Kokuho Jo

[Machine Translation] On New Year's Day, 1964, at a long-established ryotei restaurant "Hanamaru" in Nagasaki, amidst the shouts and screams of chivalrous men, an actor who would become a national treasure was born. His name was Kikuo Tachibana. Although born into a chivalrous family, Kikuo's unworldly good looks draw people into his life and take him to places he never thought possible. The story takes place from Nagasaki to Osaka and then to post-Olympic Tokyo. As Japan grows, men strive to hone their skills and master the art of karate. Deep family ties and friction, scandal and glory, multiple layers of trust and betrayal. What do they see when they reach the pinnacle of the entertainment world, having run through the transitional period of stage, film, and television, and having enjoyed numerous joys and despairs? This is the author's magnum opus, which has been a big hit since its serialization in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

1964年元旦、長崎は老舗料亭「花丸」―侠客たちの怒号と悲鳴が飛び交うなかで、この国の宝となる役者は生まれた。男の名は、立花喜久雄。任侠の一門に生まれながらも、この世ならざる美貌は人々を巻き込み、喜久雄の人生を思わぬ域にまで連れ出していく。舞台は長崎から大阪、そしてオリンピック後の東京へ。日本の成長と歩を合わせるように、技をみがき、道を究めようともがく男たち。血族との深い絆と軋み、スキャンダルと栄光、幾重もの信頼と裏切り。舞台、映画、テレビと芸能界の転換期を駆け抜け、数多の歓喜と絶望を享受しながら、その頂点に登りつめた先に、何が見えるのか?朝日新聞連載時から大きな反響を呼んだ、著者渾身の大作。