was a historical

Japanese person are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them one of the larges ...

. A servant at

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established th ...

in Japan, he became a model for characters in ''

kōdan is a style of traditional oral Japanese storytelling. The form evolved out of lectures on historical or literary topics given to high-ranking nobles of the Heian period, changing over the centuries to be adopted by the general samurai class and e ...

'', ''

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

'', film and television. Works of fiction sometimes write the name with a different final character as 河内山宗俊 or 河内山宗心. A man of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

, Sōshun served as a ''cha-bōzu'' in the administrative headquarters of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. The function of a ''cha-bōzu'' was to oversee the provision of personal service and serving of meals, and to run errands, for high-ranking officials like the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' at the castle. In 1808, he lost his assignment, and formed a band of outlaws with gamblers and unruly ''

gokenin A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...

'', engaging in extortion and other activities. He was arrested in 1823, and died in custody. No record of the verdict against him survives. This has given authors a free hand to embellish his story. They portray him as a villain with free rein to commit crimes as he pleases, or a champion of the oppressed masses against the evil people in power. A historical treatment of him is the ''Kōchiyama Jitsuden''. In the early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

the ''kōdan'' ''

Tenpō was a after '' Bunsei'' and before '' Kōka.'' The period spanned from December 1830 through December 1844. The reigning emperor was . Introduction Change of era * December 10, 1830 () : In the 13th year of ''Bunsei'', the new era name of ...

Rokka-sen'' was completed by Matsubayashi Hakuen II. Here, Sōshun is not a ''cha-bōzu'' but an ''o sukiya-bōzu'', a servant who overseas tea service and articles for tea ceremonies. The centerpiece of the ''kōdan'' is Sōshun's swindling of the

Matsue Domain 270px, Surviving walls and moat of Matsue Castle 270px, Matsudaira Sadayasu, final ''daimyō'' of Matsue was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Shimane Prefecture. It was centered around ...

. In 1874,

Kawatake Mokuami , born was a Japanese dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said that "as a writer of plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Japan has ever known".Miyake, Shutarō. ''Kabuki Drama''. Tokyo: Japan Travel Bureau, Inc., ...

added further embellishments to Hakuen's story, and the resulting kabuki play, ''Kumono-ueno San'e no Sakumae'', had its premiere performance. Mokuami further developed the story, and in 1881, ''Kumo ni magou Ueno no Hatsuhana'' opened at the Shintomi-za in Tokyo with

Ichikawa Danjūrō IX was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period (1868–1912). Ninth in the line of actors to hold the name Ichikawa Danjūrō, he is depicted in countless ''ukiyo-e'' actor prints ('' yakusha-e''), and is widely ...

portraying Sōshun. The play is in the current repertoire. An early film including Sōshun as a character was the 1928 Teikoku Kinema silent ''Tenpō Doro Ezōshi''. The 1936 '' Kōchiyama Sōshun'', directed by

Sadao Yamanaka was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed about 24 films between 1932 and 1937, all in the ''jidaigeki'' genre, of which only three survive in nearly complete form (all of them sound films). He is considered a master filmmaker in ...

, starred Kawarasaki Chōjūrō IV.

Kunio Watanabe Kunio (written: 邦夫, 邦男, 邦雄, 邦生, 國男, 國士, 国男, 国夫, 州男 or 久仁生) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese businessman *, Japanese businessman *, Japanese judge *, Jap ...

directed

Roppa Furukawa was a Japanese comedian. Career Furukawa was born the sixth son of Baron Katō Terumaro (1863–1925), making him the grandson of Baron Katō Hiroyuki. The family custom, however, was to have the younger sons adopted by related families, so Fu ...

in the 1951 ''Gokuraku Rokkasen''. Four years later, the story appeared again in Kiyoshi Saeki's 1955 Toei film ''Tenpō Rokudōsen Hirado no Kaizoku'', starring

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata was a Japanese actor known especially for his work in jidaigeki in film and television. His real name was Kiyoto Monden. Career Born in Miyagi Prefecture, Tsukigata entered the actor's school at Nikkatsu in 1920, but earned his first starring ro ...

Masahiro Makino was a Japanese film director. He directed more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza film, yakuza genres. His real name was , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times (including , , and ). ...

directed Toei's 1960 ''Tenpō Rokkasen Jigoku no Hanamichi'', starring

Utaemon Ichikawa was a Japanese film actor famous for starring roles in jidaigeki from the 1920s to the 1960s. Trained in kabuki from childhood, he made his film debut in 1925 at Makino Film Productions under Shōzō Makino. Quickly gaining popularity, he follow ...

. Sōshun's television debut took place in 1975, with the series ''

Tsūkai! Kōchiyama Sōshun is a Japanese television jidaigeki or period drama that was broadcast in 1975–1976. The lead star is Shintaro Katsu, his older brother Tomisaburo Wakayama also appeared in the episodes 5, 7 and 25. Plot Kōchiyama Sōshun is a serves as a cha-b ...

''.

Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 Novemb ...

starred in the 26-episode series on

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

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 ...

played the nemesis Sōshun in

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 ...

's 1996 ''Appare Yajūrō'', with Hiroshi Abe as the title character Yajūrō.NHKアーカイブス保存番組検索：金曜時代劇天晴れ夜十郎 1夜十郎誕生
("NHK Archives Search for Stored Program: Friday ''

Jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

'' ''Appare Yajūrō'') Retrieved on January 11, 2009

See also

References

Further reading