Set in the bakumatsu period, the story follows Tominaga Sei, a young girl who poses as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburō so she can join the Mibu-Roshi (Special Police; later known as the Shinsengumi).

In North America, Kaze Hikaru is licensed in English by Viz Media, originally serialized in their Shojo Beat magazine from July 2005 to September 2006 and currently published in print and digital volumes.

Kaze Hikaru takes place in the 1860s—in the Japanese historical period known as bakumatsu—and revolves around a girl named Tominaga Sei who joins the Mibu-Roshi (Special Police; later known as the Shinsengumi).

[14] In North America, Viz Media acquired the series rights and published the manga in its female-targeted magazine Shojo Beat, from the first issue in July 2005 until September 2006.

[24] The manga has also been licensed in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo,[25] in South Korea by Haksan Culture Company,[26] in Taiwan by Chingwin Publishing Group,[27] and in Vietnam by NXB Trẻ.

[40] Writing for Manga Life, Ryan Lewis described Kaze Hikaru as "a unique title", praising its engaging story, plot, and characters.

[43] Pop Culture Shock's reviewer Katherine Dacey described Kaze Hikaru as "an action-filled drama in the vein of The Rose of Versailles or They Were Eleven", and she praised the political nature of the series because Watanabe discusses the gender constraints in Japan.

"[46] According to Anime News Network's Rebecca Silverman, one of the strengths of Kaze Hikaru is "the meticulous research and fidelity to history that Taeko Watanabe maintains".

[4] Holly Ellingwood from Active Anime compared the manga to Rurouni Kenshin and Peacemaker Kurogane, and lauded the series for showing the reader the reality of that historical period.

[47] Leroy Douresseaux from Comic Book Bin described it as "James Clavell meets Colleen McCullough", and praised Watanabe's artwork, which he said creates "expressive characters and Oscar-worthy costume design".

[3] Sheena McNeil of Sequential Tart called Kaze Hikaru a "fantastic read for any genre", praising its strong female lead, romance, art and comedy.