パペットホームズ、大河ドラマなどの好きなテレビ番組やラグビーについて書いています。アフィリエイトはやっていません。／Welcome to my blog. I write about some Japanese TV programmes including NHK puppetry and Taiga Drama, Sherlock Holmes and rugby. I don't do affiliate marketing.
This may be the last entry on "Kirin ga Kuru" in 2020. The broadcast of the series will be restarted on the 30th of August but I decided that I wouldn't watch it any more, however, I will keep on recording the series. But I'm not sure whether I will watch the videos or not. Like "Idaten", the series is disappointing for me also.
Ironically, thanks to the decision, I become to be interested in "Seiten o Tsuke", the series that will be broadcast in 2021 though I didn't expect it at first. Needless to say, I cannot tell the series attracts me or not unless I watch it in actuality - it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive. But now I expect the next year's series.
And the below are the cast of "Kirin ga Kuru" that I haven't introduced yet.
KINOSHITA Tōkichirō or HASHIBA Hideyoshi (Kuranosuke Sasaki)
A son of a farmer of Owari. At first he plans to serve IMAGAWA Yoshimoto but then ODA Nobunaga. He beat Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki after the Honnoji Incident.
SAKUMA Nobumori (Nobuaki Kaneko*)
One of the vassals of Nobunaga
SHIBATA Katsuie (Masanobu Andō)
One of the vassals of Nobunaga
MŌRI Shinsuke (Tsubasa Imai)
One of the vassals of Nobunaga and beheads IMAGAWA Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama.
Hōjin (Bengal)
A fictional figure. He is the man who tells Koma how to make a pill.
Genshin-ni (Kyoko Maya)
A grandmother of MATSUDAIRA Motoyasu (TOKUGAWA Ieyasu) and mother of O-Dai.
YAMAZAKI Yoshiie (Takaaki Enoki**)
One of the vassals of ASAKURA Yoshikage and kajin (waka poet).
(*) Kaneko appears in "Gunshi Kanbei" and acts KUSHIHASHI Sakyonosuke (Masakore), brother of Kanbei's wife Teru.
(**) Enoki appears in some Taiga Drama series and in "Taiheiki", he acts HINO Toshimoto, an aristocrat. The series is written by Shunsaku Ikehata who writes "Kirin ga Kuru"also but and I like it much better than this year's one.
The images are from the official website of "Kirin ga Kuru".
"Bura Tamori" is an NHK programme in which Tamori, a TV personality and a female announcer of the station walk around a city or tourist spot in Japan. They usually tour the site with historians, geographers, geologists or museum curators. "Bura" means strolling or walking around in this case. In the episode broadcast on the 20th of June, they (Tamori and Risa Hayashida) tour Ichijō-dani in Fukui prefecture. The area was formerly ruled by the Asakura clan and AKECHI Mitsuhide is said to have lived there. It's the rebroadcast of the one put on the air in February 2019 because going on location was prohibited until mid-June to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the clan was destroyed by ODA Nobunaga whom Mitsuhide became to serve later. Many people lived there were forced to move to Fukui, current capital of the prefecture.
The remains of the residence where the Asakura clan people lived
(Wikimedia Commons)
In "Kirin ga Kuru", Mitsuhide who lives Ichijō-dani teaches children Four Books and Five Classics at Shōnenji Temple. But I doubt it because the children especially those of samurais were educated at Zen temples at that time and Shōnenji is a Jishu sect temple. Anyway, Ichijō-dani had the advantage of the land especially that of Kuzuryū River and Sea of Japan and created prosperity in the 16th century but was burned by Nobunaga's army. After that the area was brought under cultivation. However, many goods and tools including tea things were buried deep in the ground thanks to the cultivation and the state of the preservation was rather good when the remains were excavated. And now many of them are designated as cultural prosperity.
What is Sengoku period? In general, it means the second half of the Muromachi period (1336 or 1338 - 1573) and at that time, many daimyos had private battles to occupy their enemies' territories. It is said that some powerful daimyos deterred shoguns from voting on issue and sometimes made them from Kyoto where the Muromachi Bakufu was established. And many samurais tried to succeed in their lives by distinguishing themselves in many battles. On the other hand, weak daimyos were forced to fall.
Masato Sakai as SANADA Nobushige (Yukimura) in "Sanada Maru". He fights against the army of TOKUGAWA Ieyasu in the Siege of Osaka (1614 and 1615) and some say the war brought the Sengoku period to an end in a real sense.
In such troublesome time, many people were said to hope the coming of peace as described in this year's Taiga Drama series "Kirin ga Kuru". However, Kōki Mitani, a famous playwright in Japan once said that there were no concept of peace and no idea that somebody will unify Japan someday and "Sanada Maru", the series he writes is based on such idea. I agree with him on this point. Needless to say, there are various views on the period but I think many people in the period managed to survive from day to day and maybe they could not afford to think about "Kirin" (Qilin). To be honest, I don't accept the concept of this year's one.
In the 21st episode of "Kirin ga Kuru", Nobunaga apoligises to his wife Kichō for having a son Kimyō Maru (later ODA Nobutada) between his concubine (sokushitsu) called Kitsuno secretly. But I think it's strange because having concubine(s) was COMMON among the samurais at that time especially those who were high in status.They are required to have many children to strengthen their families or clans. In this case, not the concubines but their wives brought up the children instead of their real mothers. Concubines were usually waiting maids but Kitsuno was a widow of a samurai and was so beloved by Nobunaga. Some say that her former husband was not dead but AKECHI Hidemitsu, cousin of Mitsuhide. She gave birth to three children and died in 1566.
Kichō (Haruna Kawaguchi, far right) sees Kimyō Maru (the second from the left) and says "Who is this baby?"
(From the video of the episode 21)
There is another strange point in the series. A wife of shogun, daimyo or their senior vassals was required to give birth to children and take care of family matters besides. But in the series, Kichō seems to take part in her husband's business and occasionally stay away from the castle where she lives. If she had devoted herself to control the family matters, she would have known the birth of Kiｍyō Maru earlier and also learned her husband had a concubine. And if Shunsaku Ikehata, the scenario writer hoped to describe Kichō as an active wife of Nobunaga, Erika Sawajiri should have played the role as scheduled but she was arrested for possessing illegal medicines.
In the 35th episode of "Fūrin Kazan", Sanjō Fujin (Chizuru Ikewaki, left) meets Yū hime (Miyuki Shibamoto, centre) when she visits Harunobu
(From the DVD series of "Fūrin Kazan")
Needless to say, wife and concubine don't get along together often. In "Furin Kazan", Sanjō Fujin, wife of TAKEDA Harunobu (Shingen) meets his concubine Yū hime who is shocked at O-Goto hime, another concubine of Harunobu and persuades her what she should do to deal with the new rival. Recently male main characters of Taiga Drama series are usually single or have no concubine though they are married. However, I don't always agree with producing historical dramas in such way. From the 14th of June, special programmes on the series set in the Sengoku period will be broadcast for a while because "Kirin ga Kuru" is forced to stop shooting because of the spread of COVID-19. Some of them, especially "Dokuganryū Masamune " and "Kuni-tori Monogatari" are the series that are relatively authentic (more authentic than this year's one) so I want to enjoy them.
At the setout, I tell you that the broadcast of "Kirin ga Kuru" will be suspended for a short while because the spread of COVID-19 prevented the cast and the crew from shooting. During the time, the famous scenes and short stories about shooting of the series set in he Sengoku period will be broadcast instead. The broadcast schedule of NHK is as below.
"Toshiie to Matsu" 28th June, 2020 PM 8:00~8:45 (JST)
Seiyō Uchino as Tokugawa Ieyasu in "Sanada Maru"
TOKUGAWA Ieyasu is known as a samurai who established the Edo Bakufu (Tokugawa shogunate) not only in Japan but in foreign countries also. He is one of the remarkable figures in the Sengoku period is acted by various actors in Taiga Drama series. However, he went through a lot of hardships when he was young. His father MATSUDAIRA Hirotada was killed or died of illness when he was a child who was called Takechiyo. Little Takechiyo became a hostage of the ODA clan when he was 3 years old. After that he was taken hostage by IMAGAWA Yoshimoto who ruled Suruga as daimyo. He was educated by TAIGEN Sessai and Yoshimoto found him useful.
Sadao Abe as Tokugawa Ieyasu in "Onna Joshu Naotora"
In 1555, he celebrated his genpuku (coming of age) and called himself MATSUDAIRA Motoyasu. He was granted to use the portion of ”Yoshimoto". In the same year, he married Sena (Tsukiyama dono*), relative of Yoshimoto. But after the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, he returned to Okazaki Castle in Mikawa, the province where he was born. It is said that he betrayed the Imagawa clan but recent research has shown that he returned to Mikawa to prepare the battle against the army of ODA Nobunaga as an officer of Yoshimoto's army. And it is also said he who was chased by Nobunaga's army tried to commit suicide but the enemies didn't chase and attack him. (It may be true that he tried to kill himself but was stopped by a priest and persuaded to survive)
Shunsuke Kazama as Tokugawa Ieyasu (Matsudaira Motoyasu) in "Kirin ga Kuru"
After that he formed an alliance with ODA Nobunaga and made his son Nobuyasu marry Toku hime who was born between Nobunaga and his concubine. Before it, he changed his name into TOKUGAWA Ieyasu. But there were still lots of difficulties lying ahead. He came into collision with his son Nobuyasu and his clan was troubled with internal strife. Nobuyasu was finally ordered to commit hara-kiri and his mother Tsukiyama-dono was executed in 1579. Moreover, he had more bitter experiences to govern Japan as shogun.
(*) She is said to have been a niece of Yoshimoto. "Tsukiyama dono" means Lady or Madame Tsukiyama. The name comes from Tsukiyama, a place in Okazaki.
A samurai who was born in Mikawa (eastern part of present Aichi) , served ODA Nobunaga and TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi and finally became the first shogun of Edo Bakufu (Tokugawa Shogunate). He was a hostage of the Imagawa clan who governed Sunpu but could returned to Okazaki Castle in Mikawa after IMAGAWA Yoshimoto died in the Battle of Okehazama. Then he formed an alliance with Nobunaga and distinguished himself as daimyo.
MATSUDAIIRA Motoyasu, later TOKUGAWA Ieyasu
Young Motoyasu (Yūto Ikeda)
Takechiyo, Motoyasu in his childhood (Ryusei Iwata)
IMAGAWA Yoshimoto (KATAOKA Ainosuke)
A daimyo of Suruga (eastern part of present Shizuoka) who was called "Tōkai ichi no Yumitori", the strongest warrior in the provinces along Tōkaidō. He later became ambitious to occupy neighbouring provinces but was killed in the Battle of Okehazama before his dream came true and it allowed Nobunaga conquer Mino.
TAIGEN Sessai (Gorō Ibuki*)
A Buddhism priest and a strategist of Yoshimoto and was called "Kokui no Saishō", a councilor in black robe. He was also a tutor of Ieyasu but suddenly died in 1555 and some say that his death declined the Imagawa clan.
(*) He plays the role of HOSOKAWA Fujitaka in "Kuni-tori Monogatari".
She is a fictional character who leads a troupe of travelling entertainers. Thanks to it, she has connections with the influential persons in various areas. Koma was once a member of the troupe so she knows her well. Before the Battle of Nagaragawa, she is told to let SAITŌ Dōsan escape to Echizen (eastern part of present Fukui) by Kichō but Dōsan refuses it. Then she takes Mitsuhide and his family to the same place after the fall of Akechi Castle.
FUJITA Dengo (Satoshi Tokushige)
A samurai who served Mitsuhide and one of the few vassals who was told about the attack on ODA nobunaga before the Honnoji Incident. However, he committed suicide during the battle against HASHIBA Hideyoshi. His another name is Yukimasa.
ASAKURA Yoshikage (Yūsuke Santamaria)
A lord of Echizen and uses Mitsuhide to contact with Muromachi Bakufu in the series. The Asakura clan ruled the province for many years. He opposed ODA Nobunaga and won Asai (Azai) Nagamasa, a brother-in-law of Nobunaga over to his side but killed himself after the betrayal of his cousin Kageakira (*). He is said to have preferred art to battle maybe because of the deaths of his family members and the estrangement by his vassals.
(*) It is said that the skulls of him and Nagamasa were lacquered and gilded under the orders of Nobunaga. Then he compelled his vassals to drink sake from them but some say it's groundless. In "Komyō ga Tsuji", such behaviour of Nobunaga is blamed by his sister O-Ichi.
A wife of Mitsuhide. She was born as a daughter of TSUMAKI Norihiro, one of the powerful samurais of Mino Province. When the Akechi family ruined after the Battle of Nagara-gawa in 1556, she supported her husband who experienced difficulties to realise reestablishing Muromachi Bakufu and converted her hair into money to help him. She is said to have died in 1576 or in 1582 when Sakamoto Castle fell after the Honnoji Incident and the Battle of Yamazaki.
Maki (Sayuri Ishikawa*)
A mother of Mitsuhide and a wife of AKECHI Mitsutsuna. Instead of her husband who died young, she brought up Mitsuhide. In the series, she tells young Mitsuhide how a samurai should be and makes him visit Tsumaki Castle to meet Hiroko that is a marriage interview in fact.
AKECHI Samanosuke (Shōtarō Mamiya)
A cousin of Mitsuhide and a son of AKECHI Mitsuyasu. Like Hiroko, he supported Mitsuhide and married Mitsuhide's daughter. After the Honnoji Incident, he defended Sakamoto Castle against the army of HORI Hidemasa. On the 14th of June 1582, he killed the damily of Mitsuhide and his wife, he commits suicide and burned the castle.
(*) She is an experienced singer who is famous for her smash hit "Tsugaru Kaikyō Fuyugeshiki" and acts a Christian woman in a Taiga Drama series "Kōmyō ga Tsuji".
The images are from the official website of "Kirin ga Kuru".
A physician who lives in Kyoto but has connections with many aristocrats and daimyos. He likes gambling and always suffers poverty so his assistant Koma has to go to pawnshop often. In the episode 2, he is required by Mitsuhide to see his aunt Omi-no-kata (wife of SAITŌ Dōsan) to earn money.
Koma (Mugi Kadowaki)
A woman who assists Tōan. She lost her parents in the war in her childhood but she was saved by a samurai who wore a kimono with the crest of balloon flower, the family crest of the Toki clan (*). When she gets to know Mitsuhide in the episode 1, she tells him that the samurai said Kirin (Qilin) would appear someday to put an end to the troublesome period. Later she makes friends with Kichō and secretly loves Mitsuhide.
Kikumaru (Takashi Okamura)
A farmer who is saved by Mitsuhide when he is taken by bandits. He appears in unexpected places and at unexpected moments to help Mitsuhide and sometimes works as spy. He sells miso but the business is not doing well and then works at an apothecary in Sunpu.
(*) Mitsuhide is descended from the clan.
The images are from the official website of "Kirin ga Kuru".
A shugo-daimyo of Mino Province. He liked falconry and painting hawks. He once expelled his elder brother from the position of shugo-daimyo and gained power with the help of SAITŌ Dōsan. However Dōsan then prompted to expel him to seize real power. In the series, he treats SAITŌ Yoshitatsu (Takamasa), heir of Dōsan as if he were his own son and that caused the confrontation between him and Dōsan. In reality, some say that Yoshitatsu was his real son.
INABA Yoshimichi (Takehito Murata)
He was one of the major vassals of Dōsan but he later took side of Yoshitatsu (Takamasa) when he opposed Dōsan. Then he became to serve ODA Nobunaga and TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi and his granddaughter Fuku became a nurse of TOKUGAWA Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. In the series, he is bitter about the forcibility of Dōsan and incites Yoshitatsu to feel antipathy against his father.
HIRATE Masahide (Shōzō Uesugi*)
He was a vassal of ODA Nobuhide and mori-yaku (tutor) for his son Nobunaga. He is said to have unable to manage him who behaved eccentrically but arranged the marriage for him and Kichō. In the series, he is involved in the internal conflict of the Oda family and commits suicide. But there are other reasons why he did so.
(*) I think he is more suitable for the roles of TAKATŌ Yoritsugu in "Fūrin Kazan" and EDA Zenbei in "Gunshi Kanbei", both of whom are imprudent and like working out a plot that usually ends in failure.
