Shite no Hana

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Shite no Hana: Nōgakushi Haga Kotarō no Sakikata
Cover of the first volume
シテの花 -能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方-
Manga
Written byChigusa Ichihara
Published byShogakukan
ImprintShōnen Sunday Comics
Magazine
Original runOctober 16, 2024 – present
Volumes4

Shite no Hana: Nōgakushi Haga Kotarō no Sakikata (シテの花 -能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方-) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chigusa Ichihara with supervision by Kazufusa Hosho. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from October 2024 to November 2025; its serialization is set to resume on the manga website Sunday Webry in December 2025. As of November 2025, the manga's individual chapters have been collected into four volumes.

Plot

[edit]

Kotaro Haga is a member of a popular dance group, but sometimes feels dissatisfied with it. Later, during a performance, Kotaro gets into an accident which leaves a scar on his face. Kotaro subsequently decides to retire from the entertainment industry. However, his late grandmother left him a ticket to a noh performance. After enjoying the show, he decides to become a noh performer.

Production

[edit]

Prior to Shite no Hana, Ichihara had received praise for works depicting people dedicated to their job, like craftsmen. They also preferred drawing traditional Japanese clothing over Western clothing. They considered kabuki, competitive karuta, go, and shogi as possible themes, but ultimately settled on noh because they felt it would be the best fit for the story they wanted to write.[1]

For research, Ichihara interviewed several noh performers, toured performance venues, and sampled a large amount of different masks and costumes.[1] To appeal to young boys, the target demographic of Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Ichihara added common elements from shōnen manga, while also keeping the focus on noh.[1]

Publication

[edit]

Written and illustrated by Chigusa Ichihara, with supervision by noh performer Kazufusa Hosho [ja],[2] the series began serialization in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday on October 16, 2024.[2] The series finished its serialization in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 19, 2025. The series is set to resume its serialization on the manga website Sunday Webry on December 6, 2025.[3] As of November 2025, the series' individual chapters have been collected into four tankōbon volumes.[4]

Volumes

[edit]
No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 March 18, 2025[5]978-4-09-854028-0
2 May 16, 2025[6]978-4-09-854119-5
3 August 18, 2025[7]978-4-09-854213-0
4 November 18, 2025[4]978-4-09-854332-8

Reception

[edit]

The series was nominated for the Next Manga Award in 2025.[8] Yuki Suenaga [ja], the writer of Akane-banashi, recommended the manga.[9]

Kō Aokage of Real Sound [ja] felt the depiction of noh was realistic and emotional. He also liked the protagonist, praising his character development as the story progresses.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Okamoto, Kimiki (March 8, 2025). 「能楽を少年誌で漫画にする挑戦」『シテの花』壱原ちぐささんと宝生流20代宗家・宝生和英さんが対談【前編】. Art Exhibition (in Japanese). Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  2. ^ a b 踊り以外はすべてが不器用、少年は能の世界へ導かれる　サンデー新連載「シテの花」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 16, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  3. ^ 「シテの花 ―能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方―」サンデーからうぇぶりに連載移籍. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 19, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  4. ^ a b シテの花－能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方－ ４ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  5. ^ シテの花－能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方－ １ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  6. ^ シテの花－能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方－ ２ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  7. ^ シテの花－能楽師・葉賀琥太朗の咲き方－ ３ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  8. ^ 「次にくるマンガ大賞2025」ノミネート100作品発表 『魔男のイチ』『大人大戦』『もちづきさん』など【全作品一覧】. Oricon News (in Japanese). June 20, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  9. ^ サンデー発、能を描く少年マンガ「シテの花」1巻　「あかね噺」の末永裕樹も推薦. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 18, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Aokage, Kō (June 19, 2025). 映画『国宝』大ヒットで"伝統芸能ブーム"到来？　能をテーマにした漫画『シテの花』に注目. Real Sound (in Japanese). Retrieved November 10, 2025.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]