This work is set in the Showa era during the mid-1960s and early '70s. Yukinojo, the protagonist, was abandoned on the grounds of a Tokyo temple soon after his birth. He meets and marries Asahi, the daughter of an Aomori apple farmer, and after being adopted into her family, moves to the deep, snow-covered apple country of northern Japan. Far from the social turmoil of the period, Yukinojo lives a quiet family life that warms his heart and fills the void of never having known his parents. But one winter everything changes when he brings his wife, who has fallen ill, a forbidden apple. Reviv... More...

This work is set in the Showa era during the mid-1960s and early '70s. Yukinojo, the protagonist, was abandoned on the grounds of a Tokyo temple soon after his birth. He meets and marries Asahi, the daughter of an Aomori apple farmer, and after being adopted into her family, moves to the deep, snow-covered apple country of northern Japan. Far from the social turmoil of the period, Yukinojo lives a quiet family life that warms his heart and fills the void of never having known his parents. But one winter everything changes when he brings his wife, who has fallen ill, a forbidden apple. Reviving a rite that should have died out some 60 years earlier, Asahi becomes the consort of a local deity known as Obosuna-sama. Delicately yet boldly, with richly expressive touches, this continuing series depicts villagers who hold fast to the traditional customs they have inherited, and the natural environment of a bygone Japan.

Won a New Face Award from the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2012. Less...