is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from October 2003 to April 2011, with its chapters collected in 35 tankōbon volumes. The series is about Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs to rival families of kekkai (barrier magic) users, who must defend their school from the spirits drawn to the sacred land upon which it is built. It was adapted as a 52-episode anime television series by Sunrise, which was broadcast between October 2006 and February 2008. Both manga and anime series have been licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media. The anime series was broadcast in the United States on Adult Swim from May 2010 to May 2011. The Kekkaishi manga had over 17 million copies in circulation as of June 2020. In 2007, the manga won the 52nd Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category. Plot According to the legend, five hundred years ago, there was an insignificant lord who possessed a mysterious power that drew (supernatural creatures) to him. A demon exterminator, Tokimori Hazama, was called upon to protect the lord and his castle. The lord's power stayed on the land even when he had died. Thus, Tokimori founded the Hazama clan, who inherited his techniques, to protect the land for centuries to come. This land is . In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, are the that protect Karasumori (which is located on the grounds of the school they attend). They are ability users (people who can use supernatural powers) who use a technique called . Kekkai is a form of magical energy barrier which is primarily used to capture and destroy ayakashi that are drawn to this . Any ayakashi that stay on the land become stronger. Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from the intrusion of ayakashi who try to "power-up" there. Yoshimori and Tokine suffered a lot of hardships in their responsibilities to protect Karasumori. The ayakashi they must fight are becoming more and more powerful, but they managed to protect the land with the help from Yoshimori's older brother, Masamori Sumimura, and the . The Shadow Organization itself is an organization of ability users that is governed by a council of twelve, consisting of high level ability users. All the members are not the main