Bungeishunju has announced that it will collaborate with Amazon Audible to produce audiobooks of all eight volumes of Ryotaro Shiba's historical novel "Saka no Ue no Kumo (Clouds Above the Hill)."
"Saka no Ue no Kumo" is a youth drama depicting the lives of the people who pushed forward to create a modern nation, centering on the brothers Akiyama Yoshifuru and Saneyuki and Masaoka Shiki, who ran through the turbulent times of the Meiji era. The work has received high praise, including being ranked first in a survey by the Ryotaro Shiba Memorial Foundation on "Favorite Shiba Works." In addition, the rebroadcast of the NHK special drama has been a hot topic, and many people have been calling for it to be made into an audiobook.
In response to this demand, production is now underway to recreate the world of "Clouds Above the Hill," with releases scheduled to begin in 2025.
