CUM, Tak eae)Phoenix: Chl War: Part 1 Vol. 7 Viz Signature Edition STORY AND ART BY (OSAMU TEZUKA Engish Translation by Jared Cook and Frederik L Schodt Touch-up Art & Lettering/Primay Graphix Design/leumi Evers Editor/lan Robertson PHOENIX by Osamu Tezuka Copyright © 2003 by Tezuka Productions Translation Copyright © 2003 by Viz Media, LLC All rights reserved. First published in Japan in 1954, Engish translation rights arranged by Tezuka Productions A message to out readership: ‘Some ofthe phrasing and expressions in the work you are about o read reflect the time and context in which it was originally created and thus might nat be in accordance with present standards. The author had an unflinching edication to conveying several themes through the art of manga, such as the importance of nature, love and peace; 2 warning against the iolization of science, and the preciousness of life, It is clear that atthe root of his work there isa strong belie in the power of human love overall We believe that publishing fithul translation is essential to accurately conveying the message within the work itself as intended by the author, as wel as protecting its integrity asa part of Japan's cultural heritage and preserving it for future generations. We therfore appreciate your understanding as you enjoy ths work of ar. VIZ Media, LLC Tezuka Productions, Co Lt. Published by VIZ Media, LLC P.O. Box 77010 San Francisco, CA 94107 ‘PARENTAL ADVISORY. PHOENIK sated for Teon andi fecommanded for ages TS and up. This ‘Volume contains realistic and fantasy Wolonce and nudity wwrwsiz.com«THERE WAS LIFE, AND IT CLUNG TO EXISTENCE LIKE MOSS(OF THE LITTLE PLANET'S EXISTENCE, THIS LIFE HAD DRAMATICALLY, AND BECOME INCREASINGLY COMPLEX.THE ANIMALS CONTINUED TO EVOLVE AT AN EVER INCREASING \ Me © THE LIFE SEPARATED WITH THEIR EXPANDED BRAIN POWER, MANY OF THE ANIMALS BEGAN TO GROUP TOGETHER AND CREATE A TYPE OF ORDER... FAMILIES, LINKED BY A SHARED \), BLOODLINE...SMG A V7 SOTHE LEADERS HAD TO EMPLOY ALL THEIR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL POWERS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND TRANQUILITY OF THEIR CLANS. AND IN RETURN FOR THIS RESPONSIBILITY, THE LEADERS WERE GIVEN SPECIAL "PRIVILEGES"...rr was THe = SAME, TOO, FOR \ THE CREATURES “\ eT=P yasurat ~ FLOWERS...ONE, ARENT YOU, YOUNG MAN... WHERE'D > \ you say youre FROM? | y oTsi 9 "ET ameenone WW on Camens! tee ALL RESIDENTS M OF THE CAPITAL 9 “coversment |) ce ”\ DECREES THAT | as =) Pee” dah Mouse (s } YASURAT 4 BANNE fil ASSEMBLING, & FESTIVAL SHALL AS CNGREGATING, ge YA OR PARADING f-Se ull a IN ANY FORM! Ze f » v7 Ah ie ; ge ns MUST ee en Sa) we Ieee Hs zc Vo [PN ie AN Y BRAG 13DON'T THANK US. THANK OUR MASTER.YOU'D BEST BE CAREFUL ‘AROUND HERE, MY MASTER MYOUN'S Most THE MOST RESPECTED SCHOLAR IN THE WHOLE. CAPITAL TODAY.HE'S THE ONLY ONE WE ALL THAT WE CAN TRUST REVERE 10 STAND UIP FOR US HIM... MONKS, AND TO \ NEGOTIATE WITH THE GOVERNMENT. Y/ THE MONKS OF THE \ 34 y HOKURET TEMPLE * ‘ *+ NOTE: HOKURET IS ANOTHER NIE FOR ENRYEKLI-T TENPLE, LOCATED ON MT. HIEI-ZAN IN KYOTO. 19THE DIscIPLes. (NOTE DOF = WHAT WAS THEN CALLED THe —— souTHeRN BE Wieae Hou a winexess = 10 sPaNG ATO EEA “EHNA, ES SINGLE WORD 3 PRON HET eure Not ony "EE DID MyoUN “ y Possess & ss Great POLITICAL he POWER, BUT HE Was'ALsO oa ‘A oREAT 3 POET. AND HE WAS A GIFTED ARTIST. HE EVEN DREW CARTOONS, Hay NOTE st IN ANCIENT TIMES, TRAINING TO BE A BUDDHIST MONK WAS THE QUTGKEST WAY TO ‘BECOME EDUCATED, AND TENPLES WERE THe EGLIVALENT OF TODAS LNIVERSITIES. NOTE #2: REFERS TO THE GREAT TEMPLE IN NMZA CALLED KOFLALISE, ALSO KNOWN AS TOPALST, (Xe OF THE LARGEST WOODEN STRUETURES IN THe WORLDHE EVEN MADE GUEST ‘APPEARANCES ON QUIZ SHOWS. AND WHEN ‘IT WAS HE WHO SAW YOUR PLIGHT BACK THERE... vou ‘SHOULD ee vERy eRarerut.YOOHOO, BENTA...! _Fi Gos, 1 was HOPIN’ YOU'DWELL, UM... I COULDN'T SELL ANY FIREWOOD IN THE CAPITAL... SOT DON'T HAVE ANYTHING... JUST AST SUSPECTED... THIS'S WHAT THEY CALL A RADEN* LACQUER COMB. IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE, AN’ FORGIVEN! PEARL FROM SEA SHELLS, SUCH AS ABALONE, INTO THE SURFACE OF THE LACQUER,sr must ae WANT TO wouDeRruL 60 THERE, “i ‘700! sHADoAP, OBL! ANYIT STARTED WHEN MY Louess Ir MOTHER AND YOUR WAS SusT FATHER BEGAN LIVING OUR FATE, TOGETHER, DIDN'T TT... WASNT IT. YOU STILL DREAMIN’ OF LIVING IN THE CAPITAL?UN ne Ne Ws ¥ ZZ SLAVE TRADERS? HUMPH! T' Just KICK ‘EM IN THE JAW! YEAH... MEN SELL GIRLS. INTO SLAVERY THERE!AA, YES... AND THIS SHISHIGATANE VALLEYTHE TAIRA CLAN 15 CLEARLY THE CALISE OF ‘AND EVERYONE THE GOVERNMENT'S KNOWS THAT DECAY AND KIYOMORI 15. CORRUPTION TODAY. PARTICULARLY RESPONSIBLE! > IN FACT, SEVERAL OF OUR FRIENDS ARE ALREADY PLANNING TO ‘KILL KIYOMORT AND DESTROY HIS CLAN! Ler us THE MONKS = PRETEND HAVE S| rman tars COMPLETE a \, conver: . “SATION FAITH IN = {NEVER TOOK YOU. IF YOU 2 PLACE, WILL JOIN laste @Q °YOU KNOW, T FORGOT TO TELL YOU... T'VE BEEN NOVEL... A REAL EPIC... ‘SOMETHING THAT MAKES: FUN OF THE I'M THINKING OF USING HIM AS THE MODEL FOR A HUGE, ROUGHur NTEFU ISN'T CHEAP, AND FOLKS | LIKE YOU'D NEVER BE ABLE TO AFFORD TT...La. PD LIKE... 10 TRADE THIS FOR YOUR. MEDICINE. FATHER! IVE GOT THE MEDICINE!LIAR! NO WOODCLUTTER WOULD HAVEYOU'RE CERTAIN BELONGS TO FUSIWARA NARICHTKA? IF THEY PRETEND NOT TO KNOW ANYTHING, KILL THEM ALL AND BURN THETR HOUSE DOWN, UNDERSTAND?! WHA?! THAT LooKs LIKE SMOKE. COMING FROM WHERE My HOUSE T5!!YOU FIENDS VID THIS, DIDN'T YOU!!? YOU KILLED MY MOTHERbe TLL GET MY REVENGE, ___YOU MURDERERS!2 HN AR weBLAST IT... JUDGING , FROM THESE. HOOFPRINTS, THEY'RE STILL fe WAY AHEAD OF ME!ri 1 Fant alates moe <4‘YM SO WORRIED, AND IVE BEEN SEARCHING WHERE ARE YOU OBU?! TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY!!FORGET THE EXECUTION... BRING HER To My QUARTERS... UM, BUT SIR, SHE'S SUSPECTED OF TREASON!TALK, SIR... BE OUR NECKS.. BUT THIS TIME I HAVE TO ADMIT, HE'S FOUND HAS A POWERFUL > HIMSELF A REAL WEAKNESS FOR C curse... HEH HEH HEH WOMEN... = : HEH HEH HEH L KNOW IT'S DARK, BUT THAT WAY NO ONE’LL SEE US... AND BESIDES, T'M BEHINO ON ‘MY DEADLINE, DON'T BE SHY NOW... COME HERE... FOUND OUT...THAT'S THE WAY...COME HERE, MY SWEET... NO NEED TO BE APRAID...I'M NOT GOING TO Poor THING... YOURE TREMBLING, ARENT YOU? TLL Be RIGHT BACK... 13 VIKE: Nw GARDENS STANK TO HIGH HEAVEN AS A RESULT...LONG ENOUGH TO SEE YOU WITH THATFROM TONIGHT ON, You WILL SPEND EVERY WAKING HOUR AND FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, YOU WILL LEARN EVERY NUANCE OF COURT BEHAVIOR! UNDERSTAND? youre Gone ro ‘MAKE YOURSELF CLEAN, “HEN LIGHT Some FRAGRANT INCENSE Wo put ON THOSE e.omes.+ BUT IF YOU MAKE IT THROUGH THE THREE MONTHS: AND BECOME A LADY OF THE COURT... HEH HEH HEH... IF I SHOULD MAKE YOU AVAILABLE TO |ANOBLEMAN... AND IF HE SHOULD FIND You ATTRACTIVE AND KEEP YOU BY HIS SIDE... / HOWEVER, IF YOU SHOULD BE CARELESS, AND EXPOSE OUR LITTLE SECRET... AND PRESENT YOU TO ONE OF THE HIGHEST LORDS IN THE LAND. o-TLL HAVE YOU KILLED ON THE SPOT! UNDERSTAND? 20-YOUu- UNDERSTAND?,(An, THE BELLS (OF CHION TEMPLE, HOW SWEET THEY SOUND. @ © J © W@U=ae YER ONE OF WELL, Bu? NEVER eal GIMME BACK cand OF win Seaves SY OBU!! orercrals, RIGHT?! TELL ME WHERE SHE 58...NOW! Y¥...YOU TT... REALLY THINK my WELL, I'LL YOU CAN TAKE MAKE ME ON, EH?!_| YOU TELL aes ME!OUT OF THE WHERE YOU TOOK MY OBZHERE! T...TAKE MY SWORD! TD RATHER KEEP My LIFE! ® YEAH, SOME an THEY say OF MY = Gap THERE'S A FRIENDS THEY SAY HE'S pox BANDIT ON > WERE DONE STRONG AS THE v INBY HIM... DEVIL. HE GOI0 BRIDGE! TOSSED 'EM IN THE RIVE ‘BETTER OFF GIVING UP OUR SWORDS AND RUNNING FOR IT... 57WELL, 1’ BE HAPPY TO TAKE CARE OF HIM FOR YA, TAKING CARE > \ OF NUISANCES... Ss) DATS MY SPECIALTY. SaLeNce, RureLAN Ai... CHALLENSH AGHA DUELC2 eave url were!MASTER KAKUYL IVE FINISHED! THIS HERE? OH, T WAS JUST HAVING A LITTLE FUN THERE, DRAWING ANIMALS AS IF THEY WERETHE MONKEY'S. READING A BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE, RIGHT? HEH HEH...1'M POKING FUN AT BUDDHIST MONKS, SEE... MONKS OFTEN POCKET THEIR: OFFERINGS THESE DAYS, SOT DREW THEM WORSHIPING A FROG IMAGE INSTEAD OF BUDDHA... BASICALLY, WHAT I'M. TRYING TO SAY HERE IS THAT THE WORLD'S PRETTY THE IDEA IS THAT (\\[ Just LIke ereos | AND ANIMALS. ..SO WHAT MAKES US SO II]\, QUALIFIED To BE CREATION!? IT'S ALL ‘A CRAZY CONCEIT! We HUMANS ACT THE LORDS OF HERE, Me? MASTER WHY... KAKLYLL.. WouLowr WHY DONT prea } wt) YOU SIGN oF iT! < * Tr? SOT ALWAYS Use OTHER TRUE, BUT 10 RarHeR Peorte's Nore NANES..< MY NAME ON DRAWINGS OR ESSAYS OF THIS: f) T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE PREPARED, BECAISE THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MIGHT CONFISCATE ANYTHING T CREATE... PROBABLY BURN THIS SCROLL, TOO... 62LOOKS LIKE A REALLY WILD FELLOW... HE'S GOT A FLNNY- LOOKING FACE, AND DOESNT LOCK VERY ‘SOPHISTICATED, ur He DEFINITELY LOOKS BIG, IND POWERFUL. T CALL HIM He's: BENKED surroseD MUSASHIBO... TO BE ONE HEH HEH OF THE WILD MONKS OF actuay,t VI I'M WORKING TIM SURE YOU'VE HEARD ON THE SECOND THE NEWS RECENTLY, VOLUME OF THE ABOUT THE STRANGE. STORY RIGHT FELLOW WHO APPEARS PERSON... EVERY NIGHT ON MODELLED HIM JTC] AFTER AREA. Sr] *EXZAN 3S ANOTHER NAME FOR ENVAKLI-ST TEMPLE ON IMT. HIE-ZAN, ACCORDING TO THE. ORIGINAL LEGEND OF BENKET, HE HAD BEEN TAUGHT THERE BY THE BISHOP SAITO SAKLIRA 63YOU DO ALWAYS ‘SEEM TO LIKE TO INCORPORATE. CURRENT "AT THE END OF THE Bi STORY, I HAVE THE YOU'D BETTER NOT ENTIRE TATRA WRITE THAT, MASTER MYOUN... WHAT IF SOMEONE FROM THE CLAN READS YOUR STORY? EVENTUALLY, THE HIGH AND MIGHTY ARE ALWAYS DESTROYED. THAT'S THE WAY THE WORLDBOW DOWN! BOW DOWN!T HEAR SHE WELL, ANY ONE OF THE used To TAIRA CLAN'S A VIP, T WORK IN GUESS. CONSIDERIN AGAR... THEY'VE GOT MORE'N THIRTY NOBLES AN’ ELEVEN HIGH COURT OFFICIALS... UH OH...! SHE'S. ‘STANDING RIGHT WHERE THE OX DID HISTHE BUILDING IN FRONT OF YOU HOLDS: Youve now you must LEARNED supeess your AREGENT IN THIS PERIOD WAS SONETHING LTKE A PRIME MINISTER TODAY. THE MAN DEPICTED 68 HERE 1S TAIRA NO KIYONORS, THE FATHER OF TAIRA NO IMINEMORT - ASHI'S HUSBAND. HE HAD ALSO JOINED THE BLIDDHTST CLERGY, AND AS A RESULT TS ALSO KNOWN AS NIFUIDAM SHAKOKU.aM ASHE, Re lauweLe wiee ti Jor YouR SON, MANEMCRE, "your LonDsiir.. ee — FORGET THE FORMALITIES. I'D LIKE YOU TO TAKE & LOOK AT THE DRAWING ON THIS ‘SCROLL... I JUST PLEASED TO SEE THAT NY FATHER-IN- Lawl 15 OF 6000 HEALTH “ND: FERIVED ON A SHIP. FROM THE SONG cOLRT DONT YOU THINK seTHE SCROLL THIS BIRD ] " zeres 10 RESEMBLES THE WY THIS oreo as FIREBIRD GODDESS? THE "FIRE OF COURSE, THE ereor, Irs LEGEND 16 PURE THE Saw FANTASY, BUT. ete THAT NY tHe sone CALLS THE “\ “eiReste0 NOW, LISTEN. HERE'S. WHO DRINKS THE INTERESTING PART. ‘THE BLOOD OF ACCORDING TO LEGEND, ALIVING THE "FIREBIRD" 15 FIREBIRD NO SUPPOSED TO LIVE FOR ‘A THOUSAND YEARS. LONGER HAS TO FEAR DEATH!DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS? TT MEANS ANYONE WHO DRINKS THIS BIRD'S BLOOD WILL BECOME IMMORTAL! THERE'S EVIDENCE THAT THIS BIRD LIVED NOT ONLY IN AHI TO GET A GLIMPSE OF THIS BIRD OF CHINA BUT IN JAPAN a AS WELL! WOULDN'T THAT BE SOMETHING!? THAT I WON'T BEVERY WELL. WISH To {]{ ano t assume YOU HAVE BROUGHT HER HERE TO FIND EMPLOYMENTVERY GRAB ME Wel. WILL YOu? | - Y AA (wih LET'S SEE NOW...AH! ONE MY! SHE'S. QUITE A LOOKER, ISNT SHE? ooog VERY WELL. VERY WELL. JDK you, Your TILL TAKE CARE OF HER... BY THE WAY, WHAT'S YOUR HUSBAND, MUNENORT-- ‘MY SON--UP TO?JUST LEAVE HER HERE WITH ME NOW! SHE'S ALREADY HIRED, SO THERE'S NO NEED TO ea SS i (Nall ss= IN JAPAN SOMEWHERE? WELL, I WANT TO KEEP ONBUT ACTUALLY I'M JUST A WITHERED OLD MAN, TRYING DESPERATELY TO TAKE CARE OF MY CLAN...IF I'VE UPSET YOU, GO AHEAD, WHACK WELL? GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT! SLAP AN OLD, EY THEN you can Go| | Ll THe WARDROBE BENTA! PLEASE I MISS COME AND YOU SO BADLY ra wane ve"EVENINGWELL, HE TAKES ‘ALL THOSE ‘SWORDS FROM THe saMuzas, SEE... THEN HE TRADES "EM FoR ster aT THe Local DON'T YOU Bur GET TIRED - WHERE ‘OF BEING = DOES (ON THIS = THIS GUY GET ALL 7 fs IF YOU HAVEN'T FOUND HER AFTER ALL THIS TIME, THAT OBL Woun's Prosseur << SAVADDUP ALREADY DEAD, Lf BENTA... YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR HALE AYER ALREADY, ss SLEEPING UNDER THE BRIDGE AT NIGHT, THEN WAITING ON THE BRIDGE TO TAKE THE ‘SWORDS OF THE SAMURRAT! DON'T YA THINK IT'S. 781 KNOW oBu's AN' SOMEDAY STILL ALIVE TA GONNA FIND SOMEWHERE! HER! T KNOW SHE'S SOMEWHERE. IN THE CAPITAL! YEAH... AN ASSOCIATION FOR WAR-ORPUANS LIKE ‘ME, WHOIVE HAD THETR PARENTS KILLED AND THeTR HOUSES BURNED WN BY CRAZY SAMLRAT! JOIN OuR BEGGARS’ ASSOCIATION... WELL, YER PARENTS WERE KILLED BY SAMURAT, AND YER HOUSE WAS BLIRNED DOWN, RIGHT? HEY, YER MORE THAN QUALIFIED! THERE'S. ALWAYS GONNA SO We FIGURED BE FIGHTING WE OUGHTA PUT AS LONG AS TOGETHER AN THERE'S. ASSOCIATION SAMURAT LIKE FOR BEGGARS, THAT AROUND... SO WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER OUT WHEN THE TIME THEY EVEN SAY ANOTHER BIG WAR'S COMING...AN' IT'LL BE STARTED BY PEOPLE WHO HATE. THE TAIRA CLAN, LIKE LOTS OF THE NOBLES ‘AND PEOPLE IN THE GENIE CLAN... 79AN’ ALSO...WE'VE GOT A NETWORK OF BEGGARS ‘ALL AROUND THE CAPITAL, BENTA.... SO WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU GET SOME INFORMATION ‘ON OBL... a oe ne A NETWORK OF BEGonRS,HAVE YOU COME. ABOUT THE YOUNG MAN WHO'S BEEN SWORDS OFF ALL ‘cuz WE \< TOLD 3 oy ; ) ("ha ame ‘sie HIS youTerLL DETERMINATION OH, I Lost THEM SOMEWHERE ‘ALONG THE: WAY...— Bs gust a = BUT YOU =| HOW CAN YOU = DON'T EAT LOOK so LOOK LIKE THAT FISH, OR BIG AND ON SUST NUTS EVEN BIRDS? ‘STRONG... =| AND LEAVES? » NA. 85IF $0, T'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO AN INTERESTING FELLOW. ——— =] e's apecoar WHO'D BE THEHMPH! WHAT, AIM CHALLENGE ME? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!THE KURAMA TEMPLE \ TOOK YOUNG USHTWAKA IN WITH ONLY THE CLOTHES ON 4 HIS BACK, AND THEY TRIED TO TRAIN HIM A BUT HE'S A SAMUAT AT ui HEART, SO LEARNING THE THE SUTRAS DIDNT SIT WITH HIM VERY WELL...SO T WOUND UP TAKING HIM IN...IT'S NO USE, GOBLIN. THIS GUY'S AS DENSE AS A SIZO ‘STATUE. * HEY, MR. BEAR. IT TRUE YOU'VE OBL?! WHAT'D YOU “SMALL STONE STATUES OF 3120, THE BUDDHIST PATRON SAINT OF CHILOREN, ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE JAPANESE COUNTRYSIDE 89BUT T'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR INSULTING My OBU! MIGHT REALLY BE HELD HOSTAGE BY ‘SOME NOBLEMAN RIGHT NOW... WELL, WHAT DO NL YOU THINK? WILL HE THINK YOu COULD TAKE HIM ON AS A SIDEKICK?HEY, BUMPKIN, DON'T WORRY. ME AND MY GUYS'LL RESCUE YER GIRLFRIEND FOR YA. THEN ITS: SETTLED! Ler'sGOSH, WHERE'RE YOU TAKING THE OL! GOBLIN SURE HASN'T LOST A STEP...! NN?’ RESTING PLACE OF AKABE 93 RESTING PLACE OF SHIROBEa 4 H Y TWO DOMINANT MALE MONKEYS, KNOWN AS BLACK MONK AND AKABE, THE RED WARRIOR. AKABE LIKED A CERTAIN YOUNG FEMALE MONKEY, BLIT ONE DAY BLACK MONK TRIED TO STEAL HER AWAY, WHICH LED TO A FIGHT OVER HER AND CONTROL OF THE TROOP. EVENTUALLY, AKABE WAS DEFEATED AND DRIVEN AWAY...AKADE STILL HOPED ‘EVENTUALLYIN MY HOME PART OF THE THAT'S WHEN ALL THE TROUBLE STARTED. THEN ONE DAY, T PICKED UP A STRAY WHITE PUPPY AND BROUGHT HIM HOME, TOO... HE FELT SAFE of AND BECAME ~~ HOUSEHOLD. MONKEYS AND BOGS JUST DONT GET ALONG.EVENTUALLY, THEY GREW TO BE LIKE BLOOD BROTHERS. 100AFTER A YEAR, THE LITTLE WHITE HE ASKED. SHIROBE TO TRAVEL WITH HIM THEN ONE NIGHT, AKABE DECIDED HE'D SEEK PROOF OF SHIROBE'S FRIENDSHIP.102 GRROOAAA! GRROOOAA! 2S f Ay, AoE ON ey SY1 I i 2) Wer Hn Me aM WH, Wf Y fiz y LN ui i) l f)AKABE'S PLAN SUCCEEDED. HAVING SHIROBE APPEAR AT JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT DISTRACTED THE BLACK MONK FOR AN INSTANT, GIVING AKABE THE CHANCE TO STRIKE AT HIS THROAT. IT WAS OVER IN A FLASH, AND WITH THIS VICTORY, AKABE REGAINED POWER OVER HIS ‘MOUNTAIN HOME. === = = GRAMAARGH!THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN AKABE AND SHIROBE THUS BROUGHT GOOD FORTUNE TO AKIBE... EVEN AFTER AKABE \\ BECAME BOSS OF HIS CLAN ) AGAIN, HE WOULD OFTEN RETURN TO MY HUT AND REKINDLE HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH SHIROBE... MEAN THEY KILLED EACH $0 You MEAN DOGS 'N MONKEYS wee JUST DON'T GET ALONG, THEY WERE BOUND BY A DEEPER FATE... THE FATE OF REINCARNATION AND THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND REBIRTH...AWN, COME ON, GOBLIN! WHADDYA YOU MEAN FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOUR- SELVES! OUR GOD HASN'T COME OUT OF HIS CAVE FOR TWO OR THREE DAYS! 106 MAYBE OLD GOBLIN TOLD us HIS STORY FOR AREASON...OLD GOBLIN! ARE YOU ALL L..I HAVE THE SAME I See MYSELF...AS T NOSE...AND APPEAR IN I'M JUST AS THE FUTURE... UGLY. AND T THOUSANDS LIVE THE OF YEARS © SAME LONELY FROM NOW... LIFE OF A 7 HERMIT... Bur... E Irs ONLY ; ant ADREAM, fg x RIGHT...? YOU T he beac eiBUT A PERSON , MY MASTER IN DOESNT 60, Youre THOSE DAYS TOLD } NECESSARILY Come oats ne mara JN eee anae )| TSE eee is LIVING THINGS <> Ne Cae EVEN BE REBORN APTER THEY DIE. J PERMANENTLY AS oD AND 1'0 LIKE a YOULL GET TOO BELIEVE | Tove we | | Mioet YOu cisteacreD IN MY sear ear wo ar Be DREAMS. yOUu..50 caReruL, oxay? HEH... WHAT DO T CARE ABOUT ETERNITY...7 OLD BLUE BLOODS IN THE TAIRA GOVERNMENT. THAT'S ALL!YOU WERE DIDN'T YOU OKAY JUST LISTEN TO TWO OR ME, OLD_ YY THREE DAYS GOBLIN...? YOu THINK HE'S GONNA DIE, YEAH...HE'S OUR NOL cop ates rent THere || YES-cTE dl ALREADY LIVED eae FOR YOU? BUT DONT WORRY, I WONT BE GOING VERY FAR... TILL PROBABLY JUST BECOME A FISTFUL (OF DIRT ON THIS (OLD MOLINTAIN. 11'S ABOUT TIME I SAID GooDBYE TO THIS OLD, BEAT UP BODY OF MINE. 4TT HASN'T CHANGED A BIT SINCE THE DAY UPON THOUSANDS OF TIMES...-THE TIME. WHEN My TWISTED SOUL CAUSED ME TO KILL PEOPLE... ALL OF YOU sa THE TIME I MUST LIVE Lost my arms = 4 LIKE THAT ‘AND CAME TO LIVE HERE (ON KURANMA MOUNTAIN... THROUGHOUT AL THESE PERIODS, THE SETTING SUN WAS (AS BEAUTIFUL THEN AS IT 1S HERE NOW. DOESN'T ALLOW MUCH TIME FOR SAVORING THE SPLENDOR OF NATURE...LOOK! THE FIREBIRD HAS COME FOR ME!ALL OF WHICH, WE HUMBLY REJOICE... may TooAy eRING SHIGEMORIY YOU'RE AS RIDICULOUSLY LONG-WINDED ‘AND FORMAL AS EVER... 2 RE i Ce ee ae web 2 T HEAR, AT Taba Gr | | Posty sar LAST YEAR THING? YOU SAID THAT ANY VV PERSON WHO 1S NoT PART OF THE TAIRA CLAN < 15 NOT WELL, NOW! TT SEEMS THAT Oui TAIRA CLAN HAS INDEED GROWN! TO THINK THAT ALL Si 5 TELL Me, WHAT KIND OF 4 Feo méou9 hace Soe OF YOU ARE RELATIONS! wep aun ARIDICULOUS AND *NOTE: TAIRA NO TOKITADA, KIYONORT'S YOUNGER BROTHER, TATRA NO SSGEMORT, KEYOMORI'S ELDEST SON, TAIRA NO MUNEMORZ, KIYOMORI'S SECOND SON.IF SOMEONE WHO IS NOT ATAIRA IS NOT HUMAN, THEN UST WHAT IS THAT PERSON? WELL, UM... MAYBE A GHOST... OR...OR MAYBE AMONSTER!? ER, WELL, WE HAVE 16 HIGH || COURT OFFICIALS, \ 33 NOBLES, AND ‘67 GOVERNORS OF VARIOUS RE- GIONS, FATHER. AND WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR SO MANY OF OUR CLAN TO BECOME SUCH VIPS?WHEN OUR FATHER, LORD TADAMORT, WAS STILL LIVING... (OUR TAIRA FAMILY WAS NOTHING BLT A POOR ASSEMBLY OF GUARDS FROM THE HINTERLANDS... WE WERE LOOKED DOWN UPON BY THE SLICCESSFUL NOBLES WHO HAD WORKED THEIR WAY UIP THE RANKS: OF SOCIETY. THEY TREATED US LIKE FOOLS ! ONCE, AT A DRINKING PARTY, ALL THE OTHER NOBLEMEN MOCKED OUR FATHER AS HE DANCED. HAR HAR GUFFAW GUFFAW! THE SONG HAD TWISTED THE LYRICS To COMPARING ADE. ME. [ peteRmINeD TO RISETHE GLORY OF YEARS... THIRTY OUR FAMILY LONG YEARS OF NOW, THOSE SCRAMBLING TO DAYS SEEM ALMOST LIKE [As I LOOK aa —, aT I'S BEEN THIRTY BUT LOOK AT ALL OF YOU NOW!! T CAN SEE THAT YOU'VE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN THOSE HARD ER TIMES. You've ALL T HAVE ARE SHAMELESS SONS ‘AND WORTHLESS: RELATIVES...OH, HOW I FEAR FOR OUR FUTURE... 120Have You PRODUCED A SON YET? THE EMPEROR NEEDS AN HEIR, YOU KNOW... BRINGING AND THAT WILL ‘A PRINCE ENSURE OUR INTO THE CLAN'S. ‘SORT LONGEVITY! THING'S NOT UNDER MY ; CONTROL... IT'S IN THE HANDS: OF FATE... PRODUCE A PRINCE AND GIVE US ALL SOME ECURITY!!! IF I HAD THOUGHT FOR A ‘MINUTE THAT YOU CAN'T BEAR A SON, T WOULD NEVER HAVE GIVEN YOU TO THE EMPEROR!DEAR FATHER... THIS 1S THE Day Ad, TT SURE 1S FUN TO GATHER TOGETHER LIKE | Lers starr THE BANQUET NOW, AND ‘ENIOY | ourselves LET Me SERVE YOU ANOTHER CUP, FATHER.WHA...WHAT KIND OF EVIL SPIRIT ARE YOU?? GO AWAY!! GO — -——— NS LMMFo Hook rma punta (wii en I SAW THAT NIGHTMARE...? DREAM PM PACE. \ He Sato Ir FORETOLD GREAT DANGER FOR THE CLAN. AND WOULD I HAVE THIS DREAM AGAIN ON NEW YEAR'S DAY?NO, FUKLIKO, \ 1 HAVE A FEELING |) HE WAS PRETTY (ANN CLOSE TO. THE TRUTH... =) : Ree MY LORD. Ss : SE\, Nor evevone's SS) joes SOE? GONE HOME JUST LIKE Like THEY THE PATCHWORK THAT BUILT A NEST IN THE TAIL nes OF MY CHESTNUT MARE... THESE THING'RE ALL EVIL OMENS! 126HY 6I'VECOMETHIS ¥ FAR...T'VE SINGLE- HANDEDLY BROUGHT OUR FAMILY TO THIS STATE OF PROSPERITY... IUIE... ‘OUR WHOLE I NEED YOU TO HOLD ME...IS AS SOFT YOUR TOUCH F h ; \ / , iy» ty Hl), ‘AND WARM _// P j yl | Nui)! ew AS THE y 1 FeaTHers = Y// ly | ON A BIRD'S / : BREAST... ETERNAL LIFE BELIEVE IN TT, 00?L.. I'VE GOT TO DRINK THE BLOOD OF THAT BIRD! I MUST CONTINUE LIVING...TO ENSURE THE PROSPERITY OF THE TAIRA CLAN!! 129CUT UL i SOMEONE! TALKING IN HIS SLEEP < AGAIN! gee Web, oer SEND SOMEONE TO ROUST HEMT = Yd ae ES TOKITADA 4NO I a—= THEM ASSEMBLE MUNEMORI.. THEM I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT ===} IMMEDIATELY! CAVES, ON ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE! = 130IVE DECIDED TO HAVE THE CAPITAL, HERE IN KYOTO HERE WE GO, ANOTHER NIGHT WITH THE OLD MAN OFF HIS ROCKER... DEMOLISHED AND [ MOVED TO ANOTHER LOCATION.suet F ge TT HAD ALREADY BEEN ANCIENT TIMES, 4WORKERS MORE TIME TO WORK. THE SUN IS SAID TO HAVE RISEN THE EQUIVALENT OF ANOTHER THREE FINGERS OF HEIGHT, ALLOWING ENOUGH TIME FOR THE REMAINING yy. WORK TO BE DONE. SHIPS FROM THE SONG, IN CHINA, MADE FREQUENT TRIPS TO THE FORT, AN? KIYOMORI MADE GOOD USE OF THIS TRADE, ENCOURAGING COMMERCE WITH HIS ASIAN NEIGHBOR. STILL, AT THE TIME NO ONE IN THETR WILDEST DREAMS WOULD HAVE DREAMED THAT FUKUHARA COULD ONE DAY BECOME THE NATION'S NEW CAPITAL.WHY ON EARTH WOULD CAPITAL TO A PLACE LIKE THAT?! YOU WANT TO MOVE OUR ‘SOMETHING T WANT SO THERE 15 FROM THEM IN €...ETERNAL LIFE? YOU MEAN., .ER.,.FOR IMMORTALITY?! ‘ayTHE FATE OF OUR ENTIRE CLAN RESTS ON MY ‘SHOULDERS... THINK WILL SO WHAT 90 YOU HAPPEN IF I DIE? WE'D PROBABLY DISINTEGRATE, RIGHT? WELL, I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN! THAT'S WHY I MUST KEEP ‘ON LIVING! TVVE HEARD A LEGEND ABOUT A BIRD OF ETERNAL LIFE--A "FIREBIRD GODDESS"--| THAT LIVES SOMEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CHINA. WHAT'S MORE, TIVE HEARD THAT THIS AMAZING CREATURE ACTUALLY EXISTS. y eT YOU DRINK ITS BLOOD, YOu WILL LIVE WHAT'S THAT GOT TO DO WITH MOVING THE CAPITAL? iLL, TM GOING| = TO HAVE THAT er BIRD BROUGHT a TO ME ON A ‘SPECTAL SHIP FROM CHINA, 135136 TONGUES, IIotsit! C WHAT A MESS WE'RE IN NOW...ONCE HE U) MAKES UP HIS MIND, \— HE WON'T LISTEN Y To ANYONE... WELL, WE'LL \E STILL Have ‘a 10 60 AHEAD 2D 4 YOUNE GOT TO RECONSIDER!FATHER'S ALWAYS TALKING AT THE DROP OF A HAT ABOUT HOW He's GOING TO 70 EVERYTHING BY HIMSELF... BUT STILL,WHA...WHA.. WHAT DID YOU SAY...? BENTA? WH...WHY, L..I'VE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH ANAME... HE'S BEEN ALL OVER THE CAPITAL, LOOKING FOR THIS LADY NAMED OBU, SEE, AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO HELP HIM... AN! WE FINALLY FIGURED OUT THAT SHE'S HERE, AT THE PALACE... ‘MEP! YOU KIDDING?! NO KABURO'D WEAR RAGS LIKE THESE! TO ENSURE THAT THE POPULACE OF THE CAPITAL DID NOT ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION DAMAGING TO THE COURT, KIYOMORI OFTEN SENT HUNDREDS OF BOYS INTO __THE STREETS AS SPIES. REPORTING EVERYTHING THEY HEARD TO KIYOMORT, THESE YOUNGSTERS ALL WORE A DISTINCTIVE, BOBBED HAIRSTYLE THAT WAS KNOWN AS *KABUIZO”.(OH, MY... TELL ME THEN, WHERE 1S BENTA? HE STILL REMEMBERS ME DOESN'T HE? PLEASE, TELL ME! I MUST KNOW! LISTEN, HAVE. YOU OT ANY IDEA HOW MUCH TROUBLE BENTA HAS GONE TO, TO FIND WHERE WHY DIDN'T You RUN AWAY, THEN?! 6030 BRIDGE HE'S BEEN ‘STOPPING 7 WELL, I'M SeetSoe NOT EXACTLY HERE BECAUSE I HMPH...NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU'RE TURNING SENTIMENTAL ON ME... WALKED RIGHT OUT OF HERE IF YOU WANTED! Ob LISTEN...THIS 15 THE HOME OF TATRA KIYOMORE, THE = HEAD OF STATE. D0 <= YOU REALLY THINKT COULD JUST WALK OUT OF HERE? AND BESIvES... LoRD KIYOMORT HAS TAKEN A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN ME...NO! YOU. MUSTN'T TELL HIM !!! HMPH... WELL, MY SeRVICES DONT COME CHEAP. MIDNIGHT, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, THEN! 140W.. WHERE IS SHE?I! noe STOP, BENTA! lomatl” YOU CAN'T GO NOW! SHADDLIP, GOURD-FIRST OF ALL, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET INTO HIS PALACE, EH? AND EVEN IF YOU GET IN, HOW FAR DO YOU THINK YOU'LL GET, BENTA, TRYING TO BREAK INTO KIYOMORT'S ESTATE IN BROAD YOURS! YOU'VE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT To DO! BENTA.. WISE UP!= mutwo | Tred tee sueae vou| | ANP, WELL DAYS: | WITH CHARCOAL, ‘OF THOSE THERE'LL OX CARTS HUGE BODY OF YOURS A Lime cess CONSPICUOUS. YEAH... WE'LL PAINT OURSELVES ..AND PUSH IT INTO KIYOMORI'S PALACE! 143a THE OX'LL So RUN WILD, SPREADING FIRE Fer ‘rd ana” BU CAN JUMP DOWN INTO YOUR ARMS FROM, THE PALACE VERANDA, AND YOU CAN BOTH GET AWAY! TLL HAVE A HORSE WAITING FOR YOU. YOU BOTH CAN RIDE OFF ON IT AND HIDE IN THE KURANA TEMPLE. NO ONE'LL EVER LOOK FOR YOU THERE. IF IT DOESNT WORK, T'LL HOLD YOu RESPONSIBLE, WELL, I GOT THE IDEA USHIWAKAY FROM A CHAPTER ABOUT 144YOU CAN take care oF THAT. YOURSELF! $kHEY, USHIWAKA.... WHERE'S BENTA7! OKAY, HERE'S THE LAYOUT... HERE'S THE ~-(sutrrve OK... DRAG THE Guy OUT OF THE CART AND i) SET IT ON FIRE! AHH... CHOOOOO T KNOW HIM! HE'S TATRA NO SUKEMORT, A SMALL-TIME THUG... 146HEY, YOU Guys! THERE'S TWO OX NANA WE WEREN'T HE'S GONNA GET IN THE WAY! BENTA GO OVER ‘AND STOP ‘EM! toot cerOKAY, TIME TA STOP, OX CART! E> WE'RE BEING ‘| ATTACKED! cur) {gp JP Lod}WHaT!?, ATTACKED UM, YOUR LORDSHIP... AT THE OINOGO vesUIM..A STRANGE BLACK FIGURE T FROM REGENT FUSIWARA _ MOTOFUSA'S GATE, UM, waster <2 RETINUE WENT WHEN MASTER sucgnoes Was Do | arrackae rie. os FROM N : MASTER SUKEMORT's J WJ FALCONING. N TAKEN REFUGE IN s “ : HIS QUARTERS... pe oy DON'T LET NEPHEW? ‘of wo MOTOFUsA’S DISHONOREDYL es GOVERNMENT CART. IN FRONT OF GET AWAY!ITAND WWI HEY! W... WHAT THIS IS HIS EXCELLENCY MOTOFUSA'S OX CART! ALL RIGHT, MEN! WE'RE GETTIN’ REVENGE FOR MASTER SUKEMORT!RUFFIANS! RETREAT! OUCH! OW! HEY! BENTA! WHERE ARE YOU? Ler’s CALL IT Y OFF FOR TONIGHT!151I'M HERE TA SAVE YOU!!! seer? OBULL. OB. ts OBU!!! = Coagtecs HAPPY TO SEE YOU!YOUR KIMONO'S| ALREADY STAINED, SO DON'T WORRY, OBU, JUST JUMP ON MY SHOULDERS. euT...THIS| 1S ALL HAPPENING Too. SUDDENLY... AN YOUL..YOU TOLD GOURD- HEAD THAT YOU WANTED ME TO COME SAVE YOU, RIGHT?! =e = : NN A WHA...WHAT ARE TRYING To 00? HELP YOU ESCAPE, WHAT ELSE? WHAT'RE YOU TALKING ABOUT OBL? YOU WERE KIDNAPPED bY THESE PEOPLE! WE'VE GOTTA GET YOU OUTA HERE! I TOLD HIM I WANTED TO SEE \ YOu, BLIT I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING: ABOUT RUNNING (AWAY, BENTA.. THINK MY LORDSHIP... NEEDS ME HERE NOW, BENTA...AND RECENTLY, IT SEEMS I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN COMFORT HIM WHEN HE'S WORRIED... Yes...1 KNOW...BuT RIGHT NOW, T 8... BUT WE'RE > HAVE A JOB ENGAGED TO - TO 00, BENTA.. BE MARRIED, OBL! YOU PROMISED! LISTEN, YOU BIG OX, YOU'VE NO AHOLD OF 3 YOURSELF, YOUcamer ru SSS SONNY § JUST HAVE TO TAKE YOU OUT OF HERE MYSELF! J pASaageesINTRUDER, YOUR MEN! DRAG HIM ’ LORDSHIP! HIS TO THE BACK e OH GARDEN \ AND CLIT OFF HIS HEAD! WE CAUGHT THE = |)SCOUNDREL! WE KNOW REGENT FUSIWARA MOTOFUSA SENT YOU TO ATTACK MASTER TAIRA SHIGEMORT'S OX CART! WE'RE GOING TO CUT YOU UP AND PUT YOUR HEAD ON DISPLAY IN THE SHIJOKAWARA AREA (OF TOWN! 50 SAY YOUR PRAYERS, BIG BOY! L..T WAS JUST TRYIN’ TO SAVE MYAND HE WAS TRYING TO ABDUCT YOU, YOUR \. LADYSHIP! ‘a eur were acting \ae ‘ON THE ORDER oF _)> MINISTER. I'LL TAKE FULL Resronsteriiry. J160 50 WHO IS THIS PERSON, YOUR LORDSHIP... WHAT'S HOLDING THINGS UP HERE? GET ON YOU WHAT YOU SAID, FUKUKO. JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?PLEASE... THIS 1s ALL TLL EVER ASK... T BEG YOU THIS ONE FAVOR... vy HIS NAME IS. tesa THING TO “He's cust OTHING T ASINPLE LORD FUSIWARA NO!! IF YOU KILL THIS MAN, YOU MUST KILL ME, THIS. RUFFIAN HAS| BROUGHT INJURY TO MY NEPHEW!I J - (SS US < J S| ENOUGH! GET — . AWAY FROM HIM! . wae IF YOU DON'T, TILE wo - Bes, HAVE YOU KILLED, Pa SY Too! T MEAN TT! xy, eget — ee =| \FUKUKO... TELLALL RIGHT, NOW. TELL ME EVERYTHING! I WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH! T AM, MY LORD...T WAS KIONAPPED AND KEPT IN LADY ASHI'S NORTHERN ESTATE...I WAS FORCED TO LEARN HOW TO BEHAVE LIKE A LADY OF NOBLE BIRTH... Roy f. nN SO, YOU'RE REALLY ADECEIVED, RIGHT? 20, m snore, x was \|_| WAIT A SECOND, NOW. I HAVENT. ‘SAID ANYTHING ABOUT PUNISHING HOW LONG AGO WAS wicneinee: Tr...2 THAT I LoveD ust Too THAT LOVELY YOUNG DIFFICULT, SHIRABYOSHI* DANCER... ¥ HER NAME WAS GIO, AND SHE WAS A COMMONER, TOO... 50, WHEN DID saWE WERE CHILDHOOD you'stagT YouR ‘SWEETHEARTS, RELATIONSHIP WITH ] your LORDSHIP, AND We WERE EVEN ENGAGED TRYING TO TELL Me YOU VERY WELL, THEN! HERE'S YOUR PUNISHMENT! YOU'RE TO SEVER YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM! — *SHIRABYOSHE A "PROFESSIONAL" FENALE INCER WHO NORIMLLY ORESSET IN WHITE, HENCE THE NAVE SHIRA CHIT) BOSH CANCER. 165( > YO WELL, THE ~~ We TOeARe. PRICE IS YOU be HIS LIFE, CUTTING HIM < DON'T YOLI? On oF YOUR T DON'T WANT TO SHARE YOU WITH ANYONE ELSE. r ‘i pee ee nes \ \ Y \ I FEEL BETTER, Lay eee g g EA 2 | IT's MY WIFE'S... SHE GAVE WHEN T LertOBU'LL BE WI ME WHERE EVER I Go. 180i ire sevemeewremo 707 7 mumoiovooment sn Yi/ 7 < WENT BY THE CHILDHOOD NAME ws ~:YOU DO SS YOUR Honor To }\—gmme] _ HoRsemavsure YOUR AND ATIM ARE BOTH ‘SUPERB! TM HERITAGE, Mae IMPRESSED. HUMPH! WELL, TO TELL THE L.CAN'T WATT TO GATHER REAL SOLDIERS ABOUT ME AND START KILLING Irs STuLe TOO SOON FOR THAT, ‘SPEND THE REST OF MY Lire ROTTING Away IN THIS out oF THE-Way WELL TMA MINAMOTO, AND AeTER My FATHER Was KILLED, THe TATRA CLAN TORE ME AND MY a BROTHER APART, NVI) SANESHED Hiv BROTHER im iy INN? To tzx, avo rar ne ne THAIN, 92 cate oe a reneue LISTEN, YOUR ELDER BROTHER, LORD YORITOMO, HAS TAKEN SANCTUARY WITH HOJO TOKIMASA AND IS BIDING f ..1T WILL ONLY 26 A MATTER ‘OF TIME. BEFORE He BECOMES THE HEAD OF THE THE TAIRA CLAN 1S FADING FAST MASTER YOSHITSUNE. YOU MUST BE PATIENT 6ND WAIT For Your THANKS TO THE TAIRA, MY WHOLE FAMILY WAS SCATTERED, AND ALL T'VE DONE FOR THE LAST FIVE Years IS SIT AROUND, RAGING AND SHOOTING AT THEM WITH HEADLESS ARROWS. IT WAS A SAMURAI SPORT CALLED INUOMONO (O06 CHASING),T TRULY SYMPATHIZE. MY LORD! WHY DO YOU TOLERATE SUCH NS RISE. IF IMPERTINENCE IN WE TAKE CARE THAT ARROGANT (OF YOUNG: YOUNG MAN? AND WHY SHELTER HIM HERE? HE ACTS LIKE A WILD ‘MOLINTAIN MONKEY! 60 WHAT DID LORD HIDEHIRA ‘SAY? DID He SAY WHEN WE CAN GO TO THE CAPITAL? SIT DOWN.I DON'T WANNA DRINK Y..-YOU MUST BE JOKING, R USHIWAKA!IT'S SAFE TO TELL YOU NOW, BENTA, SINCE WE MADE TT HERE ALIVE, BUT YOU KNOW THAT LETTER FROM OBL THAT KICHISI READ YOU? WELL, IT WAS REALLY HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO STOP YOU FROM GOING BACK TO[youre GOT 10 LEARN WHAT YOU CAN HERE KILLED MY PARENTS! "THE KANIT CHARACTERS USED FOR BENTA'S NEW NAME ARE A LINGUISTIC 188 PUN, THAT CAN ALSO BE READ AS *NOLNTAIN POTATO BENTA FROM TIMORI"AND THAT'S NOT ALL! SAMURAT ARE ALWAYS STRUTTING OF TIMES JUST LIKE US, CATING | THEY'VE BUT THEY TREATING US - INSULTED TREAT US LIKE PEASINTS LIKE ‘ME! ANIMALS! PEASANTS LIKE DIRT! T UNDERSTAND, BENTA..BUT THIS TIME, YOU'LL BE ‘A SAMRAT, JUST LIKE THEM. Tee your no, bata to mare 7 piste oe E, HATE 'EM Nou eMtTor OTHIT! LOOK, JUST youre weveR BOTH!!! BECOME A oon OOF MOLE Z, ; SAMUEL, ‘Govrmunent x BENTA.. wie JUST DO TT GOVERNMENT TODAY ARE THE FOR OBU... re THE WARRIOR 189THE BIRD OF FIRE THAT YOU'VE SO WANTED HAS FINALLY ARRIVED ON A SHIP FROM THE SONG! IS My WISH COMING TRUE? CAN T NOW LIVE AS LONG AS T FUKUKO! MY WISH HAS BEENTHE SHIP'S CARGO ‘ARRIVED IN THE HAS JUST ARRIVED AT WELL, DonrT | ARRIVED IN TieYOUVE ONE WELL To FIND THIS FOR Me... TELL Me, HOW 730 You carcH Tr rm curzrous. BRILLIANT! TLL GRANT WHATEVER REWARD YOU ASK. ‘I BOUGHT IT FROM A MERCHANT FROM INDIA, HONORABLE STR. 11'S VeRy RARE TO FIND A FINE MALE BIRD LIKE THIS, ESPECIALLY WITH AN UNDAMAGED TAT... TT LOOKS ALMOST LIKE T'S BEEN LacQuereD IN GOLP... Ther Lureo I ay SCATTERING FLAKES OF ON THE MOUNTAIN ISLES OF THE TUMIORTALS IN BP CHINA, AND TRAPPED Thee ‘BRING THAT BIRD INTO MY BEDROOM. I WANT TO. TAKE A GOOD ALL RIGHT, FUKLIKO. GO AND OPEN’ THE LID... hit i ¥ bi NatLORDSHIP... THE BIRD IS FRIGHTENED... IT'S COWERING IN THE CORNER OF ITS cage...WELL, FROM PERHAPS IT WILL LIKE THE SAME THINGS. SOMETHING $0 ‘COMMON. TT WONT EVEN LOOK AT you! IT May TAKE HOURS BEFORE IT THINKS IT'S SAFE ENOUGH TO EVEN TRYXK : Loox! Irs HAH! T's STARTED TO PECK AT THE FOOD! i ZARBAGE. jTM GOING TO KitL THAT BIRD! BAH! GET OUTTA MY WAY! YY TM GOING TO LOP OFF ITS HEAD RIGHT HERE ‘AND NOW!HEY! PIPE DOWN AND WAS...WAS THAT YOU WHO JUST SPOKE, FUKUKO?THERE, THERE 203204 I WONDER IF THIS IS REALLY THE BIRD OF FIRE... THE LEGENDARY BIRD CALLED THE PHOENIX THAT THEY SAY LIVES FOR ALL THE TIMES I HELD WILD BIRDS AND PHEASANTS THAT BENTA USED TO BRING BACK FROM THE MOUNTAINS. I CAN'T BELIEVE THE BIRD OF FIRE WOULD FEEL SO ORDINARY...IT JUST DOESNT SEEM RIGHT. LEVEN WONDER IF HIS LORDSHIP TRULY BELIEVES IN THE STORY...T WONDER WHAT HIS LORDSHIP WOULD DO Jai WOULD HE KILL ME...? OR WOULD ae ee . HE FALL ILL ORDINARY BIRD...? 5 é FROM THE SINCE HE'S SO OBSESSED WITH THE IDEA OF DRINKING THE BLOOD OFTHIS xf PROBABLY DIE IF IT WERE TAKEN AWAY.ae FUKUKO! HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO 4 ME LIKE THATH!? SM | yar eR Ss Bhs roe eh Chart sau TS HS ~ p a: Sc oN aj Pp eur vox x Ne, +1 Sa? DONT HAVE &S (] ce Le, ? } TO DRINK ITAND... THEREFORE. WOULDN'T IT BE WISE TO Se AL THE 6005 OF ~ CONSULT WITH THE HEAVEN ANI GODS FIRST...? ARTH. 4 FORGIVE ME...BUT... IF YOU SHOULD DRINK THIS: BIRD'S AUSPICIOUS DATE TO PARTAKE OF ITS BLOOD? BEsives, I Guess T IF TM MIGHT AS GOING To Be WELL 90 IT IMMORTAL... UP RIGHT... eH? 207WE'LL MAKE THE DAY OF MY ASCENSION... ry i vi oo DAY THAT EVERYONE WILL CELEBRATE. THROUGHOUT THE r CAPITAL AND ALL SAPAN... 7 IN THE MEANTIME, FUKUKO, THAT BIRD 15 YouR RESPONSIBILITY. PROTECT IT WITH YOUR LIFE, YOU HEAR? ( YOU'RE \ SPARED FoR NOW! YOu DON'T HAVE IF ANYONE ELSE HAD SAID WHAT YOU SAID, THEY'D ALREADY BE SLICED UP FOR FUKUKO, JUST REMEMBER... TONLY LISTENED Y Secause IT WAS YOU. WELL MAKE TT Al NATIONAL HOLIDAY! ITLL EVEN BE THE START OF ANEW—_— oO mMosT BENEVOLENTAf 1s = THEY'RE =| | inereasine LIKE | rouve 6or 56,000 RABBIT: 7 aK es THOUSAND OF "eM A : fe Kevonoet sy oe Ed) INSTART ACTING CRAZED!213mast BE IN THE BURNING CAULDRON OF HELL ITSELI pp fe YOU!? SOME DEMON (lf PROM HELL? T REALLY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? BUT IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHY AM LIN HELL? NO, THIS 15 NOT HELL. IT 15 MERELY THE LAST DAY IN EARTH'S EXISTENCE...BUT YOU MUST KEEP ON LIVING.YOU WILL LIVE AS THE UNIVERSE. ITSELF... JUST AS YOU WISHED... THAT'S ay ah LIVING FOREVER, IF I'MTO BE A) HAVE YOU HAD ANOTHER NIGHTMARE?x x 216YES. ALL THE RELATED PARTIES HAVE ASSEMBLED. THE TALKS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN...i GENTLEMEN. HIS i i HIGHNESS, THE | FORMER EMPEROR, | tt GRACES US WITH | = HIS PRESENCE. T HAVE, IN FACT, COME HERE IN SECRET THIS EVENING... WELL, WELL... i ae ee eae { T HEARD THERE } tte edeha 4 NS R OF ALLIES HERE ay Yy = 3 = ALLOW Me TO INTRODUCE OUR MEMBERS, FROM THE RIGHT, WE HAVE... LIEUTENANT GENERAL NARIMASA FROM OMT PROVINCE, ‘PROTECTOR OF YAMLSHIRO PROVINCE, MOTOKANE, GRAND COLNSELOR MASATSUNEE, FROM SHIKTBU PROVINCE, YASUYORT, COUNSEL TO THE TATRA ADMINISTRATION, SUKEVUKE, COUNSEL TO THE NEW TAIRA ADMINISTRATION, 4S WELL AS, SAIKO, WHO HAS ENTERED PRIESTHOOD OF SAEMON, , =| on BI | | Ske aiG,WELL, I’M SURE YOU ARE ALL AWARE OF WHO TAM. THAT'S RIGHT EVEN THOUGH THE OUR GREAT NATION WILL BE TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT AND GROUND INTO DUST! BELIEVE IT? OM, IT'S A Sap STATE LUCKILY, OUR MEETING HERE IN SHISHIGATANI HAS BEEN KEPT SECRET... 219ay Ha ai ! Ler's cnase AP 2 Fe RIGHT! NOW 15 THE TIME! WENE GOT THE FORMER EMPEROR AND ALL HIS ANCESTORS BEHIND US, SO WE CAT FATL!! YOUR HIGHNESS... WE WOULD BE DEEPLY HONORED TO HEAR YOUR IMPRESSION...THis, YOUR AIGHNESS, 16 TADA NO I SAY WE BREAK ALL THEIR NECKS LIKE THIS!! 221AWM... "THE BELLS OF GION SHOJA TEMPLE ECHO THE IMPERMANCE Ir Is 1, MASTER MYOUN SHUNKAN. 4 RIGHT AW. AS SS MASTER ‘SHUNKAN... WELCOME...YES, AND WE \© rome DECIDED ON APRIL 13TH! EMPEROR, THE DATE eH? OF OUR REBELLION! WE'LL ALL RISE UP TOGETHER ON APRIL 13, BREAK INTO THE CAPITAL AND RUN THE TAIRA CLAN OUT, ONCE AND FOR ALL! Just WAIT AND SEE... ABOUT LENDING US YOUR SUPPORT,IVE SAID Yar zase ts Thar THE TALRA WILL | “you Ger THE pee, TEMPLE MASSES Hae BEHING US...* I’M ON MY KNEES... PLEASE HELP US... wHar? HOW CAN You ‘SAY THAT! TH..THIS IS OUR BEST CHANCE!! REVOLUTION YOU'RE INTERESTED IN CAN ONLY SUCCEED WHEN THE MASSES ARE SO irs True tat \Y THE TAIRA ARENT 204 GREEEES [OTHE NOMS, SOLDIER MONG, ATTICHED GANLRAT As WELL A THE SERUANTS iD OFFICIALS FROW SUR TENPLES AS ENRYAMI- IT, KOFLKLJT, AND MIT-DERA ALL OF WHICH WERE MAJOR INSTITUTIONS IN THE HELIN PERIOD.JEMPEROR, SOME ARISTOCRATS, I's TRULY. UNFORTUNATE Not T¢ WELL, THEN GO AHEAD WITH IT TF YOU HAVE | THE MATTER... eur WE'VE 60r TO «AND APRIL 13 16 THE DAY! 225FUKUKO! I aust Got THEY SAY APRIL 13TH 1S THE MOST AUSPICIOUS DAY FOR ME TO DRINK THE BIRD'S BLOOD! WE'LL MAKE APRIL 13TH THE DAY FOR MY ‘SPECIAL CEREMONY!IN A TRULY ODD COINCIDENCE, THE DAY KIYOMORI CHOSE TO DRINK THE BIRD'S BLOOD WAS THE SAME DAY THAT THE SHISHIGATANI CONSPIRATORS HAD CHOSEN TO PUT HIM TO DEATH. BLIT OF COLIRSE, THIS WAS ALL UNKNOWN TO KIYOMORT, OBU, AND THE REST OF THE TAIRA CLAN... 227maT THE EARLY HOURS OF APRIL 13TH, 176, AT ENRYACUATE, ON MMT. HIET-ZAN } ig ni ie } ay, : i )fe vouve anew V THIS 15 ver ANOTHER EXAMPLE \T OF OF OVERNM HEARD, MEN, THOSE TWO TReS fo ie SHMMELESS AND AUTHORITIES, ABUSING THEIR JL | POWER, AND TRYING TO CRUSH \, THE RIGHTS OF RELIGIOUS ACOLYTES IN THEIR HOLY PLACES OF LEARNING! © MULTITUDES OF FELLOW BELIEVERS! TT IS FINALLY TIMERo. HORA!I BUT THE WAY THINGS ARE CROWD PLANNED _£ GOING, > {ease susie NG COUP D'ETAT... THEY'LL NEVER THIS IS THE 233INFLAMED...LEAD THEM AWAY F2OM VIOLENCE... AND SAVE THE CAPITAL FROM MORAL DECAY... [LS a IMPERMANENCE OF ALL THINGS; THé COLOR OF SALA FLOWERS APEIRS THAT THE PROSPEROUS MAST PERISH, AND THAT THE HIGH AND MIGHTY DO NOT ENDURE... ALL DISTURBANCES UNDER HEAVEN, ALL SUFFERINGS OF” THE PEOPLE, ARE IN THE HANDS OF BUDDHA, BUT MAY HE _ PUNISH THE FORCES OFAS THE GENERAL T TF THESE OF THE LEFT, T, TATRA | LAWLESS BANDS SHIGEMORT, AM efelelelel ete ste} Ae oF souter _)* ‘CHARGED WITH DEFENDING THETT WAS A COMPLETE ROUT IN FRONT (OF TAIKENION GATE, MY LORD! THEFUKUKO, ¥e5, MY Ws THE IS THE LoRo. IT's DISTURBANCE FIREBIRD | RESTING ouTsive aeeN SAFE? ily, Peacerebey: RESOLNED, j Te Wyn a — AGH, ITSNO DIFFERENT THAN ALL THE OTHER TIMES... UST A BUNCH OF HOT-HEADED, GOOD- FOR-NOTHING ACOLYTES... “IN ANCIENT TIMES, RESTOENTS OF Tie TENPLES INCLUDED NOT ONLY HOM AWD SCHOLARS, BLT ASO A NUMBER O37 (OF OUTCASTS OF SOCIETY...THIEVES, ROBBERS AND THE LIKE. FOR THEM, PARTICIPATING IN THE MONKS’ REBELLIONS WAS OFTEN LITILE MORE THAN & CONVENIENT EXCUSE TO COMMIT ACTS OF LOOTING AND A25ON.(HELP us!! oSNo, TT WAS NOT T, YOUR HIGHNESS... THE ACOLYTES PLANNED THE WHOLE THING ON THEIR a SILENCE! ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE! | THE SAME DAY WE HAD PLANNED OUR COUP D'ETAT!HA HA..1 DID INDEED FROM HIM... BUT BECAUSE OF MY ADVANCING AGE, I COMPLETELY FORGOT WHAT IT WAS! AND WHEN YOU DID HEAR ABOUT IT FROM HIM, YOU SAID YOU WERE AGAINST TT, RIGHT?! $0 THIS ACOLYTE RIOT WAS JUST PART OF YOUR PLAN TO STOP Us, RIGHT? = WERE MY OWN SONS! IF THIS ISN'T SOME AND THE TWO MEN THE ACOLYTES WERE ALL CURSING-- FUJIWARA MOROTAKA AND \ MOROTSUNE... TH PESTURBANCE, mes 2X 1 INTEND TO YOU MEAN... PERMANENTLY EXPELLED?THAT'S: MYOUN!!. master |2 MYOUN, WHO |<= IT'S TIME TO HAND OVER MASTER MYOLN, (OUR ABBOT AND THE HEAD OF OUR TENDAT SECT!! WE ACOLYTES WILL HENCE- FORTH BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIM... 242A STRONG WIND FANNED THE FLAMES THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE CAPITAL. FROM THERE, THE FIRE SPREAD yy, QUICKLY, SPIRALING OLIT FROM » HIGUCHITOMI ROAD TO THE OS 4 REST OF THE CAPITAL. «ge ae i se “THERE'S NO DOUBT ‘4B0uT TT, YOUR Lorpsitr...1's ARSON! But THE FLANES ARE SPREADING THIS WAY, 50 YOU ARE IN ‘GRAVE DANGER! I'M GOING \_ TO HAVE TO MOVE THE BIRD! WE'RE ALL245piease...! \/ YOUNE ( GOT TO YAS COME BacK...1\ LORD ° KIYOMORI'S. LIFE... AND My LIFE... DEPEND ( 246WHERE DO You Tame WE Youre Gone, Yous J Lore Tea a249SS Sn SSS BODHISATIVAS. PROTECT THIS PRECIOUS» & an é 68 7 “AB eosHEY! I GAVE YOU GUYS AN ORDER!! 252IN THE BOAT... WE'LL TAKE. HER BACK TO Just wish we >) sHaDpUP COULDA Gor more Loot, < ANP KEEP LOOK, couro-Heap..,) ROWING! WILL YA? merme's BURNING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE RIVER! 253HE HE HEH... 254 Looks LIKE SHE'S COME TO! HEH HEH HEH a ;REMEMBER ‘OKAY, GUYS... Z AND DONT FORGET, “Yi HANDS OFF BU, =—( “Ta THE one wo OKAY? WE'RE GONNA =\, Gives oRveRS HIDE HER HERE TIL AROUND HERE... ‘SHE GETS WELL...256 NOT TO WORRY. WE'VE GOT THE BIRD CAGED INHERE...ITS TAIL'S A BIT SCORCHED, WHA HA HAL CHOMP CHOMP WELL Be sn THe Nexr| ROOM... YOU NEED ANTTHING, SST HOLLER ‘STAY QUIET... WE'RE GOING HOME...257WELL, I See KNOCK IT OFF, BLOCKHEAD! WHASSAY YOU ‘SHOW ME JUST HOW WELL YOURE SORRY ‘sour THAT, UNTIL YOU GET u...BUT WE CANT — BETTER, YOU'LL LET YOU LEAVE IN HAVE TA STAY THE CONDITION HERE IN OUR YOU'RE IN... Hf NO! LET ME GO BACK TO THE PALACE...PLEASE!| :\ 1 CANT STAY HERES TVe GOr To GeT BACK TO =| [__ktvoorr...! 258WHERE'S MY FIREBIRD " FUKUKO!? \ ) THe BIRD! Lt |THESE ARE THE SOLDIERS WHO TRANSPORTED YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT!? TAKE THESE TWO OAFS OUT AND RIP OFF THEIR CHECK EVERY PERSON IN THE CAPITAL! BRING ANYONE WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT FUKLUKO OR THE BIRD TO ME! IMMEDIATELY!¥..¥ES, YOUR Lorosut... THE WAY SHE RAN SCREAMINGT'VE Lost EVERY- THING... My TWO NosT VALUABLE POSSESSIONS WAS AVERY THAT'S RIGHT. HOW CAN YOU PRECIOUS BIRD, WE COULD EVEN SAY FATHER, BUT WE THAT? TLL BE CAN ALWAYS ASK READ BEFORE THE SONG NTH TRADERS TO oes Locate THAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT! TWAS GOING TO DRINK THE BIRD'S BLOOD SHIGEMORT. . MUNEMORT.. YOU JUST DONT AND KEEP UNDERSTAND! T DON'T HAVE MUCH LONGER TO WATCH OVER LIVE, BUT IF T HAD BEEN THIS CLAN FOR OLE TO DRINK THE BLOOD ETERNITY! OF THAT BIRD... WOULD BUT AFTER I'M HAVE GAINED ETERNAL DEAD, A NEW LIFE! ALL FROM ONE, BIRD'S SINGLE BIRD! USELESS!!UM...D'M NOT SURE A BIRD LIKE THAT REALLY EXISTS... HE'S RIGHT, FATHER... PERHAPS YOU'RE PUTTING TOO TT ETE aA ee UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL, SO GET OUT!HE SAYS APA No He Has Y yd SOMETHING J! never weseo He MUST OF HIM. wears ve met Ou COMING HeRe FOR, J JUST PERHAPS, HEY KNOWS SOMETHING ‘ABOUT FUKUKO OR Zo, recewny, sont . one YUKITEUNA.. ] : at fie SRO OR WHATEVER a OWN ADVISORS YOUR NAME \~ ‘SECRET, YOUR A Loree ° avon Is LORDSHIP... VURAL ieee eve, DAMN... rf IF YOU HAVE Weeder? (sora SOMETHING TROOPS FOR OT IMPORTANT Tem... THe BIRD... Toe, - SAY IT!! I'M IN ABAD MOOD RIGHT NOW, SO wulreRY UPI!ONE OF THE / || CONSPIR- 4 ATORS AND ARREST HOW DARE ANYONE RAISE A HAND AGAINST THE TAIRA CLAN!!vou 1! BS Y NED To - )ENOUGH OUT OF YOU, KIYONORT! a YOU'RE NOTHING BUT AN ARROGANT LADDER-CLINBER, WHO'S STAYED IN POWER TOO LONG BY OPPRESSING THE POOR! YOU CANT DIE TOO ‘MAKE HIM CONFESS EVERYTHING, THEN BIND HIM UP...AND SLOWLY RIP HIS HEAD OFF...! 2 EN ISLAND, FAVORED FOR BANISHMENT, SOMEWHERE IN IAPAN'S SOUTHERN ARCHIPELAGOMINAMOTO YOSHITSUNE, HAVING FLED THE CAPITAL, TOOK TO HIDING IN THE ESTATE OF FUJIWARA HIDEHIRA, FAR AWAY IN HIRAIZUMI, IN OSHU PROVINCE... THE AREA AROUND HIRATZUME HAD AN ABLINDANCE OF GOLD AT THE TIME, AND IT WAS SO PROSPEROUS THAT IT WAS. OFTEN CALLED THE "EASTERN CAPITAL".rom TE i, Wh “ vat s i ae Wyle TIVE EVEN ROUNDED UPNo, YOU FOOL! By “TREAT "EM WELL", T MEAN BE ‘4 GOOD. COMMANDER! BUT...A... SAMURAT'S GOTTA LOOK BRAVE'N STUFF, RIGHT? HOW'RE WE RETAINERS GONNA GET RESPECT UNLESS OUR LEADER COULD YA D0Lessee. FUKA, FUKT, FUKLIKO... MISSING...Wry?! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE OBU?!! 1 EVEN BECAME A SAMURALT JUST FOR YOU, OBU... I WAS GONNA ATTACK THE PALACE 'N R SAVE You... BUT NOW YOLI'RE > GONE...AN' TLL NEVER, EVER BUT, AH'M REALLY \, UNDERSTAND LOSE THE HOW T FEEL! WOMAN YOU. 274T NEVER um, Bur... Shee dis OST SHE'S MISSIN' ‘gue 4 IP DOESN’ MEAN ¥ SHE'S DEAD, You JeroT! WHENEVER PEOPLE ARE LISTED AS. MISSING AFTER ACCIDENTS 'N STUFF, THEY'RE USUALLY DEAD!! BUT THERE'S NOONE LIKE OBU'IN THE WHOLE WORLD, YOU FOO! I NEED SOME TIME TO MYSELF... Ey mig a=THE VILLAGE'S CELEBRATINGYOURE THE BEST DANCER THIS YEAR!NOTHING SHINES —=S_ ‘AND OUR SO BRIGHT ON A = = = = STOREHOUSES SUMMER'S NIGHT AS = 3 ‘ARE WHITE => THE FAIR SKIN OF A = = 5 WITH RICE... <_ YOUNG MAIVEN.. — SS wey WHERE'S EVERYONE GOING? 283« I DON’ SUPPOSE YOU KNOW, MR. SAMURAT, BUT DURIN’ THE » DANCE THE MEN AND WOMEN ALL CHECK BACH OTHER OLIT... <| AND WHEN TT's (OVER, THERE'S A CUSTOM THAT THE ONES THAT WANNA...CAN GET HITCHED... I DIONT KNOW THE CUSTOMS } OF YOUR L“\ VILLAGE... 284HEY! WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU? YOU'RE NOT S'POSED TA RUN AWAY FROM ME! ee HEY... SORRY LE ha Ne ba teat Hi 2 “"HI-NO-E* IS ONE OF THE TEN STEM SIGNS IN THE CHINESE ZODIAC CALENDAR, AND *HI-NO-E-UNAT 90 15 THE YEAR OF THE *FIRE HORSE." TT 1S WIDELY BELIEVED THAT DISASTERS OFTEN HAPPEN IN ‘THIS YEAR, AND THAT WOMEN BORN IN THIS YEAR MAY WIND UIP MURDERING THEIR HUSBANDS,WHERE'D YOU GO WITH EVERYTHING T OWN?!! Ww SHE'S WHAT WE CALL A WEDDING BANDIT... SHE MARRIES SOME FELLOW WHO LOOKS LIKE HE'S GOT MONEY. ..AN’ THEN RUNS OFF WITH EVERYTHIN’ HE'S GOT... 291cer “ER! THAT’S IT! HotD Z S) Saar S DON'T LETR DRAG HER BACK LET Me ar THE LITTLE “S “GET AWAY! 7 ZL. Be TO BENTA’S: THIEF!! 2 at, 4 a PLACE!! oF BEFORE SHE COULD SHE WAS RUNNIN’ ‘AWAY WITH YER ‘STUFF ALL YOUR STUFF BACK... < THIS BUNDLE... 292TF YA WANT MONEY, T CaN, WHAT THE? WHERE'D MY SLEEPING 293YOSHETSUNE's ASKIN’ FOR YAPWHAT KIND OF SAMURAT LETS HIS HE HE HEE HEE...WELL, I WAS JUST REMEMBERING IN ALL, I TOOK 999 OF THESE LONG SWORDS FROM ‘EM!!HERE'S A ) Not MIGHT BEAT YOU FEW COINS stay_ | Be TO DEATH...1'0 TO HELP AROUND Jf A) | ise Tan. to You our. SOMEPLACE ELSE IF I WERE YOU. 'NO SUCH THING AS EVEN A CHEAP “CHEAP” OR "EXPENSIVE" ‘ONE'LL DO... WHEN WERE TALKSNG "y L_IUST WANT ONE WS THAT'LL WORK... 296UM....R...UN..AH, I. DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT, LORD BUDDHA, BUT IF YOU COULD JUST MAKE ‘SURE THAT OBU'S HAPPY AND IN PARADISE, TD BE OBLIGED... NAMM. ALL HAIL BUDDHA, Ef snr House was AN’ ALSO, LORD BURNED DOWN, AY PARENTS KILLED, IY BUDDHA, ONE Sulcerieaar STOLEN, WN TWO To secoue A OTHER THING... e SAuRAr EVEN THOUGH He DIDNT wan To, ‘60 TM KINO OF AT Loss WHAT 10 00. HEY! IT'S AINOE!!NO..PLEASE LET ME WORSHIP Your BUDDHA FIGURE, TOO, BENTA..PLEASE... IF I GET MARRIED, ON THE WEDUING NIGHT I UST TAKE EVERYTHING ‘AWAY... 'VE TRIED SO HARD TO STOP MYSELF, BUT NOTHING WORKS... AND SO, FAR AWAY IN THE DISTANT MOUNTAINS, A STRANGE TWIST OF FATE BROUGHT A LONELY MAN AND A TROUBLED WOMAN TOGETHER, TO PRAY IN QUIET REVERENCE BEFORE A SMALL BUDDHIST IMAGE.IN THE MEANTIME, IN A SMALL CORNER OF EASTERN JAPAN, WITHIN SIGHT exe YOUNG LEADER WHO TO RE-WRITE HISTORY. 299MONG AKL SHONIN! WELL, LORD YORITOMO... HEAVEN WAS CLEARLY ON YOUR SIDE aa [/ TRue, eur war 15 ALL aBouT 5) YOURSELF, LoD 4 YORITOMO! THAT YOUR FATHER WAS CUT DOWN IN COLD BLOOD BY KIYOMORI AND HIS HENCHMEN. THE TAIRA ON THEIR LASTTHIS 15 THE SKULL OF \ TI YOUR FATHER, YOSHITOMO. inn HE WAS ONLY TWENTY YEARS OLD WHEN HE WAS KILLED... was eurrer (=] YORTTOMO, OF REVOLTED. KAMAKURA, WAS COMPLETELY DEFEATED AT | ISHIBASHT- YAMA. AND KUMA No BETTO HAS ALSO BEEN DEFEATED... AND THEY say PEOPLE HAVE REVOLTED IN TSUKUSHI, ON THE ISLAND OF KYUSHU... HEARD ENOUGH BAD NEWS! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOLIT?" TM THE ONE WHO TOLD FATHER THAT HE SHOULD MOVE THE CAPTTAL FROM, PUKUHARA BACK To KyoTO! T KNOW I'M. INCOMPETENT AND SLOW- wrrren...BUT T ‘STILL REPRESENT THE TATRA FAMILY!*DISPIRITIN My FATHER'S EXTREMELY ILL, foe wae $0 I DON'T WANT HIM TO HEAR ANY DISPIRITING NEWS RIGHT NOW... -~ 2 © MEETING \ ‘over... TO WELL...AND THOSE THAT GOTO HELL WILL SUFFER FOR WV 1 WANT 70 BE \\ “ e-BoRN, MASTER MYOUN... J Se 1 KNOW THAT VE DONE TeRerele Tans. 4S AN Yaa t DESERVE TO 60 TO Well. WELL, BOTH HEAVEN AND A YOUR LORDSHIP BURNED AND RAZED TEMPLES AND SHRINES: eur ro LIKe ust ONE MORE CHANCE TO cone BACK 4S A IF YOU ARE HUMAN. SUFFERING FROM GUILT “pur —~ BECALISE OF DIE, THEY ARE uit sae / TT, THEN YOU MOST LIKELY |} NowrTNesses y NCAR TH ARE NOW IN REINCARNATED aoe ” THOSE BEING REINCARNATED ARE PROBABLY NOT EVEN, AWARE OF WHAT HAS: HAPPENED. 315WELL, IF I CANT COME BACK AS A HUMAN... 1D SETTLE FOR A BIRD! T'D SEARCH THE SKIES UNTIL I FIND THE BIRD OF FIRE. AND THEN T'D TELL IT: "O LOVELY BIRD, PLEASE SHARE YOUR BLOOD WITH THE TAIRA CLAN..."WHAT? vou SAY THAT THE FEBRUARY 27, 1181 “SAMUIAT OF SHIKOKU ISLAND HAVE. ‘SIDED WITH THE MINAHOTO CLAN? THIS 1S THE FINAL STRAW! AS THE GENERAL OF THE RIGHT, T SHALL LEAD ‘A GRAND ARIMY TO ATTACK THEM! 317AGGGHHHH... AGGGHHHHHHHKIYOMORT . ent wel ” I hw TO BE CONTINUED IN PHOENIX 319 VOLUME &PU NS EDITION OF PHOENIX: Ce a The 12 self-contained yet intrinked stories that compose Ce Ce ee UO eer atistic achievement. Tezuka himself refered to Phoenix as ee ee ec Coe eS Ce Ree ec) Tezuka’ death in 1989, Phoenix represents Tezuk's SO ecu eee enue De cue ene rec pee ed ‘ofthe mythical bird, an immortal guardian of the universal Te Ae CeCe) Cree ee enor past, converging on the present, wth characters from one story being reincamated in another. Te existing twelve stories, totaling over thee thousand pages of work, are Se ea ee Se ee ST ea ae eee ne) On nee ay Dene ee ca oe which was printed in Frederik L. Schodt's Manga! Manga! ee ee art 1" was fist serialized in 1978-80 in Manga Shonen esA Journey through Time and Space: An Overview of the Complete Phoenix Saga ‘The complete Phoenix saga sa story about mankind that features a hstorical-narrative structure unlike anything that has come before it The frst See ee ee ee ee ve Seo eeu one eer Ree nT The sone i inte The era of Queen Himiko ofthe Arano Yaratal Kok, The wark quotes ato myn from the accounis of the ere Gishwgjngen. Also uses ik ‘accounts from the legend of canpares bere to Amateresu-Curikami anda sim Tuse. scar ese occurs. Disqused 3 onan Frsce Yamato Ona Baio one gent of ana fe run san tator-e-mlate The dates ieereesrseee: ove wer need rom the pis te rane feemntof Nan Take, and "Ma fom he open item ost Dw sntacete oe Ly eeattl emeap Manes, who as been (1969-70)720-752 A.D. rid te autores obo In-cge of te erscaon The complicate drama ofthe spi= I receagn ot Goat ast, tot two Budeist sculptors. Set in ie euclad wen to sale the Nara Patod (710-794) during Sheds. tear The wakes the ational enterprise of te con- ene ghene, 20 tne ‘tution of the. Great Buddha bizare peremeron rs Here, the Hou-ou fa Chinese myth isthe Phenix, ser. Cede ad Cert [Asch version of the Hagoomo Legend of Mino no Matsubara. in Enshu (modem day Shizuoka). Set outing Tara no Nasakado’s rebelion which ‘occured. during the Heian Period (898-1185) ‘re stot wonan swing ‘be ceuan scaled by he beauty 2 ofthe wie and and een pe Tesi fashan belted by be bey ofthe wansn are dese cibes Weare eae) Te time ofthe Genpel Kassen (War between the Tara an the Geni aor ‘he fall the Heil ara Clan. Using the Hoke Monogatari and Gikekizs 8 Dackéop this story depicts “combat asthe fate of Wing things. eo Ystrka cas Hoh an ks conto oft ata. cas own be ‘nue monk yeu. He cameo thecal era eae Pet Pee eid Geeerocete) Te Smo Foe (452155, ‘erro, Sn foval itceaeateae \ Sete et omen sia fens The sy teae tb ae idan wi auger Capt ety Bavtsoar mote eet te clSme niet seat senateCe we) Eee “The ond of me future. Mankind isin fecine and has became very can- Servative The earths rundown ana faces devastation Eventually a clear war breaks out causing the dof everyting The Yamato Catal Mae Suing Mess Yano f tne of ee 5 Tera reranig wchs cts bare’ In Oron, a sub-ight sped rocket heading towards Earth crashes into 2 matooct. The ship becomes ‘abet and four people man gor ezae ig Setar ach ft pasongr aspen nk ape po Howe he pas Cnty ave eat Tra Year gh 8 ya a ees td Geemarc Es In the year 2844, Pro. Serta lands ot he aon, He meets and scquires Robita in his ral form, Spanning 880 years, the end of Inisepisnde goes beyond Unverse ans dose 10 the beginning of Fate, foota ané ths cet ako make ‘pean in Fare wh Pala ae Temi imminent) rowel ‘A Japanese woman named Romy bie in he esiablishes a evzaon and tstry foregtd ts for the formerly uninhabited plane, san Tho past Eser Her hasbndces an at: Emel ura deat butt ese cates 2 eng wate er. one) tee ‘hele there oy ay Human clones are all or high ratings and publ king TV game show ead Cone. Yee ‘Man Hur Aa ines were crs fr fd Han dows ae etd for TV ‘Bouts cng covery present ‘Saks as fons: Aegan oe veo The “Light Tribe” acaures the Phoeniin space. However, thy {umm itint anion an come to co {rl society though region. Non: balers ate elles “shadows” and fare chased out ve underground Yatog shatow toy names Sapir. ress tole res ver $e FnAFTERWORD By Takayuki Matsutani 4“ Tz sensei came to Earth from a distant universe, ‘and when his mission here was accomplished, he retumed to outer space." This notion was expressed ‘several times in the tremendous flood of condolences gen by intellectuals, artist, and others active in the feds of ‘manga, fim, musi, and publishing when Osamu Tezuka assed away thirteen years ago. At the time, my grief over his death was so fresh | dismissed the idea as mere science-fiction fancy. Later, homever, as | began sorting through Osamu Tezukas legacy, truly came to believe “Tezuka was a space alien’—it was the only adequate way of explaining his extraordinary artist. Look at Phoenix | won't go into an analysis ofthe toy; rather, | wil just point out tha tis one of many manga series he created, that during his career of forty-odd years, Tezuka drew 150,000 pages like those you see here, ‘Simple arithmetic shows tis comes out to ten pages a day-without a singe day off That's not al: Tezuka also produced over sity animation titles (and Astro Boy, for instance, a TV series with two hundred episodes, is counted here as just one ttle!) Add to tis over thirty books of prose, frequent television and radio appearances, lectures, interviews, and travels, not to mention stints as producer or iretor at varius expos and other events..t seems impossible that one person could have done it al, yet Tezuka did, Moreover, he did it all himself, virtually without ‘ary help. Then consider the breadth of subjects and genres he tacked: historical works, contemporary issues, stience fiction, politics, culture, education, character-based drama, epics, shot stories, picture books for toddlers, mysteries, psychodramas, fantasy, nonsense, satire, and stories for boys, ils, young adults, and mature readers..in other ‘words, everything under the sun [tis extremely unfortunate that Tezuka did not lve to see the 2ast century, where so many of his stores are set 324 In 2001, Japan entered an unprecedented economic recession, wile the U.S. was assauted on September 11 by terrorist attacks that far surpassed our wildest imaginings These attacks then triggered the retaliatory war in ‘Nghanistan, while inthe Midle East the Israel-Paestinian conflict escalated to new height of violence, The 21st century has gotten off to a horrific start, and now in 2002, the countdown to Armagedon seems only to have avcelrated As globalization moves forward, the world is getting smaller and smaler.ITezuka were alive today, how ‘would he feel about al this? What kind of message would he send out to children through his works? Sadly, this is something we cannot know. though this Future takes place far beyond our time, in the third millennium A.D, Tezuka set Astro Boy's birthday in the opening yeas ofthe 21st centuy-April 7, 2003, to be exact-only ity years ahead ofthe time Astro Boy began serialization in 1952. Just seven years after the devastation of Worl War I, when Japan was stil a poor, scrabbling country, Tezuka imagined high-rises and underground cities, expressways snaking between skyscrapers, TV phones, tins to the moon, masses of industrial robots, and even revolt by robots. Many ofthese things now actually exist in today’s ‘word, lending proof to Tezuka’s astounding visionary powers. But even more extraordinary to my mind isthe fact that, at a time when Japanese cities were stil in ruins, when the Japanese people were living day-to-day and hand-to-mouth, and as such put economic recovery above all ese, Tezuka— in such works as Jungle Titel (which began serialization in 1950) and Astro Boy-was addressing environmental isues, calling fr coexistence between human beings and other animals, and reminding us to take care of our precious planet Earth. These themes, which also dominate the Phoenix series, are the most pressing and relevant issues facing humanity today. That Tezuka’ imagination could reach so far amidst the realy of 1950s Japan is the mark of genius. Teauka continued working up to three weeks before his death. As his strength waned, and he became too weak even to st up in bed, he would stil struggle with all his might to rise. “I'm begging you, let me work!” were his inal words. His wife desperately tried to calm him down, but Tezuka hadalways been a workaholic, a man who worked without rest What made Tezuka so compulsively creative, so urgently ‘obsessive about his work? Tezuka experienced World War I as teenager He spoke of having seen entire neighborhoods tured into @ sea of flames by bombs and charted corpses Ivng on the streets aftemards. He remembered the deeply comforting sight of lights shining brightly in people's homes the night of ‘August 15, 1945-the fst night of peace, The war was finally over, the blackout a thing ofthe past, and he savored the return of peace with profound gratitude, But at the same time, he swore to himself never to forget the {tragic consequences of war, and to pass on his own experiences of war to the children ofthe future ‘The net year, 1946, Tezuka was studying medicine at Osaka University and also made his debut as a professional manga atist Although he did briliant manga work and met with success, Tezuka finshed his studies as well and ‘obtained a physician's license. Medicine was, then as now, a highly espected and economically stable profession In contrast, children’s manga were dismissed as cheap entertainment; moreover, only a handful of people could make a living from drawing them. Even so, and inspite of the social condition ofthe time, Tezuka chose manga over medicine, f course he loved drawing manga, probably loved it more than anything ese, But | believe he was driven by something more than that: he chose manga because he felt it was his mission to spread the message of peace and respect for life to the children of the future. And Tezuka probably knew, better than anyone else, that he had staked his future on an amazing medium. Today, computer enhanced Holywood movies are taking the world by storm, \With computer graphies, people can morph easily into diferent shapes and interact inthe same frame with dinosaurs, Some say that manga and animation have lost their advantages and been surpassed. But for those of us \who have read Tezuka’s works, Hollywood has only now caught up, just barely, withthe expressive capacity of manga. Over fy years ago, Tezuka knew that manga—back then an artform stl nits infancy—could express anything ‘and everthing the imagination could conjure, from the mundane to the utter fantastic. However, and this is probably the same allover the ‘worl, manga has always been viewed as inferior to other art forms, such as painting, prose, musi, and theater. Manga was denounced by adults, who claimed it had a bad influence on children. Tezuka battled agains the censure of these adults all his life, and this fight for acceptance was another driving force in his passion for work. Some years ago, Japanese newspapers reported an incident in which children were tod to bring all their manga books to school so they cou throw ther into a big bonfire in the yard Yes, recent book-burnings in Japan focused on ‘manga. don't claim that all manga are good. As wth any ‘other artform, ther is good work and bad work, But Tezuka, ‘conscious ofthe average adult’ as toward manga, worked indefatigably to change that bias. Most important, of ‘course, he created high-quality manga, but he also appeared frequently on TV, wrote essays and articles for magezines and newspapers, and did eventing ese he could in his crusade to bring manga the recognition it deserved asa legitimate art form, In the year Tezuka ced, a national art museum held ‘an Osamu Tezuka exhibition. No museum ofthat stature had ‘ever mounted a manga-elated exhibition before. The cuture ‘of manga has been supported by many talented artists, most of them inspired by Tezuka, and today, there are numerous manga works that far outstrip novels and films in popularity, scope, end ambition The day after Tezuka passed away, a major newspaper ceulogized him in an editorial, “Why do Japanese love manga ‘SO much? Foreigners apparently find it vey strange to see adults engrossed in weekly comic magazines on the train..One explanation fr this i that, i their counties, they didnot have Osamu Tezuka” Not only was it extremely unusual fora major newspaper, let alone in an eto, to siscuss manga or a manga ats, but this was praise ofthe highest sort. Yes, manga in Japan today have eamed a secute place asa respectable art fom. Osamu Tezuka devoted his entre life to mange, and Phoenix is one of his representative work. | hope you enjoy it. Takayuki Matsutani President, Tezuka Productions Tandted forthe lapanes by Aa Wer Note This ilps tii et don of PRUE A TALE TE TURE. To ein hile i om snl a PAOEND TURE 325PHOENIX AND ME ? By Osamu Tezuka 6 re T: serialization of Jungie Tite’ in Shonen Jump ended in 1954, and | wos ata lass as to what to create next. ‘Then | saw Stravinsky's famous ballet, oiseau de Feu. Of course the ballet itself was excellent, but | was especialy intrigued by the prima ballerina dancing a the spirit of the phoenis, The ballet is based on an old Russian legend about a prince that has been captured by a demon. The spit ofthe phoenix saves te prince by acting asa guide for his escape. thought that this passionate, elegant, and mysterious bid would make a wonderful main character comparable tothe likes of Leo ftom Jungle Tate Actually every country has a legend about @ mysterious bird such a the phoenix. In these legends, the symbol of supernatural lifeorce takes form as a bid, such asthe immoral bird called the Hou-ou from the legend of Houra-san. | wanted to utilize this phoenix to portray Japanese history in my own way. The theme would be about mans attachment to life and the complications that arse from eed. The phoenix would be the vehicle that would bring it ll together, As a new challenge, | wanted to stat by creating the begining and then the end ofa long sto. The story would then return to an ancient period righ ater the dawn of ‘man, | would then continue to go back and forth, between past and future In the en, Would set the stoy where past and future converge—the present. This story, set inthe present, would te all the previous stories together to frm a long drama running from the dawn of man all the way tothe cistant future Fach story woud stand on its own and seem to have nothing to do with the other stories, but the final story would tie everthing together-and forthe frst time, the reader Would realize thatthe structure ofthe series is such that each story would be just one part of @ much longer story. Afterall, man's history does not have clear diisions or breaks. Each episode would portray life from various anges and set up diferent problems, Moreover the style ofeach ofthe episodes would vary from one anther, covering a range of genres: science-fiction, war stony, mystery, comedy. | don’t know how many more years Phoenix will continue, bt aftr i is completed, please go back and read through the whole series again. Otherwise, it wil be dificut for ime to respond to etc. (Osamu Tezuka, December 1969 "ante tom he ope ty Andy Halton 326