Ame Arare

A collection of historic short stories, each associated with a karuta card. The stories revolve around the red-light district of Yoshiwara, in Edo.

Set in the Edo Era. Tadaaki, one of her frequent customer's footman had always irked Akane, a courtesan. She plots his downfall but along the way she realizes what she's feeling may not just be pure animosity after all… Also contains other stories about courtesans as well.

A collection of stories set amongst the oiran (high-rank courtesans before the time of geisha) in (mostly) the Yoshiwara district of Edo, a famous historical 'red-light district.' Kagerou no Shou When Kagerou was a child, her parents sold her to be trained as an oiran in Yoshiwara. On her way there, she fell in love with the man who transported her, Ryuuji, and insisted that he be her first sexual customer when she grew up. Now, she is approaching the time when she will lose her virginity, but will Ryuuji be able to be her first? Inazuma no Shou Wakana works in Yoshiwara, but she plans to one day buy her own way out. She seduces presents out of the men who buy her, in order to save money for her future. But one man, Mitsunori, is not like all the others. Will the skilled seductress Wakana be able to cope with real emotion? Mizu no Tsuki no Shou Suigetsu is approaching the time when she's meant to lose her virginity. One day, she miraculously meets with a relative who knows her by her real name: Saya. Is it possible for her to be rescued from this life? Nagasaki Bojou Otaki, an oiran-in-training in Nagasaki, is slated to lose her virginity. However, she's been told she's going to have a Dutch man as a partner! She's frightened of sleeping with a foreigner who may not even speak her language! However, the man in question is nothing like she feared…

Three romance stories set against the historical backdrop of the conflicts between the Genji (a.k.a, Minamoto) and Heike (a.k.a. Taira) clans. Hoshi no Negai wo In 1174, the Heike were in power, and they were searching for the Genji heir, who had gone into hiding. In the same city, a young woman named Shizuka, who had lost her parents in the war, is a dancing girl and prostitute. One night, a man called Torazou paid for her company, but he did not sleep with her. Instead, he talked with her, and began to teach her to read and write. What will become of their relationship? Akatsuki no Kanata ni The time is 1183, during the Genpei war. Tomoe has always been a very masculine girl, and she can outfight and outdrink many men. Since childhood, she's been by the side of Minamoto no Yoshinaka, who she has come to love. Now that they're adults, Yoshinaka is a Genji general and Tomoe fights by his side. However, war is a dangerous time for love… Kimi Itohoshi The time is 1184, during the Genpei war. Self-sufficient Kaede lives alone on a mountain, with only her hawk Kakeru for company. Her solitude is broken by Yoshitsune's Genji army when one of the soldiers, the young Nasu no Yoichi, blunders into her hunting grounds. She allows herself to be drawn into the army's world, crushing on Yoshitsune and treating Yoichi as a little brother. However, as her role in the war becomes more complicated and dangerous, her feelings for Yoichi are beginning to become more than that of an older sister…