Sakuran—Blossoms Wild

Kiyoha may wear the similar fancy kimono-dresses but she is not your everyday geisha. The hairstyle may be the same and she may have some of the finest clientele comparable to those of the most refined women in all of Kyoto, but she is not in the home of geisha and their maiko assistants. Instead, Kiyoha is in Yoshiwara, the infamous red-light district located in northeast Tokyo. And instead of being a respected geisha artisan, she is an oiran, a courtesan.

Kiyoha didn't choose this life. She was forced into this world at an early age for one reason...she had spunk. A fire burned within her as a child. She would rather fight than cry, and she would always fight if ever put at risk. She caused her caretakers so much grief their best solution was to give her a purpose to be strong and maybe a chance to develop a life on her own. But getting to that point would take years of heartache and misery. Kiyoha's entire life has been in chaos, and she has blossomed in it.

Tokyo native Moyoco Anno was born March 26, 1971. Known as one of the major names in Japanese women's comics, she is equally known for her iconic fashion designs and as a fashion writer. Her manga and books have attained considerable
popularity among young women in Japan. Though she primarily writes manga for women, her most popular title in the west is Sugar Sugar Rune, which was targeted at primary school-aged girls. In a recent Japanese poll, she was voted the eighth most popular manga artist among females and thirteen in the general category. Most of her works have been adapted for film or TV, including SAKURAN, Hataraki-Man, and Sugar Sugar Rune. In 2005, Anno's Sugar Sugar Rune won the comic artist the prestigious Kodansha Comics Award.