The original novel, centering on the contrasting stories of career surgeon Gorō Zaizen, and the friendly doctor Shuji Satomi, also inspired a 1966 live-action film, and two live-action series in 1978 and 2003.
The December issue of Shinchosha’s Monthly Comic @Bunch magazine published the first chapter of Jiro Ando’s new Shiro Kyotō (The White Tower) manga on Saturday.
Ando’s Shion no Oh manga ran in Kodansha’s Afternoon magazine from 2004 to 2008, with eight compiled book volumes.
Ando launched a manga based on Tetsuya Honda’s Bushidō Sixteen novel in 2009, and ended it in October 2010 with three volumes.