Japan's samurai past is riddled with stories of great fighting prowess and deeply ingrained systems of honor and discipline. But behind the stern demeanor was a society coming apart at the seams. Clashes in class systems and the need for a nation to come together threaten to break up the old ways of warring samurai--these are tales of such struggles. This is the story of Japan's history, and the beginning of the end of the samurai era.

• Until the release of Lone Wolf & Cub in Europe, Satsuma Gishiden was the highest-selling samurai manga of all time in Europe.

• Each volume comes shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory.