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.
The life of SAIGŌ Kichinosuke (Takamori) was full of ups and downs. He who served SHIMAZU Nariakira and learned about the Western Powers from him. Then he became his pupil rather than his vassal and sacrificed himself for the lord of Satsuma. However he died suddenly when he was in Kyoto and he tried to follow him to the grave but was stopped by Gesshō. In the series, the scene is not described but he intends to save him from the execution in the Ansei Purge. But at last they are cornered and they committed suicide.
Aikana (left) and Kichinosuke
Though Kichinosuke was saved and was exiled to Amami Oshima and met Aikana. they had two children one of whom was Kikujirō but Kichinosuke returned to Satsuma. After that he was exiled again and looked death in the face there. The experience matured him and then he decided to overthrow the shogunate and met some great figures such as KATSU Kaishū, SAKAMOTO Ryōma and IWAKURA Tomomi and they influenced him so much. At last he overthrew the shogunate and became one of those who realised the Meiji Restoration but he was not the man who was well adapted to the government.
Kichinosuke (right) and Ryōma who shows him a pistol
Miho Nakazono who writes the script of the series says in a guidebook of "Segodon" that she tries to make some characters be tossed about the storms in the life and become strong-minded and so is Kichinosuke. As I write in "My Impressions on Segoi-don 1", he is not described as a man who is very charismatic and has a thought strongly based on royalism as he really was or is described in "Tobu ga Gotoku". But he is a mysterious man and there may be many ways of describing him. Yukinori Kida, one of the Senior Managing Directors of NHK says, "Though SAIGŌ Takamori was the main character in 'Tobu ga Gotoku' also, the way of describing him changes as time goes by". And I accept Nakazono's description. I stop posting the entries on "Sego-don" in English for a while but will post them related to the history of Kagoshima soon.
Takmori (centre) is pursued by the Government Army in the Satsuma Rebellion
The images are from the official website of "Segodon"
