is a Japanese ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—''Portrait of Hel ...

'' or

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

that was on

prime-time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television from 1969 to 2011, making it the longest-running ''jidaigeki'' in Japanese television history. The title character is the historic

Tokugawa Mitsukuni , also known as , was a Japanese daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa (who in turn was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and succeeded him, becoming the seco ...

, former vice-''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' and retired second ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of the

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Echigo was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

, he roams Japan with two

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

retainers, fun-loving Sasaki Sukesaburō (Suke-san) and studious Atsumi Kakunoshin (Kaku-san). An episode typically starts with some injustice perpetrated by a corrupt official, a wealthy merchant or a gangster. The travelers arrive incognito, discover the injustice and quietly investigate it. The episode concludes with a brawl in which the unarmed, disguised protagonists defeat a crowd of samurai and gangsters, culminating in the presentation of the '' inrō'' that reveals the hero's identity. Afterwards, the hero passes judgement on the villains, sets things straight with comments and encouragement, and then continues with his journey. The drama was adapted into a film in 1978.

History and characters

Five actors have portrayed the lead character in the series.

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as ''Seven Samu ...

created the part and appeared in 13 seasons. His successor was

Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'' and '' Yojimbo'', Kihachi Okamoto's ''Sword of Doom'', Yoshitaro Nomura's ''Zero Focus'', and Kon Ichikawa's '' The Burmese Harp'' ( ...

Asao Sano was a Japanese actor. He was known for playing the role of Tokugawa Mitsukuni on the television jidaigeki series ''Mito Kōmon''. Sano died on 28 June 2022, at the age of 96. Selected filmography Film *'' Listen to the Voices of the Sea'' (195 ...

followed and then

Kōji Ishizaka is a Japanese actor. Ishizaka graduated from Keio University with a B.L. degree. He serves as a special advisor for the Japan Plamodel Industry Association, and on 23 February 2009, he founded Rowguanes, a plastic model enthusiast group for th ...

took the role in two seasons, quitting for cancer treatments.

Kōtarō Satomi (born 28 November 1936) is a Japanese actor from the city of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In 1956, he signed with Toei film company. He appears in both contemporary roles and in the historical dramas known as '' jidaigeki''. Sele ...

played Mitsuemon from 2002 until the end of the series in 2011. The character normally sports a pointed white beard. He wears the lavish garb of a wealthy retiree and carries a walking stick (a staff), which also serves as his defensive weapon in combat. Singer-actor

Ryōtarō Sugi (born 14 August 1944, Kobe) is a Japanese singer and actor. He is the father of actor Jundai Yamada. He appeared in ''Sukima Kaze'', which sold over a million copies. His acting credits include 18 films. On television, he specialized in ''jid ...

was the series' first Suke-san, followed by Kōtarō Satomi, who many years later took over the lead role.

Teruhiko Aoi Teruhiko (written: , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese politician *, Japanese sport wrestler *, Japanese singer and actor {{given name Japanese masculine given names< ...

was next, then Yūji Kishimoto, and Ryūji Harada. Opposite them,

Tadashi Yokouchi is a Japanese actor. Born in Dalian, Manchuria, he graduated from high school in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. A member of the 13th group of actors and actresses trained at the Haiyū-za, he counts Tetsuo Ishidate, Toshiyuki Hosoka ...

, Shin'ya Ōwada,

Goro Ibuki is a Japanese actor.　He is known for his parts in jidaigeki television dramas especially Kakusan in Mito Kōmon series,　but is known as part of the cast of ''Samurai Sentai Shinkenger'' as Hikoma Kusakabe. Filmography Film *'' Bohachi Bush ...

Jundai Yamada is a Japanese actor. His real name is . He is represented with Horipro, Horipro Booking Agency. His father is actor and singer Ryōtarō Sugi. He graduated from Seijo Gakuen Education Institute, Seijo Gakuen Primary School. After graduating from ...

, and Masashi Gōda have played Kaku-san. Ichiro Nakatani played Kazaguruma no Yashichi, a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

who helped Mitsuemon. Evil characters who tried to kill Mitsuemon were played by such actors as

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi is a Japanese actor. Biography Tsuyuguchi was born in Tokyo and raised in Ehime.Nihon Eiga Jinmei Jiten　2　190-191 He attended Ehime University, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company in 1955. His c ...

(1st season) and

Mikio Narita was a Japanese actor. He was most famous for playing villains. He often worked with Kinji Fukasaku. Narita graduated from Haiyuza Theatre Company acting school and joined Daiei Film. His career as a screen actor started in 1963. His film debut ...

(3rd season). In each of the show's 42 seasons, various other regular characters joined the retinue. For many years, they included the food-loving commoner Hachibei, the reformed thieves Kazaguruma no Yashichi (a former ninja whose main weapon is a

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were ...

with pinwheel, with a dagger as his sidearm) and his wife Kasumi no Oshin, the ninja Tsuge no Tobizaru, and

kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

Kagerō Ogin. Portrayed by

Kaoru Yumi is a Japanese actress. Filmography Movies * (1966) * (1973) * (1973) * (1974) * (1974) * (1976) * (1976) * (1978) TV Dramas * (1970 NHK) ''as Yaku Hiroko'' * * (1973) * * (1986 TBS) * * (1997 TBS) * References External links ...

, Ogin was the lead character in a light-hearted spinoff, ''Mito Kōmon Gaiden Kagerō Ninpō-chō''. The same actress took on a new role, Hayate no Oen. Many former regular actors appeared in the show's gala 1000th special episode, which aired on December 15, 2003. A 1978 film distributed by

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by i ...

shared the cast, production crew, and title. Since its inception, the program has been a mainstay of the ''Panasonic Drama Theater'' (formerly known as the National Theater), sponsored by

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

. The TBS network aired the show throughout Japan, and showed reruns on both its analogue stations and its CS satellite channel. For nearly three decades, ''Mito Kōmon'' shared the time slot with ''

Ōoka Echizen is a prime-time television ''jidaigeki'' in Japan. From March 16, 1970 to March 15, 1999, 402 episodes and 15 seasons were broadcast. Also, a two-hour special aired on March 20, 2006, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the '' National Geki ...

'', and various actors and actresses appeared in both series. An unusual feature of the series is that the credits list the maker of the ''inrō''. The last episode aired on December 19, 2011. There was also an animated adaptation called '' Manga Mito Kōmon'' (まんが水戸黄門) that aired during 1981-1982, animated by

Knack Productions , formerly known as or simply until August 2008, is a Japanese anime and film production company. History Knack Productions was founded on September 25, 1967, by a group of former employees of Toei Animation and Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production ...

. In the light novel '' Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku'', the main protagonist quotes Mito Komon frequently. He also made a firm by the name Echigoya.

Cast

Season1 *

as Mito Kōmon *

as Sasaki Sukesaburō (Sukesan) *

as Atsumi Kakunoshin (Kakusan) *

Ichirō Nakatani was a Japanese actor. He attended Waseda University, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company. In 1959, Nakatani won Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. Nakatani was well known for his role as Ninj ...

as Kazaguruma no Yahichi *Keiko Yumi as Ochō *Yumi Iwai *

as Furukawa Hyōgo

Film cast

as Mito Kōmon *

as Sukesaburō (Sukesan) *

Shinya Owada is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He is represented with Horipro Booking Agency. He rusticated from Waseda University First Literature Department. Biography Owada is the youngest son of three children. (he has an older brother an ...

as Atsumi Kakunoshin (Kakusan) *Gentaro Takahashi as Hachibei *

as Kazaguruma no Yahichi *

Kōji Wada was a Japanese pop singer. He was best known for performing theme songs for several installments of the '' Digimon'' anime television series, including his recording debut in 1999 with his first and most famous single, "Butter-Fly", the theme s ...

as Genpachiro Tsurugi *

Komaki Kurihara is a Japanese stage and film actress. She has appeared in 30 films since 1967. She starred in the 1974 film ''Sandakan No. 8'', which was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1975 she was a member of the jury at the 9th ...

as Yumi Okumura *

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and '' ...

as Sakuzaemon Okumura *

Hajime Hana was a Japanese actor. He was the leader of the comic jazz band The Crazy Cats, which featured such talent as Hitoshi Ueki and Kei Tani, and which starred in a series of film comedies (such as the "Irresponsible" (Musekinin) series at Toho) and ...

as Rokubei *

Hitoshi Ueki was a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and guitarist. He won six awards for acting.Hitoshi ...

as Sukehachi *

Yoshio Inaba was a Japanese actor best known for his role as Gorobei in Akira Kurosawa's '' Seven Samurai''. In addition to his career in film, Inaba was also a prolific theater actor and a member of the prestigious Haiyuza Theatre Company. He died of a heart ...

as Sasaya * Tatsuo Endō as Yadayu Kurobe *

Nobuo Kawai was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing villains and appeared in many jidaigeki and detective television dramas as a guest. He was a member of Yukio Mishima's Roman Gekijo Theatre Company. He died of cerebral infarction on June 24, ...

as Hankuro Kosaka *

Toru Abe was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1944 to 1985. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Toru 1917 births 1993 deaths Japanese male film actors 20th-century Japanese male ...

as Mondo Murai

References

Bibliography

External links

Mito Kōmon
at TBS (in Japanese)
Mito Kōmon
at C.A.L (in Japanese)
Mito Kōmon
at IMDb {{DEFAULTSORT:Mito Komon Jidaigeki television series TBS Television (Japan) dramas Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming 1969 Japanese television series debuts 2011 Japanese television series endings