Sakuran
| Sakuran | |
 Cover of the first Japanese manga volume | |
| さくらん | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Period drama |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Moyoco Anno |
| Published by |  Kodansha |
| Magazine | Evening |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | 2001 – 2003 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Mika Ninagawa |
| Produced by | Fellah Pictures |
| Written by | Yuki Tanada |
| Music by | Shiina Ringo |
| Released | February 24, 2007 |
Sakuran (さくらん) is a manga series created by Moyoco Anno. The manga is about a girl, Kiyoha (though she goes through different names while growing up the hierarchy) who becomes a tayu or oiran courtesan.
Plot
A young kamuro (maid in a brothel) is sold into the red-light district Yoshiwara and is put under the care of the oiran of the Tamakiku house, Shouhi, who names her Tomeki. The girl is very rebellious, does not cry when punished, is foul-mouthed and bad-mannered, and talks back and even hits the other kamuro. It is because of this that the more experienced people in the household begin to think that she will be one day a great oiran, since an oiran needs not only beauty and talent, but she should also have the tenacity to maintain the position.
After that, Tomeki becomes O-Rin, a hikkomi (or prostitute-in-training), and later Kiyoha, the most beautiful girl in the Tamakiku household. Her popularity threatens the position of Tamakiku's oiran Mikumo, which creates great tension and jealousy between the two.
But rivalry is not the main problem to overcome for young Kiyoha, but rather the appearance of young Soujiro and the impossibility of love in these quarters.
Live Action Movie
A live-action film adaptation was released in Japan on February 24, 2007. The film stars Anna Tsuchiya and marks the directorial debut of photographer Mika Ninagawa. Ringo Shiina is the music director; "Karisome Otome(DEATH JAZZ ver.) (カリソメ乙女(DEATH JAZZ ver.), Temporary Virgin (DEATH JAZZ ver.))" was adopted as the theme song used for the promotion of this movie in TV commercial, "Yume no Ato (夢のあと, Scar)" which is the new arrangement of her band Tokyo Jihen's song was featured in the trailer, "Kono Yo no Kagiri (この世の限り, Memory)" was the ending theme, and her album "Heisei Fuuzoku" substitutes for the sound track of this movie.