the physician and schoolteacher of Byakko Village. He serves as a mentor to Sarasa, who trusts him completely. Nagi learned medicine from the great doctor Bashō.
A Byakko villager; he instructs Tatara, and later Sarasa, in swordplay. He plays a surrogate father role for Sarasa, and she places a great deal of trust in him. Kakujii originally came from a fishing village in the Tohoku region, but was thrown into Abashiri Prison after rebelling against the Black King, who rules there. He later escaped, and eventually ended up in Byakko Village.
Butterfly Circus
A former slave and survivor of the Blue Nobles, a nomadic people all but wiped out by the government. Ageha saved Sarasa from the Red King when she was younger, but he lost his left eye in the bargain. He has friends all across Japan and is capable of calling in tremendous favors from them. Ageha usually tours with Madam Butterfly's troupe of traveling performers under the name Kicho, the star dancer. He keeps an owl, Kagero, who is a parent of Sarasa's owl, Shinbashi. Since he was a young man he has been looking for a woman to die for. He eventually finds that in Sarasa. 'Ageha' refers to the swallowtail butterfly, and Kicho comes from the personal name of Oda Nobunaga's wife Nohime. Madame Butterfly the mistress of the Butterfly Circus.
Aro the former female fellow of Ageha in the past, she had slept with Ageha. She died in a razzia led by Shido.
Suzaku Tribe
A boy from the city of Dazaifu in Kyūshū, Hayato becomes one of Tatara's first allies. He is the successor to the wielder of the Suzaku sword, but specializes in the use of bow and arrows. His great grandfather with his 3 friends were the heroes revolted against the cruel king Shishiō but failed. Hayato is scatterbrained, but because he gets the others out of many dangerous situations, he becomes a sort of mascot figure for the Tatara Army. The Suzaku tribe the tribe under the lead of the wielder of the Suzaku sword.
The Shōjō clan the traitors of the Suzaku, they took over the Suzaku battleship by creating a fake Suzaku sword to fool others. Suzaku sword: One of the four swords descended from the Basarano rebels. It was Rashou's, Hayato's grandfather's, weapon.
Chacha's Pirate Ship
The fierce and beautiful leader of a group of pirates who capture Sarasa and Hayato, intending to sell them to foreigners. However, Sarasa's daring impresses Chacha, and she decides to become Sarasa's ally instead. Chacha has a sisterly nature and likes to have others depend on her. Her lover is her right-hand man, Zaki. Chacha is named after the childhood name of Yodo-Dono, a concubine of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Cha Cha's first mate and lover; a man of few words. While even more deadly in battle that she, Zaki admires Cha Cha's indomitable spirit and supports her in any way he can. His loyalty is to Cha Cha above all, and he would trade even Tatara's life for Cha Cha's.
Suō Castle
The governor of Dazaifu and commander of the Kyūshū division of the Red Army, Shidou is the Red King's cousin and closest confidant. He is the commander of the two powerful war-units of Red Army: the navy unit Fuujin (Kazekami, Wind God) and the infantry Raijin (Thunder God). While generally warm and genial, Shidou does not flinch from the grislier duties of leadership – he is a calculating and ruthless general who is said to leave mountains of corpses behind him on the battlefield. Shidō is the first character to realize the full implications of Sarasa and Shuri's relationship, but he is killed before he can speak of it.
Shidō's fiancee, a young noblewoman. Senju is made of sterner stuff than her delicate looks would suggest. She truly loves Shidou even though their marriage was arranged, and they have a rush wedding before Shidou goes into battle with Tatara at her urging. Senju's name is derived from a title for the bodhisattva Kanon, meaning 'One Thousand Hands'.
Seiran Castle
The captain of the Blue King's special guards, "Gunjou", which is made up of handsome boys. Asagi is actually a secret child of the Emperor and his daughter Ginko and is the true Blue King. Asagi infiltrates Tatara's army on the orders of the White King, plotting to play Tatara and the Red King against each other. Asagi has a contrary and self-centered personality, and he hates physical labor. Though he is very skilled with a sword he is physically weak. He eventually grows fond of Tatara's Army, despite his best efforts. He forms a crush on Sasara, and in the end shows his loyalty to her. Snake King the false Blue King.
A subordinate of the false Blue King, known as the "Count". He is actually the leader of the rebellion in Seiran, and inheritor of the sword of Seiryū. Raizō is a friend of Ageha, and he secretly rescues participants of the Suzuka Murder Race. Raizou is married to Izumi, a mute former slave of the false Blue King, and over the course of the story, they have a child, Raita. Seiryū sword One of the four swords descended from the Basarano rebels. It was Tenmanya Nabezou's weapon.
Kumano Region
The son and heir of the head priest of the Kumano Shinto shrine. Nachi runs across Sarasa while hunting the largest whale in the seas in his region. Nachi is a merchant with a bold, optimistic personality, and he speaks with a strong regional accent. Nachi is a member of the Tengu youth organization with his friend Hijiri, and serves as second in command. He is knowledgeable about survival skills, and comes to Sarasa's aid numerous times. Nachi is named after the eponymous Nachi region, part of present-day Wakayama prefecture.
The leader of the Tengu youth organization in Kumano; like Nachi, he is the son of a local Kumano leader. Hijiri's personality is opposite to Nachi's – he is calm and quick-thinking, and a master of Iaidō. He is strict with Sarasa, but well-meaning. Hijiri has been the closest of friends with Nachi since they both were young, and is often worried by Nachi's recklessness.
Okinawa Isle
A physician who travels all over Japan with his assistant Yūna, using Okinawa as his home base. He is Nagi's surrogate parent and mentor. Both Sarasa and Shuri go to Okinawa seeking treatment from Bashō, and he later joins Nagi as a medic for the Tatara Army.