Daichūshingura

Daichūshingura
Also known as大忠臣蔵
GenreJidaigeki
Directed byMitsuo Murayama
Takumi Furukawa
StarringToshiro Mifune[1]
Tetsuya Watari
Tetsuro Tamba
Takashi Shimura
Masakazu Tamura
Theme music composerIsao Tomita
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes52
Production
Running time45 minutes (per episode)
Production companiesTV Asahi, Mifune production
Original release
NetworkTV Asahi
ReleaseJanuary 5 (1971-01-05) –
December 26, 1971 (1971-12-26)

Daichūshingura (大忠臣蔵) (Dai Chushingura) is a Japanese television dramatization of the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. The first episode aired on January 5, 1971, and the 52nd and final episode appeared on December 28 of the same year. The NET network broadcast it in the Tuesday evening 9:00–9:56 prime-time slot in Japan.[2]

The series featured an all-star cast. The central actor was Toshiro Mifune, who portrayed Ōishi Kuranosuke; Yoko Tsukasa his wife; and kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorō VII their son Chikara.[3]

Ichikawa Chūsha VIII took the part of Kira Yoshinaka, but died after the filming of Episode 47; his brother Kodayū replaced him.

Many actors appeared as guest stars in only a few episodes. Among them were many known to audiences outside Japan. These included superstar Kinnosuke Nakamura as Wakisaka Awaji-no-kami, Matsumoto Kōshirō, Shintaro Katsu (of Zatoichi fame), Mifune's frequent co-star Takashi Shimura, Eiji Okada, Yukiyo Toake, Kinichi Hagimoto, Terumi Niki, Masaaki Sakai, and Shinji Maki.

The series has been rerun during the more than 35 years that have passed since it was first aired. It is available in several DVD sets.

Cast

References

  1. ^ "三船敏郎". kotobank. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. ^ "大忠臣蔵". DramaD. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  3. ^ "大忠臣蔵". twellv.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.