Fūrin Kazan (TV series)

For other uses, see Fūrinkazan (disambiguation).
Fūrin Kazan
Written bySumio Ōmori
Directed byKazuhiko Shimizu
StarringMasaaki Uchino
Ichikawa Kamejirō II
Gackt
Chizuru Ikewaki
Yuki Shibamoto
Akio Kaneda
Seiichi Tanabe
Kazuya Takahashi
Kai Shishido
Shōsuke Tanihara
Ryuta Sato
Shihori Kanjiya
Asami Mizukawa
Misa Shimizu
Naomi Nishida
Makoto Matsui
Miyoko Asada
Tokuma Nishioka
Kuranosuke Sasaki
Fumiyo Kohinata
Toshiyuki Nagashima
Masatō Ibu
Ichikawa Sadanji IV
Takeshi Katō
Raita Ryū
Jun Fubuki
Shiho Fujimura
Sonny Chiba
Ken Ogata
Tatsuya Nakadai
Theme music composerAkira Senju
Opening themeKen Takaseki and NHK Symphony Orchestra
ComposerAkira Senju
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes50
Production
Executive producerHisaaki Wakaizumi
Running timeapprox. 43 min.
Original release
NetworkNHK
ReleaseJanuary 7 (2007-01-07) –
December 16, 2007 (2007-12-16)

Fūrin Kazan (風林火山) is the 46th NHK Taiga drama television series that began on January 7, 2007. It was aired throughout 2007, with the last episode aired December 16, 2007. Its official English title is The Trusted Confidant.[1]

The story, to a large extent, was an adaptation of Yasushi Inoue's 1959 historical novel of the same title (published in English under the title The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan[2]). The four characters of the title, from left to right are wind, woods, fire, and mountain. The title is a reference to the war banner used by Takeda Shingen, which in turn was taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It means "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain."

Plot

Set in the Sengoku period, it depicts the life of Yamamoto Kansuke who is known as one of Takeda Shingen's renowned strategists, as well as life of Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin among others.[3]

Production

Production Credits

  • Director – Kazuhiko Shimizu
  • Screenwriter – Sumio Ōmori
  • Based on the novel by – Yasushi Inoue
  • Narrator – Sachiko Kagami
  • Music – Akira Senju
  • Titling – Kōji Kakinuma
  • Historical research – Shunroku Shibatsuji
  • Action director – Kunishirō Hayashi
  • Architectural research – Sei Hirai
  • Clothing research – Kiyoko Koizumi
  • Production coordinator – Hisaaki Wakaizumi

Starring

Yamamoto family

Kuzukasa village

Takeda family

Takeda Shingen's vassals

Uesugi clan

Imagawa clan

Later Hōjō clan

Other Daimyō of Shinano Province

Others

Episodes

  • Episode 1 - The One-Eyed Man
  • Episode 2 - Farewell, Birthplace
  • Episode 3 - Marici's Wife
  • Episode 4 - Demon of Vengeance
  • Episode 5 - Suruga Rebellion
  • Episode 6 - The Road to Employment
  • Episode 7 - Harunobu's First Battle
  • Episode 8 - Surprise Attack! Unnokuchi
  • Episode 9 - Kansuke's Death
  • Episode 10 - Harunobu Commits Treason
  • Episode 11 - Nobutora's Banishment
  • Episode 12 - Kansuke Gains Employment
  • Episode 13 - The Uninvited Man
  • Episode 14 - Flag of Sun Tzu
  • Episode 15 - The Invasion of Suwa
  • Episode 16 - The Fated Encounter
  • Episode 17 - The Princess' Tears
  • Episode 18 - To Live or to Die?
  • Episode 19 - The Cursed Flute
  • Episode 20 - Birth of a Tactician
  • Episode 21 - The Princess' Disappearance
  • Episode 22 - Clash of the Three Provinces
  • Episode 23 - Night Attack at Kawagoe
  • Episode 24 - The Dragon of Echigo
  • Episode 25 - A Cruel Law
  • Episode 26 - A Painful Victory
  • Episode 27 - The Strongest Enemy
  • Episode 28 - Death of Two Great Men
  • Episode 29 - Counterattack! The Takeda Army
  • Episode 30 - The Road Towards Subjugating the Country
  • Episode 31 - The Treacherous Castle
  • Episode 32 - Infiltrating Echigo
  • Episode 33 - Kansuke is Captured
  • Episode 34 - Sanada's Desire
  • Episode 35 - The Princess' Battle
  • Episode 36 - Women of Fate
  • Episode 37 - Mother's Will
  • Episode 38 - Subjugating Murakami
  • Episode 39 - Kawanakajima! Clash Between the Dragon and Tiger
  • Episode 40 - The Triple Alliance
  • Episode 41 - The Princess' Death
  • Episode 42 - The Tactician and the God of War
  • Episode 43 - Birth of Shingen
  • Episode 44 - Shingen's Assassination
  • Episode 45 - The Scheme! Okehazama
  • Episode 46 - The Kanto Expedition
  • Episode 47 - Night Before the Decisive Battle
  • Episode 48 - The Crucial Moment- Kawanakajima
  • Episode 49 - Desperate Struggle - Kawanakajima
  • Episode 50 - The Decisive Battle - Kawanakajima

Soundtrack and books

Soundtrack

Books

Official guide
  • NHK Taiga Drama Story Fūrin Kazan First Part ISBN 978-4-14-923345-1 (December 20, 2006)
  • NHK Taiga Drama Story Fūrin Kazan Last Part ISBN 978-4-14-923346-8 (June 25, 2007)
  • NHK Taiga Drama, Historical handbook, Fūrin Kazan ISBN 978-4-14-910617-5 (December 2006)
Novel
Photobook

References

  1. ^ "The Trusted Confidant | NEP Program Finder". NHK Enterprises. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. ^ Inoue, Yasushi. The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan. Translated by Yoko Riley. Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2005. <http://www.tuttlepublishing.com/authors/inoue-yasushi/the-samurai-banner-of-furin-kazan>,[dead link‍] accessed 10 January 2014.
  3. ^ "風林火山とは". kotobank. Retrieved 30 December 2020.