Nemuri Kyōshirō (TV series)

Nemuri Kyōshirō
Also known as眠狂四郎
GenreJidaigeki
Directed byKazuo Ikehiro
Akira Inoue
Tokuzō Tanaka
StarringMasakazu Tamura
Narrated byMasaya Takahashi
Theme music composerTakeo Watanabe[1]
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes26[1]
Production
Running time45 minutes (per episode)
Production companyToei Company
Original release
NetworkKansai Telecasting Corporation
Release3 October 1972 (1972-10-03)[1] –
27 March 1973 (1973-03-27)[1]

Nemuri Kyōshirō (眠狂四郎) is a Japanese television jidaigeki or period drama that was broadcast in prime-time in 1972 to 1973.[2] It is based on series of Nemuri Kyōshirō novels by Renzaburō Shibata.[3][4][5] Masakazu Tamura played the role of Nemuri Kyōshirō. Tamura's older brother Takahiro Tamura and younger brother Ryo Tamura appeared as a guest in the episode 6. Five special editions of the drama were produced later also Tamura played the role on the stage in 1973 and 1981. The complete DVD box was released on April 10, 2019.[6] The original soundtrack was released on August 11, 2021.[7]

Plot

Set in the eighteenth century, during the reign of the eleventh Tokugawa shōgun Tokugawa Ienari. Nemuri Kyōshirō is a master of the sword, but he is a man who shuts his mind and heart because of his unhappy background: Kyōshirō's father was a Dutch missionary who became an apostate and his mother was the daughter of Matsudaira Mondonoshoū, the Tokugawa shogunate's upper superintendent officer. He was an unwanted child conceived during a Black Mass ceremony, and Kyōshirō's mother killed herself soon after Kyōshirō`s birth.[8] Although he hates being involved with incidents and people, he is always involved in them no matter where he goes. Some people challenge him to a duel to see his unusual Engetsu Sappō (Full Moon cut) sword style,[6] while others try to use him because he is a half-breed. He solves incidents with both his intelligence and his Musō Masamune sword.[5]

Cast

Episode list

Episode Title Directed by Guest starrings Original airdate
1 "Youyake ni Hadaga Chiru" (夕焼けに肌が散る, My Skin Glows in the Sunset) Akira Inoue Kōji Nanbara, Fumio Watanabe October 3, 1972 (1972-10-03)
2 "Nyoen ni Kengatsuita" (女怨に剣が哭いた, The Sword that Cried for the Vengeance of Women) Tokuzō Tanaka Reiko Ohara, Yoshi Katō, Jūkei Fujioka October 10, 1972 (1972-10-10)
3 "Katanawa Shigureni Nureta" (刃は時雨に濡れた, The Sword Soaked in Drizzle) Kimiyoshi Yasuda Kikko Matsuoka, Tatsuo Endō October 17, 1972 (1972-10-17)
4 "Engetsu Junaiwo Keru" (円月 殉愛を斬る, Crescent Moon Cuts Pure Love) Tokuzō Tanaka Mariko Kaga, Gorō Mutsumi, Kantarō Suga, Shinjirō Ehara October 24, 1972 (1972-10-24)
5 "Adabana ni Tsuyuga Kirameku" (仇花に露が煌めく, The Dew That Shines on the Enemy Flower) Juniji Kurata Miyoko Akaza, Goro Ibuki, Hideyo Amamoto, Kei Taguchi October 31, 1972 (1972-10-31)
6 "Yoin ni Onnawosaku" (夜陰に女を裂く, Ripping Apart a Woman in the Darkness of the Night) Akira Inoue Takahiro Tamura, Ryo Tamura November 7, 1972 (1972-11-07)
7 "Tougemichi ni Akaimiwo Utsu" (峠路に赤い実を撃つ, Shooting at the Red Berries at the Crossroads) Junji Kurata Kyoko Yoshizawa, Hideo Murota, Rokkō Toura November 14, 1972 (1972-11-14)
8 "Seibo wa Honouni Kieta" (聖母は炎に消えた, The Virgin Mary Disappears in Flames) Kazuo Ikehiro Tōru Minegishi, Kaku Takashina, Taketoshi Naito November 21, 1972 (1972-11-21)
9 "Ijin no Kenga Hoeru" (異人の剣が吠える, The Sword of the Stranger Roars) Kimiyoshi Yasuda Miwa Takada, Isamu Nagato November 28, 1972 (1972-11-28)
10 "Kōya ni Jorobanaga Saku" (荒野に女郎花が咲く, The Woman Who Cries in the Desert) Akira Inoue Masayo Utsunomiya, Kei Satō December 5, 1972 (1972-12-05)
11 "Rajo ni Kamiwomita" (裸女に神を見た, I Saw God in a Naked Woman) Kazuo Ikehiro Masumi Okada December 12, 1972 (1972-12-12)
12 "Senketsu wa Aiwosometa" (鮮血は愛を染めた, Love Stained by Fresh Blood) Akira Inoue Kohji Moritsugu December 19, 1972 (1972-12-19)
13 "Kyo no Ame Beni no Hadani Musebu" (京の雨 紅の肌に咽ぶ, Rain in Kyoto Drowns in Red Skin) Tokuzō Tanaka Kayo Matsuo, Nobuo Kawai December 26, 1972 (1972-12-26)
14 "Engetsu Shoshunni Mau" (円月 初春に舞う, Crecent Moon Dances in Early Spring) Tokuzō Tanaka Mari Shiraki, Saburo Date, Takuzo Kawatani January 2, 1973 (1973-01-02)
15 "Sandogasa no On'na Wa Moeta" (三度笠の女は燃えた, The Woman with the Straw Hat Burns) Junji Kurata Reiko Oshida, Takeo Chii, Shinsuke Mikimoto January 9, 1973 (1973-01-09)
16 "Oshare kyōjo ga utau" (お洒落狂女が歌う, The Stylish Madwoman's Song) Junji Kurata Ryūtarō Ōtomo, Jun Tazaki January 16, 1973 (1973-01-16)
17 "Okappiki Dobu ga Kita" (岡っ引どぶが来た, Dobu the Hireling Thief Has Arrived) Akira Inoue Tsutomu Yamazaki, Takeshi Kusaka January 23, 1973 (1973-01-23)
18 "Kanashimi wa Yamini Kieta" (悲しみは闇に消えた, Sorrow Vanished Into Darkness) Akira Inoue Tamao Nakamura, Hideko Yoshida January 30, 1973 (1973-01-30)
19 "Mashō no Onna ni Otokoga Tsuku" (魔性の女に男が哭く, A Man Cries for a Demonic Woman) Tokuzō Tanaka Mako Midori, Kō Nishimura February 6, 1973 (1973-02-06)
20 "Akai Kuchibiru ni Kyōshirō wa Shinda" (紅い唇に狂四郎は死んだ, Kyōshirō Dies under Crimson Lips) Tokuzō Tanaka Sadako Sawamura February 13, 1973 (1973-02-13)
21 "Onna no Tsubomi wa Nido Hiraku" (女の蕾は二度ひらく, A Woman's Bud Opens Twice) Junji Kurata Tappie Shimokawa February 20, 1973 (1973-02-20)
22 "Amadera ni Enjiga Niou" (尼寺に臙脂が匂う, Crimson Glow in the Convent) Junji Kurata Mari Nakayama, Yoshi Katō February 27, 1973 (1973-02-27)
23 "Nazo no Onnawa Yamiwo Uranda" (謎の女は闇を恨んだ, The Mysterious Woman Hated the Darkness) Yuji Makiguchi Fumio Watanabe, Junkichi Orimoto March 6, 1973 (1973-03-06)
24 "Kinjirareta Hadani Naku" (禁じられた肌に泣く, Crying on Forbidden Skin) Akira Inoue Jun Fujimaki, Kei Satō March 13, 1973 (1973-03-13)
25 "Kurokamiga Koroshiwo Yonda" (黒髪が殺しを呼んだ, The Black Hair Called Death) Toshimi Yoda Goro Ibuki, Yoshi Katō March 20, 1973 (1973-03-20)
26 "Kyōshirō ni Asuwanai" (狂四郎に明日はない, Kyoshiro Has No Tomorrow) Akira Inoue Shinsuke Ashida, Rinichi Yamamoto March 27, 1973 (1973-03-27)

TV Specials

Nemuri Kyoshirō (1989)

Kyoshirō becomes involved in a political power struggle when he uncovers a plot to subvert the Shogunate succession by replacing the Shogun's heir with a double.

Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

Nemuri Kyōshirō: Conspiracy at Edo Castle (1993)

Kyoshirō, who has returned to Edo after three years, protects Lady Mihoyo, who exactly resembles his late mother, as rival Elders struggle to destroy each other over the proposed marriage of the Shogun's heir.

Directed by Akira Inoue

Nemuri Kyoshirō: The Man with No Tomorrow (1996)

Kyoshirō is asked to help save the Akita Clan from a plot which could end in the clan's extermination.

Directed by Sadao Nakajima

Nemuri Kyoshirō: The Woman Who Loved Kyoshirō (1998)

Kyoshirō's Full Moon Cut technique becomes the focus for both an artist who wants Kyoshirō to use that style to kill his wife and a lord who is obsessed with Kyoshirō.

Directed by Akira Inoue

Nemuri Kyoshirō: The Final (2018)

Kyoshirō has returned to Edo after an absence of ten years, only to learn of the murder of his former teacher Priest Kunen. While Kyoshirō tries to hold himself aloof, one day a young girl named Misao suddenly appears to him claiming that he is her father. Kyoshirō doubts that Misao is really his daughter, but that is the least of the plots he must unravel, leading to a face-to-face confrontation with perhaps the most dangerous opponent he has ever faced ... a man who intends to utterly destroy the world Kyoshirō knows in order to create his ideal of Utopia and who also knows and can use the Full-Moon Cut sword style as well as Kyoshirō does![9]

Directed by Tomohiko Yamashita

On the Stage

  • Nemuri Kyōshirō Buraihikae 1973
  • Nemuri Kyōshirō 1973
  • Nemuri Kyōshirō Curuz no Hahano Komoriuta 1981

References

  1. ^ a b c d "眠狂四郎". Drama Data. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Japanese Actor Masakazu Tamura Dies at 77". Nippon.com. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  3. ^ "眠狂四郎". Jidaigeki.Com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. ^ "田村正和×眠狂四郎が帰ってきた！". とれたてフジテレビ (Press release). FUJI TV. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  5. ^ a b "田村正和主演『眠狂四郎』約半世紀ぶり復活「大事な作品」". Oricon News. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  6. ^ a b "眠狂史郎 DVD BOX". Amazon Japan. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  7. ^ "眠狂四郎 サウンドトラック". SOUNDTRACK PUB. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  8. ^ "眠狂史郎". コトバンク. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  9. ^ "吉岡里帆『眠狂四郎』で時代劇初挑戦 田村正和と共演「一生忘れることのない時間」". Oricon News (in Japanese). January 21, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.