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Naturally, there are quite a few historical anime that are set in Japan, whether it be about a war that took place centuries ago or about events in recent history. While there are occasional embellishments, many of these stories are a great way to become acquainted with a little bit of Japanese history.
10 Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
In this anime, a recently released prisoner named Kyoji decides to become a rakugo performer, and attempts to become the apprentice of Yurakutei Yakumo. Yakumo initially refuses, but ultimately he decides to take him in, giving him the name Yotaro. The series then dips into Yakumo’s backstory, starting from his days as an apprentice.
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju is a biographical anime that chronicles the life of Yurakutei Yakumo as he grows from a mere apprentice to a proper performer. It also provides a historical look into the Japanese art of rakugo, a unique type of comedic storytelling.
9 Taisho Otome Fairy Tale
A car accident takes two things away from Shima Tamahiko: his mother, and the use of his right arm. Seeing him as a burden, his father sends him to live in a remote village far away, sending him into despair. He is lifted out of his depression by a young girl named Yuzuki Tachibana, whom his father has sent to him to be his bride.
Taisho Otome Fairy Tale is a short, sweet series about a budding romance during Japan’s Taisho era (the late 19th to early 20th century). It’s a very cute and wholesome series that occasionally deals with some darker issues.
8 Hakuoki: Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom
Disguised as a young boy, protagonist Chizuru Yukimura searches for her missing father during Japan’s Bakumatsu period, in the 1850s and 60s. While in Kyoto, she is attacked by monsters called furies, and only manages to escape death by being rescued by the Shinsengumi, who decide to foster her when they realize her father was the man behind the cause of these furies appearing.
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Hakuoki was originally a video game, and this anime is an adaptation of its main storyline. While it does have supernatural elements, it also features the Shinsengumi, who were a special police force during the Bakumatsu.
7 Basilisk: The Koga Ninja Scrolls
Two ninja clans, the Iga and Koga, enjoy an uneasy truce after Ieyasu unites Japan in the early 17th century. Koga’s heir Gennosuke is betrothed to the Iga’s Oboro in order to try and end the rivalry, but that all ends when Tokugawa Ieyasu decides to have the ninja clans fight each other to determine his successor.
Basilisk is a grim and gruesome battle manga that pits warriors with supernatural ninja techniques against each other. While it is rooted in fiction, its setting involves several real events that occurred during this period in history.
6 The Wind Rises
Jiro Horikoshi loves planes, but he cannot become a pilot due to his poor eyesight. With no other way to engage with his passion, he decides to become an aircraft designer and build planes instead. As he grows and begins building aircraft, he experiences success, romance, and tragedy.
This movie is a very recent Studio Ghibli film, and it is based on the life of the real Jiro Horikoshi, although some details are embellished. It is a very somber movie that takes place in the period running up to World War II.
5 The Heike Story
Biwa, a young minstrel who has just lost her father, is taken in by the Taira clan, a ruling clan with influence even greater than the emperor’s. With her unique ability to see the future, Biwa becomes an unwitting witness to the slow fall of the Heike.
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The Heike Story is a slightly supernatural retelling of the Tale of the Heike, which documents the legendary conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans that took place in the late 12th century. It has a classic artstyle that evokes traditional Japanese art, and the music provides a soothing ambience.
4 Rainbow
Rainbow covers the chronicles of Japanese junior delinquents, who are all sent to a reform school for various crimes. While there, they are faced by abusive staff members and cruel treatment meant to break their spirits.
Rainbow is a stark portrait of life in Japan in the 1950s, from the perspective of lower class students in reform school. The anime continues to follow them as they leave the reform school and try to lead lives of their own. This series is bleak, but it provides a very honest look at Japan during this time period.
3 Grave Of The Fireflies
Animated by the famous Studio Ghibli, this film based on the short story written by Akiyuki Nosaka. It depicts the struggle of two young children as they struggle to survive as their city is destroyed by the fighting during World War II.
Grave of the Fireflies is an incredibly haunting and tragic story that depicts the horrors of living in wartime Japan. It is considered one of the greatest war films of all time, and its bleak portrayal of the children’s desperate struggle for survival is unforgettable.
2 Golden Kamuy
While panning for gold in Hokkaido, Saichi Sugimoto learns of a tale of Ainu gold, which can only be found by following a map of tattoos on escaped convicts. Enlisting the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa, the two of them set out to find this elusive treasure.
Golden Kamuy is set during after the Russo-Japanese war that took place in the early 20th century, of which Saichi is a veteran. While the anime is essentially an adventure story, it also showcases the struggles the people of Hokkaido dealt with after the war, particularly those of the Ainu people.
1 Rurouni Kenshin
Hitokiri Battosai was one of the greatest assassins of the Bakumatsu, allowing the Meiji Restoration of the late 19th century to take effect. However, now he roams the land of Japan as Himura Kenshin, a mere swordsman, as he tries to atone for the many lives he took during his life as an assassin.
Rurouni Kenshin is one of the most well-known shonen series of the 1990s, and it provides a look into the world of Japan as it begins to break out of its isolationist policy due to westernization. It has amazing swordfighting action, and is a certified classic.
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