Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō
Story. Izumo Kunisaki, a boy 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. Production. published a prototype one-shot of the series in "Weekly Shōnen Sunday" in 2009. 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. "Kunisaki Izumo no Jijō" is labeled as an series in the obi strip and media sources introducing the manga. On the other hand, this series highlights the Japanese traditional performing art kabuki, which is rather rare to be a manga theme. 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. The series was put on hiatus in November 2011, due to Hirakawa's health issues, and resumed in February 2012. 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). The manga was serialized in "Weekly Shōnen Sunday" from January 13, 2010 to March 26, 2014. Shogakukan collected its chapters in nineteen "tankōbon" volumes, released from April 16, 2010 to May 16, 2014. Drama  CD. A drama CD was released as a bundle for the limited edition of Volume 7 of the manga on October 14, 2011. Another CD was bundled with Volume 11 on October 16, 2012.