Shishi no Mon

Shishi no Mon 『獅子の門』 (ししのもん), literally: Gate of the Lions, is an action novel series by Baku Yumemakura. It appeared serially in the monthly magazine Shousetsu Houseki "Novel Jewel" (Koubunsha Publishing) from 1984. The novel was withheld from publication for a long period, but in recent years has once again been appearing serially. The novel has been tagged as the "super violent novel". The cover art and illustrations are done by the manga artist Keisuke Itagaki. As of 2014, eight books have been published by Kappa Novels (Koubunsha Publishing) finishing serialization.

Plot
The story revolves around four young boys who all have strange personalities and come from usual hometowns. They acquire discipline through martial arts and before long get to know each other and are in fierce competition. The main plot is intertwined with several side stories that are driven by sub-characters original to this series. In addition to these original characters the karate practitioner Juumei Kuga who appears in the manga version called Garouden ("Legend of the Hungry Wolves"), also written by Yumemakura and illustrated by Itagaki, has been changed to an original character of the novel and does not practice Karate but an ancient Japanese martial art.