is a shōjo manga by Hiro Matsuba. It takes place in Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and follows the adventures of Akane, the daughter of a high-ranked official, who enters the imperial court

Court

A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

 as a servant in order to be closer to her beloved Aogi.

The manga consists of eight volumes and was published in Japan by Mag Garden

Mag Garden

is a Japanese publishing company that focuses on manga-related publications and is also involved in the development of anime and live-action adaptations. It was founded on June 5, 2001 by Yoshihiro Hosaka along with former manga artists of Enix...

. ADV Manga published two volumes in the United States in English between 2004 and 2005. As of November 2006, there has been no news of any further publication by ADV.

Characters

Akane: The heroine of the story, she is the daughter of the High Councilor and the Naishi no Kami. She entered the imperial court in order to see her childhood sweetheart, Aogi. She is also known as Katsura in court.
Aogi: The hero of the story, he is Akane's lover. He is also a minor captain of the palace guards, and very popular with the woman servants (because of his good looks).
Satsuki: Akane's friend in court, and she is also in love with Aogi.
Akiko: The Naishi no Kami and Akane's mother. She supports the fact that her daughter is in the imperial court.
Middle Captain Tou: Akane's brother, who is higher in rank than Aogi. He is on friendly terms with Aogi and often gives him advice about Akane. He is also very popular with the woman servants (yet again because of his good looks).
Kasuga: A servant from Reikei Hall: A notorious gossiper in the court.
Lady Jiju (Natchan): A friend of Satsuki who is incredibly shy who likes Yakumo.
Hikoboshi: Akane's mischievous cat

Japanese

1. ISBN 4-901926-07-1 published on September 10, 2002
2. ISBN 4-901926-25-X published on December 10, 2002
3. ISBN 4-901926-45-4 published on April 10, 2003
4. ISBN 4-901926-79-9 published on September 10, 2003
5. ISBN 4-86127-011-1 published on February 10, 2004
6. ISBN 4-86127-063-4 published on August 10, 2004
7. ISBN 4-86127-113-4 published on January 11, 2005
8. ISBN 4-86127-162-2 published on July 8, 2005

Further reading