Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō

Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō (Japanese: 國崎出雲の事情, lit. "Some Personal Problems of Izumo Kunisaki") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Aya Hirakawa. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from January 2010 to March 2014, with its chapters being collected in nineteen tankōbon volumes. Two drama CDs were bundled with the 7th and 11th volumes of the manga in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō
Cover of the first volume of Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō
國崎出雲の事情
(Kunisaki Izumo no Jijou)
GenreComedy[1]
Manga
Written byAya Hirakawa
Published byShogakukan
ImprintShōnen Sunday Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday
DemographicShōnen
Original runJanuary 13, 2010 – March 26, 2014
Volumes19

Story

Izumo Kunisaki, a boy with lovely features often mistaken as a girl, is an onnagata (female role) actor in the Japanese traditional stage play kabuki. The series follows Izumo's school and actor life. Izumo performs some of the most famous roles in kabuki, solving problems and gaining friends along the way.

Characters

Main characters
Izumo Kunisaki (國崎 出雲, Kunisaki Izumo)
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro[2]
Onnagata (女形, female role) kabuki actor and first year student of the entertainment division in Shijogawara High School. Born to a kabuki-performing family Kunisaki, he began his acting career in his childhood, but had not performed for eight years due to his parents' separation and his own antipathy for playing female roles. With his feminine looks, he is a natural as a female impersonator, and attracts both male and female characters in and out of the stage. He dislikes cross-dressing, but is often forced to wear female clothing. He works part-time as a maid in a maid cafe.[3] In school he proves to have good sense in sports. He is also an excellent cook.
Kagato Sumeragi (皇 加賀斗, Sumeragi Kagato)
Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga[2]
An onnagata actor in Kunisaki-ya. As a senior apprentice, Kagato teaches Izumo female role performance. He is a talented actor with beautiful features and delicate health. He falls ill before his stage performance, forcing Izumo to fill in and re-start his onnagata career. He often cross-dresses under the pretext of the "study of onnagata", but Izumo suspects he only likes it. He is enthusiastic about teaching Izumo the art of the onnagata, but sometimes his enthusiasm is a little too overwhelming...
Sae Togashiki (栂敷 紗英, Togashiki Sae)
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio[2]
Son of a distinguished kabuki family Togashiki-ya, and a tachiyaku (立役, male role) actor. Second year student of the entertainment division in Shijogawara High School. He comes to believe Izumo is a girl after performing with him in the play Narukami, as he touches Izumo's breasts and find it soft (actually it was a donut). He has a crush on Izumo ever since. He's very flamboyant and likes to show off that he is handsome. He often tries to protect Izumo but also holds himself back so that Izumo can grow for the sake of Kabuki.
Kuroe Minamoto (源 玄衛, Minamoto Kuroe)
Voiced by: Aoi Yūki[2]
Son of kabuki family Minamoto-ya, and a tachiyaku actor. First year student of the entertainment division in Shijogawara High School. Having childish features, he had played only child roles until the age of 15, as he was afraid the audience will not accept him as an adult. Izumo encourages him to play his first adult role in the play Kamakura Sandai Ki. He's clingy to Izumo. Many scenes show that he has a much darker, imp-like personality underneath his cute exterior.
Umeki Sugawara (菅原 梅樹, Sugawara Umeki)
Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama[2]
First son of kabuki family Sugawara-ya, one of the most prominent families in the kabuki world. Tachiyaku actor, and second year student of the entertainment division in Shijogawara High School. As the heir of his family, he was promised good roles but was eventually spoiled by it, having rough manners and not showing up for practice. He actually acted this way because he wanted Matsuki to become the head of house, not himself. He has also taken a liking to Izumo and calls him pipsqueak and tends to fight with Matsuki over Izumo.
Matsuki Sugawara (菅原 松樹, Sugawara Matsuki)
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa[2]
Second son of kabuki family Sugawara-ya, tachiyaku actor, and first year student of the normal division in Shijogawara High School. He is also a regular customer of the maid cafe where Izumo works part-time. Matsuki hated his older brother Umeki, for his rough behavior and loss of respect for Kabuki. Dispute between the brothers came to a solution after Izumo served to bridge them in the play Kagotsurube. The first time he met Izumo was when Izumo was working in a maid cafe. He developed some feelings for the 'female' Izumo but immediately squashed them when he realized that Izumo was male. Despite that, he still calls Izumo 'Maid', much to the other's chagrin and fights with Umeki over Izumo.

Kunisaki family
Yakumo Kunisaki (國崎 八雲, Kunisaki Yakumo)
Izumo's father and the present head of Kunisaki-ya. He loves his son, apparently too much, getting sexually aroused by Izumo dressed in female costumes. Because of his obsession with his son, his wife left him and took Izumo with her.
Rui Shiga (志賀 累, Shiga Rui)
Izumo's apprentice. He declared love to Izumo while dressed in girl's clothing, and demanded to enter Kunisaki-ya as a onnagata to be. A third year junior high school student, he wishes to become a Kabuki actor after being enthralled by Izumo's stage performance during a school trip to the theater.

Kabuki actors
Tojiro Izaya (伊左屋 藤次郎, Izaya Tōjirō)
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono[4]
An actor from the Kansai region, who claims himself to be the top young actor of Kansai-style kabuki, or Kamigata-Kabuki. He seems to be arrogant and proud, but is actually very serious about acting and therefore, sensitive. He suffers from a slump due to poor relationship with other actors while practicing for the kabuki play Sonezaki Shinju, but eventually managed to overcome that with the help of Izumo and Umeki.
Kiyora Azami (薊 清良, Azami Kiyora)
Leader of a new kabuki troupe Zan-Kabuki (斬歌舞伎, Zan Kabuki). He bears a grudge against traditional kabuki, and goes hard on traditional actors like Izumo. He once belonged to a traditional kabuki family, but was banned from it because his teacher decided his performance did not follow traditions. Recovers relationship with his former teacher through the play Yamatotakeru.
Iori Sakura (佐倉 伊織, Sakura Iori)
A son of a traditional kabuki family, he was tortured in Kiyora's Zan-kabuki troupe. He is an extremely optimistic person, and does not think he was being ill-treated at all.
Anjuro Yukishima (幸嶋 庵寿郎, Yukishima Anjuro)
Veteran kabuki onnagata actor. A 90-year-old living national treasure with extreme beauty on stage.

Other characters
Yuzuha Nakamura (仲村 柚葉, Nakamura Yuzuha)
Voiced by: Eri Kitamura[2]
A childhood friend of Izumo, and daughter of kabuki family Nakamura-ya. She is not a kabuki actress, as kabuki is only performed by men, but knows a lot about kabuki and the Rien. She is a first year student in the entertainment division just like Izumo, and is hinted to be a TV talent of some sort.[5] Calls Izmo "Ikkun". A fan of Kagato.
Satsuki Kumedera (粂寺 皐, Kumedera Satsuki)
Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi[2]
Student guidance teacher of Shijogawara High School. She strictly keeps an eye on her students, but she does not hide her sexual arousal for Izumo. A kabuki fan in her childhood, she was hurt by the haughty behavior of an actor she liked, causing her to abandon her love for kabuki until she was ordered to check Izumo's performance in the play Sannin Kichiza.
Shuichiro Kagami (各務 秀一郎, Kagami Shūichirō)
A rich kid suffering from a lack of attention from his father, who is an important patron of Kunisaki-ya. After watching Izumo's kabuki stage performance in Yotsuya Kaidan, the father and son began to take time together.
Roku Suzutake (篠竹 禄, Suzutake Roku)
A Kabuki actor who came back from overseas performance. Izumo challenged Roku because of his bad attitude towards others such as blackmailing and threatening other people.
Jin Kiriya (桐矢 臣, Kiriya Jin)
A movie star with a strong obsession for beauty. He is interested in Izumo's beauty, and plans to make Izumo quit Kabuki in order to keep him by himself.
Kaname Yanagi (矢薙 要, Yanagi Kaname)
A male idol belonging to a major idol production. He persists on being a perfect idol, and very sensitive about making a scandal.
Kikuo Shiraki (白木 菊雄, Kikuo Shiraki)
A leader of the student council room group, Kikuo returns to school from a year's suspension. He wears chains all around him, and is feared for his violent attitude. He meets Izumo on the way to his first day back in school, and later revealed, a Kabuki actor.

Production

Aya Hirakawa published a prototype one-shot of the series in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 2009.[6] It was a battle story, in which the hero Izumo transforms into a battle form of Izumo no Okuni, a miko who is believed to have invented the theatrical art form of kabuki. This prototype was republished in Shōnen Sunday Super on January 25, 2011.[7] Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō is labeled as an otokonoko (男の娘) series in the obi strip and media sources introducing the manga.[8][9] On the other hand, this series highlights the Japanese traditional performing art kabuki, which is rather rare to be a manga theme.[10][11] Hirakawa stated that kabuki is a theme she always wanted to write about. She was born and raised in Shimane Prefecture, believed to be the birthplace of Izumo no Okuni. She became interested in kabuki when she participated in a play about Izumo no Okuni when she was in junior high school.[12] The series was put on hiatus in November 2011, due to Hirakawa's health issues, and resumed in February 2012.[13]

Media

Manga

Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō is written and illustrated by Aya Hirakawa. Hirakawa released a prototype one-shot of the series in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 2009 (republished in Shōnen Sunday Super on January 25, 2011).[6][7] The manga was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from January 13, 2010 to March 26, 2014.[14][1] Shogakukan collected its chapters in nineteen tankōbon volumes, released from April 16, 2010 to May 16, 2014.[15][16]

Volume list
No. Release date ISBN
01 April 16, 2010[15]978-4-09-122270-1
02 July 16, 2010[17]978-4-09-122476-7
03 October 18, 2010[18]978-4-09-122627-3
04 January 18, 2011[19]978-4-09-122768-3
05 April 18, 2011[20]978-4-09-122852-9
06 July 15, 2011[21]978-4-09-123179-6
07 October 18, 2011[22]
October 14, 2011 (LE)[23]		978-4-09-123333-2
978-4-09-941725-3 (LE)
08 January 18, 2012[24]978-4-09-123520-6
09 April 18, 2012[25]978-4-09-123647-0
10 July 18, 2012[26]978-4-09-123789-7
11 October 18, 2012[27]
October 16, 2012 (LE)[28]		978-4-09-124014-9
978-4-09-941804-5 (LE)
12 January 18, 2013[29]978-4-09-124168-9
13 March 18, 2013[30]978-4-09-124239-6
14 June 18, 2014[31]978-4-09-124314-0
15 September 18, 2013[32]978-4-09-124376-8
16 December 18, 2013[33]978-4-09-124376-8
17 March 18, 2014[34]978-4-09-124576-2
18 April 18, 2014[35]978-4-09-124618-9
19 May 16, 2014[16]978-4-09-124650-9

Drama CD

A drama CD was released as a bundle for the limited edition of Volume 7 of the manga on October 14, 2011.[36][23] Another CD was bundled with Volume 11 on October 16, 2012.[28]

See also

References
  1. サンデーの女装×歌舞伎コメディ「國崎出雲の事情」完結. Natalie (in Japanese). March 26, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. 國崎出雲の事情　７ 【限定版】ドラマCD付き. Neowing (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  3. Hirakawa, Aya. Kunisaki Izumo no Jijyo Vol.3. Shogakukan, 2010. chapter20
  4. ひらかわ あや Vol.84／2012年9月19日. Web Sunday (in Japanese). September 19, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  5. Hirakawa, Aya. Kunisaki Izumo no Jijyo Vol.1. Shogakukan, 2010. chapter2
  6. 週刊少年サンデー 2009年 表示号数12. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  7. 紅鮭だーっ！サンデー超で魚のロマン活劇、シャケ大暴れ. Natalie (in Japanese). January 25, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  8. 女装男子ブームがサンデー上陸。歌舞伎女形ラブコメ登場. Natalie (in Japanese). January 7, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  9. はじめの１巻：「國崎出雲の事情」　サンデーで人気の歌舞伎マンガ　天才女形の苦悩も？. Mantan Web (in Japanese). May 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  10. Masuda, Aiko (June 19, 2010). "Kabuki and Noh taking center stage in manga". asahi.com. The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  11. "The Traditional Theater Gets a Manga Makeover". Trends in Japan. Web Japan. July 5, 2010. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  12. 歌舞伎の世界を漫画に！／大社町出身の漫画家・ひらかわあやさん／週刊少年サンデーで連載始まる. Shimane Nichinichi Shimbun (in Japanese). January 14, 2010. Archived from the original on January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  13. 「國崎出雲の事情」再開、サンデーの歌舞伎男の娘マンガ. Natalie (in Japanese). February 15, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  14. サンデー新連載、女装男子もの「國崎出雲の事情」開始. Natalie (in Japanese). January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
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  17. 國崎出雲の事情　２ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
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  21. 國崎出雲の事情　６ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
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  23. 國崎出雲の事情　７　ドラマＣＤ付き限定版 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
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