Ten (manga)
Ten: Tenhō-dōri no Kaidanji is a Japanese mahjong-themed manga series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. It was serialized in Takeshobo's Kindai Mahjong Gold from 1989 to 2002, with its chapters collected in eighteen volumes. Considered a hit in Japan, it was followed by a prequel focusing on one of the supporting characters Akagi in 1991.
A sequel series, set three years after the events of Ten, titled Hero: Akagi no Ishi o Tsugu Otoko, written and illustrated by Jirō Maeda with Fukumoto's collaboration, ran in Kindai Mahjong from October 2009 to July 2021. Another sequel, set 20 years after the events of Ten, titled Yami-ma no Mamiya, written and illustrated by Fukumoto, began in Kindai Mahjong in July 2019.
By August 2018, the manga had over 7 million copies in circulation.
Plot
The story begins when Hiroyuki Igawa, who has a deep knowledge of the "logic" of mahjong, meets Takashi Ten, who runs a mahjong contracting business. Ten is a rep player with an unrivaled competitive edge and a strong will to win, and Hiroyuki begins to admire Ten and immerse himself in the world of mahjong. Eventually, Ten and Hiroyuki meet legendary mahjong player Shigeru Akagi, known as the "Man of the Divine Realm," as well as some of the best current mahjong players in the Kansai area, Katsumi Harada and Mitsui Soga, as they take on the challenge of fighting to determine the top of the Japanese underground mahjong world.Characters
East
;Takashi Ten;Hiroyuki Igawa
;Shigeru Akagi
;Ginji Asai
;Ken Igarashi
;Hitoshi Washio
;Shūzō Kanamitsu
West
; Katsumi Harada; Mitsui Soga
; Akutsu
; Mitsui
; Nangō
; Sakaguchi
; Yoshii
; Kei Ogami
Miscellaneous
;Sawada;Nakanishi
;Murota
;Urabe
;Iwao Washizu
Media
Manga
Ten: Tenhōdōri No Kaidanji is written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. Fukumoto launched the manga in 1989 during Japan's economic boom, when gambling manga became popular. The manga was serialized in Takeshobo's magazine Kindai Mahjong Gold from 1989 to 2002. Takeshobo compiled its chapters into eighteen volumes, published from August 21, 1989, to April 27, 2002. Takeshobo re-released the series into thirteen volumes published from July 31, 2015, to July 27, 2016.A spin-off series focusing on Hiroyuki and taking place three years after the events of the main story, Hero: Akagi no Ishi o Tsugu Otoko, written and illustrated by Jirō Maeda, was serialized for 142 chapters in Kindai Mahjong from October 1, 2009, to July 1, 2021.
A prequel manga series focusing on one of the supporting characters Akagi was serialized from 1991 to 2018. A sequel created by Fukumoto, set twenty years after the events of Ten, titled Yami-ma no Mamiya, started in Kindai Mahjong in 2019.
A spin-off manga centered around Mitsui Soga, titled, began serialization in Kindai Mahjong on June 1, 2023. The series is written by Bingo Morihashi and illustrated by Tomoki Miyoshi and Yoshiaki Seto. The first volume was released on April 1, 2024.
Volumes
''Ten: Tenhōdōri No Kaidanji''
''Hero: Akagi no Ishi o Tsugu Otoko''
Drama
A Japanese television drama adaptation starring Gorō Kishitani as Ten ran for 12 episodes on TV Tokyo's new drama slot "Drama Paravi," airing every Thursday at 1:35-2:05 from October 4 to December 20, 2018. Immediately after the first episode aired, all episodes were distributed in advance on the video distribution service Paravi, with an original episode taking place between episodes 11 and 12 releasing exclusively on the service on November 1. The show's theme song is "9999 by The Yellow Monkey.A sequel adaptation of the last three volumes of the manga has been announced to premiere on TV Tokyo at the end of 2019. The mini-series, known as "Ten: Akagi Shigeru Funeral Arc", was broadcast on December 29 as a 2-hour special, while the full unedited 5-episode version was pre-distributed on Paravi on November 11. The Yellow Monkey's 1999 single "Barairo no Hibi" was chosen to be its theme song.