is a 2011 Japanese historical drama television series and the 50th

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

. It was written for television by Kumiko Tabuchi,大河ドラマ第50 作江（ごう）姫たちの戦国
. based on her own novel of the same name. The drama stars Juri Ueno in the title role, with Rie Miyazawa and Asami Mizukawa as Cha-cha and Hatsu respectively, the sisters of Gō. The series was criticized by viewers for being "dark" and "boring", and it received two '' Shinchō'' Razzie Awards for Worst TV Series and Worst Actress (Juri Ueno).

Plot

At the center of a network of powerful warriors, the title character is

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a noblewoman in Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was a daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during the Tokugawa s ...

, also known as Ogō. The series carries the subtitle ''Himetachi no Sengoku'' (), spotlighting the ladies of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. Gō was a daughter of

Oichi was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu

, the sister of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. Oichi was the wife of Sengoku ''

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 no ...

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathering ...

. The couple had three daughters. The first,

Yodo-dono or (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor ...

, became the second wife of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

and mother of his successor Hideyori. The second, Ohatsu, married another Sengoku daimyo,

Kyōgoku Takatsugu was a ''daimyō'' (military feudal lord) of Ōmi Province and Wakasa Province during the late Sengoku period of History of Japan, Japan's history.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Edmond. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28./ref> Biography His chi ...

. The third daughter was Gō. She was the first wife of Saji Kazunari. However, he joined forces with

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

in the

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute The , also known as the Komaki Campaign (小牧の役 ''Komaki no Eki''), was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu ...

, and opponent

forced them to divorce. Her second husband,

Toyotomi Hidekatsu Toyotomi Hidekatsu (豊臣秀勝, 1569 – October 14, 1592)Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991). ''The Cambridge History of Japan'' was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew (later adopted) and a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the lord ...

, was a nephew of Hideyoshi, but died in the Japanese invasions of Korea. Finally, Gō married Tokugawa Hidetada, the second Tokugawa shogun, and gave birth to his successor Iemitsu as well as his brother Tadanaga. Her two daughters were Senhime, who married Hideyori, and Masako (Kazuko), consort of

Emperor Go-Mizunoo , posthumously honored as , was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and he was the first emperor to reign entirely d ...

. Moreover, her granddaughter ascended the throne as Empress Meishō.

Cast

Principal

* Juri Ueno as Gō, youngest daughter of

, mother of Iemitsu * Rie Miyazawa as Cha-cha, oldest daughter of

* Asami Mizukawa as Hatsu, older sister of Gō

Azai Family

* Mana Ashida as young Cha-cha *

Honami Suzuki is a Japanese actress. Career Suzuki began acting after high school and debuted at age 19 in the television drama ''Asobi Ja Nai No Yo, Kono Koi Wa'' (TBS, 1986). Her breakthrough came in 1991 with the role of Rika in the Fuji TV television ad ...

as Ichi, mother of Gō * Saburō Tokitō as

, father of Gō * Minori Terada as Azai Hisamasa, father of

, grandfather of Go *Masayuki Yui as Akao Kiyotsuna

Oda Family

* Etsushi Toyokawa as

, brother of Ichi, uncle of Gō * Ayumi Tanida as Oda Nobutada, eldest son of Oda Nobunaga * Yūta Yamazaki as Oda Nobukatsu, second son of Oda Nobunaga * Yūta Kanai as Oda Nobutaka, third son of Oda Nobunaga *Takashi Kobayashi as Oda Nobukane, uncle of Gō

Vassal of Oda Family

Yasuo Daichi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in more than 50 films since 1979. Selected filmography Films Television References External links

* * 1951 births Living people Japanese male film actors Actors from Kumamoto Prefecture { ...

as Shibata Katsuie *Keisaku Wada as Maeda Toshiie **Shun Ōide as Old Toshiie * Takehiro Hira as Saji Kazunari, cousin of three sisters *Yoshiharu Takeda as

Ikeda Tsuneoki , also known as Ikeda Nobuteru (池田信輝), was an Ikeda clan ''daimyō'' and military commander under Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama periods of 16th-century Japan. He was a retainer of the famous warlords Oda No ...

* Jundai Yamada as Sakuma Morimasa * Kōji Seto as

Mori Ranmaru , also known as Mori Naritoshi (森成利), was a samurai retainer to the Oda clan. He was son of Mori Yoshinari, and had 5 brothers in total, from the province of Mino Province, Mino. He was a member of the Mori clan (Genji), Mori Clan, descen ...

* Shōta Sometani as Mori Bōmaru * Shōgo Sakamoto as Mori Rikimaru

Akechi Family

* Masachika Ichimura as

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

, a general under Oda Nobunaga * Mimura as Hosokawa Gracia, a daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide *Yū Kamio as Saitō Toshimitsu

Toyotomi Family The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese people, Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was ...

* Gorō Kishitani as

, vassal of Oda Nobunaga * Shinobu Otake as

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, legal wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi * Tomoko Naraoka as Naka, mother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi * Yukiya Kitamura as

Toyotomi Hidetsugu was a during the Sengoku period of Japan. He was the nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier and ruler of Japan from 1590 to 1598. Despite being Hideyoshi's closest adult, male relative, Hidetsugu was accused of atrocities and at ...

, a nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi *Yoshihiko Hakamada as Hashiba Hidenaga, Toyotomi Hidenaga *

Taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

Shioli Kutsuna is a Japanese actress, known for her role as Ran Mori in ''Shinichi Kudo's Written Challenge!'', Minami Maho in ''Beck'' (2010), Haru/Harumi in '' 125 Years Memory'' (2015), and Yukio in '' Deadpool 2'' (2018) and '' Deadpool & Wolverine'' ( ...

as Senhime ** Mana Ashida as young Senhime * Sawa Suzuki as Kyōgoku Tatsuko

Vassal of Toyotomi Family

* Masato Hagiwara as

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

*Toshio Shiba as Kuroda Kanbei * Shinji Takeda as Ōno Harunaga

Tokugawa Family The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

* Kin'ya Kitaōji as

, father of Tokugawa Hidetada * Osamu Mukai as Tokugawa Hidetada, third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu *Kayo Asano as Lady Tsukiyama *Shōgo Kimura as Tokugawa Nobuyasu, eldest son of Tokugawa Ieyasu * Yasuko Tomita as Fuku *Naoto Kinosaki as Takechiyo *Tomoyuki Imagawa as Kunimatsu *Kaito Kobayashi as Hoshina Kōmatsu * Mone Kamishiraishi as

Masa ''Masa'' or ''masa de maíz'' (; ) is a dough made from ground nixtamalized maize. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', '' tamales'', '' pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a flour f ...

Vassal of Tokugawa Family

* Masao Kusakari as

Honda Masanobu was a commander and ''daimyō'' in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods. In 1563, when an uprising against Ieyasu occurred in Mikawa Province, Masanobu took the side of the peasants against Ieyasu ...

*Shunsuke Kariya as

Honda Tadakatsu , also called Honda Heihachirō (本多平八郎) was a Japanese samurai, general, and daimyo of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings (Shitennō) a ...

*Ken'ichi Sakuragi as

Sakai Tadatsugu was one of the most favored and most successful military commanders serving Tokugawa Ieyasu in the late Sengoku period. Serving as the highest-ranking general in the Tokugawa clan along with Ishikawa Kazumasa, Tadatsugu is also regarded as o ...

Others

* Motoya Izumi as

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573 when he ...

, the 15th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate *Jin Nakayama as Asakura Yoshikage *

Kōji Ishizaka is a Japanese actor. Ishizaka graduated from Keio University with a Bachelor of Laws, 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 enthus ...

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, was a Japanese tea master considered the most important influence on the ''chanoyu'', the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspect ...

, famous tea masters *Manabu Hamada as Sanada Yukimura *

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese Puroresu, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a legends contract. Fujinami is best known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...

as Sanada Masayuki * Takumi Saito as

*Akira Hamada as Mōri Terumoto *Koji Shimizu as

Hōjō Ujimasa was the fourth head of the later Hōjō clan, and ''daimyō'' of Odawara. Ujimasa succeeded the territory expansion policy from his father, Hōjō Ujiyasu, and achieved the biggest territory in the clan's history. Early life and rise In 1538 ...

*Nobuyoshi Hisamatsu as

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (military lord) of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son-in-law of Hojo Ujiyasu, ''daimyō'' of Hojo clan. Early life H ...

Production

''Gō'' was announced as the 50th

by the NHK on June 17, 2009, to be based on the novel of the same name by Kumiko Tabuchi, who is also the writer for the drama. Tabuchi, composer Ryō Yoshimata, and actress Tomoko Naraoka all previously worked on the 47th taiga drama '' Atsuhime'' in 2008. With the success of ''Atsuhime'', Tabuchi was asked in the middle of its run if she can write a series about Gō and her sisters, to which she agreed to. Though she began to write the teleplays for ''Gō'' in 2008, she would decide to complete the novel first before continuing to write the scripts. The usual taiga drama production would first have one-third of the expected number of scripts finished before shooting begins. Afterwards, audience reception is taken into account as the rest of the series is written.

Production credits

*Sword fight arranger - Kunishirō Hayashi

Episode list

The first and last episodes are 73 minutes long. The rest are 45 minutes long without commercials.

Reception

Though ''Gō'' was rigorous in trying to achieve an accurate depiction of Japanese history, it was reported to have been negatively received by viewers, who complained about the series being "dark" and "boring".

Soundtrack

*''NHK Taiga Drama Gō: Hime-tachi no Sengoku, Original Soundtrack'' (February 16, 2010)

Bibliography

;Official guide *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Gō First Volume'' (December 18, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Gō Latter Volume'' (May 29, 2011) *''NHK Taiga Drama, Historical Handbook, Gō'' (December 21, 2010) ;Novel *''Gō First Volume'' (October 31, 2009) *''Gō Last Volume'' (January 29, 2010) *''Gō, New Edition, First Volume'' (November 12, 2010) *''Gō, New Edition, Latter Volume'' (November 12, 2010) *''Gō, New Edition, Last Volume'' (November 12, 2010) ;Comic *''Gō 1'' (December 20, 2010) *''Gō 2'' (April 13, 2011)

Accolades

References

External links

NHK website

* < Ryōmaden ,

Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

, Taira no Kiyomori > {{DEFAULTSORT:Go (Tv Series) Taiga drama 2011 Japanese television series debuts 2011 Japanese television series endings Jidaigeki Television series about sisters Television series set in the 16th century Television series set in the 17th century Cultural depictions of Akechi Mitsuhide Cultural depictions of Oda Nobunaga Cultural depictions of Sanada clan Cultural depictions of Toyotomi Hideyoshi Cultural depictions of Tokugawa Ieyasu Television shows set in Osaka Television shows set in Shiga Prefecture