Mademoiselle Butterfly by Ogura Akane

A beautiful, romantic, shoujo manga set during Japan's historic war with America, Mademoiselle Butterfly tells the tale of a little girl who was sold to become a geisha. As with many geisha of her time, Butterfly would be married off to whoever wishes to purchase her at the price her house determines.

When she was young, Butterfly often visited her neighbor Chinatsu, a tattoo artist. She loved watching him work, and she had always wanted him to tattoo her, but Chinatsu refused, because she was too young. So instead, he would draw on her arm using brush and ink.

Eventually, Butterfly fell in love with Chinatsu. But she almost could not fulfill her wish to become his wife when she was bought by a foreigner... ironically, one of Chinatsu's clients. Butterfly could not refuse since it was their custom, and it seemed Chinatsu accepted their fate to depart.

Butterfly was heart-broken and wept for days. Fortunately, the foreigner cared for her enough to return her to Chinatsu. He could not express his true feelings at the time, but Chinatsu loved being around her and missed her terribly when she wasn't around.

When Butterfly was of age, she and Chinatsu married. Butterfly's family was overjoyed that she had found happiness, even if they had to sell her away. Their love grew more as time progressed, despite the many trials they faced. One major trial was when Chinatsu was called to serve the military, leaving a preganant Butterfly to be cared for by his father.

Five years had passed since they last saw each other, Butterfly recieved a letter from the military that Chinatsu had been killed in the line of duty. She had a difficult time accepting that Chinatsu was gone forever, but her twin girls helped her find a purpose to live on.

Forunately... The manga has a very heart-warming ending that I will not spoil. :3

There's no point in a summary if I were to spoil the ending and mentioned all the details in the story. So go buy it, it's only 2 volumns after all... And I'm definitely buying them when I get the ch

Thanks for the recommendation, Yarrow. ^^ Now go update your blogs! >E