is the 49th

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 shown on NHK from January 3 to November 28, 2010, spanning 48 episodes. The story centers on the life of 19th-century Japanese historical figures Iwasaki Yatarō and Sakamoto Ryōma. It has been announced that the series will be aired in several other countries, for example Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Production

Production Credits *Original – Yasushi Fukuda *Music – Naoki Satō *Titling – Shishū *Narrator – Teruyuki Kagawa *Historical research – Manabu Ōishi, Tatsuya Yamamura *Architectural research – Sei Hirai *Clothing research – Kiyoko Koizumi *Beauty and costume direction – Isao Tsuge *Sword fight arranger - Kunishirō Hayashi *Production coordinator – Kei Suzuki, Kanako Iwatani *Casting – Keishi Ōtomo

Cast

* Masaharu Fukuyama as **

Tatsuomi Hamada is a Japanese actor represented by TakeOff and Four Springs. As a child actor, Hamada played the role of Sakamoto Ryōma as a child in '' Ryōmaden'' and Hiroshi Ichikawa in '' Kaibutsu-kun''. He won the 2010 Gold Dream Award in October 2010. ...

as young Ryōma Sakamoto family * Shinobu Terajima as – older sister of Ryōma - later ** Tao Tsuchiya as young Otome * Kiyoshi Kodama as – father of Ryōma * Tetta Sugimoto as – oldest brother of Ryōma * Wakako Shimazaki as – Gonpei's wife * Atsuko Maeda as – Gonpei's daughter ** Tamaki Matsumoto as young Harui * Rei Ōtori as – oldest sister of Ryōma – later * Chieko Matsubara as – stepmother of Ryōma * Tamiyo Kusakari as – mother of Ryōma * Yōko Maki as – Ryōma's wife Iwasaki family * Teruyuki Kagawa as – the founder of

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

, born in Tosa * Keizō Kanie as – Yatarō's father * Mitsuko Baisho as – Yatarō's mother * Maiko as – Yatarō's wife Tosa clan * Masaomi Kondō as - the 15th head of the Tosa Domain * Munetaka Aoki as – nephew of Yoshida Tōyō * Min Tanaka as * Nao Ōmori as – leader of the * Ryōko Hirosue as – first crush of Ryōma * Hiroyuki Miyasako as – older brother of Kao *

Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Kamen Rider Den-O (character)#Ryotaro Nogami, Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin (film), Rurouni Kenshin ...

as – assassin of the Bakumatsu period * Takaya Kamikawa as – brethren of Ryōma, born in Tosa Domain *

Pierre Taki , better known by his stage name , is the front man for Japanese synthpop group Denki Groove, which consists of himself and Takkyu Ishino. As of 2001 he was involved in an exhibit called Prince Tongha with Hideyuki Tanaka (graphic designer), Hide ...

as Chōshū clan * Katsuhisa Namase as – master of Katsura Kogorō * Shōsuke Tanihara as – disciple of Yoshida Shōin *

Yūsuke Iseya is a Japanese actor, director, artist, and businessman. Career Iseya co-starred with Arata Iura, Yui Natsukawa, and Susumu Terajima in Hirokazu Koreeda's ''Distance (2001 film), Distance''. He appeared in Takashi Miike's ''13 Assassins (2010 fi ...

as * Toshio Kakei as * Kyōsuke Yabe as * Hiroyuki Onoue as Satsuma clan * Katsumi Takahashi as * Mitsuhiro Oikawa as * Kenichi Takitō as Chiba Dojo * Shihori Kanjiya as – daughter of Chiba Sadakichi *

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 ...

as – management of sword school Chiba Dōjō * Ikkei Watanabe as – older brother of Chiba Sanako ;

Tokugawa Bakufu 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 ...

* Tetsushi Tanaka as – the 15th and last ''

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 ...

'' 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 ...

* Nakamura Hayato as – the 14th ''

'' of the Tokugawa shogunate * Tetsuya Takeda as – a Japanese naval officer and statesman * Tortoise Matsumoto as – one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States *Tomoharu Hasegawa as Matsudaira Katamori

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

* Taizō Harada as – the commander of the Shinsengumi * Satoshi Matsuda as – the vice-commander of Shinsengumi * Rakuto Tochihara as – the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi Kyoto Mimawarigumi * Ichikawa Kamejirō II as * Tatsuya Nakamura as * SION as Kaientai * Yō Ōizumi as – son of a bun store owner in Kōchi * Jun Kaname as * Yūta Hiraoka as – a statesman and diplomat in

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 ...

, born in Wakayama domain * Kenta Kiritani as * Daijirō Kawaoka as – Ryōma's adopted child * Atsushi Korechika as People in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

* Yū Aoi as – geisha girl of restaurant in Maruyama * Hirotarō Honda as – business tycoon in Nagasaki * Kimiko Yo as – business tycoon * Terry Itō as – photographer Foreigners *Timothy Harris as

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...

– the Commodore of the U.S. Navy *Randy Buinz as Townsend Harris – a successful

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

merchant and minor politician *Tim Wellard as Thomas Blake Glover – trading merchant in Nagasaki, born in Scotland * Jeffrey Rowe as William Alt * Patrick Harlan as

Ernest Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British diplomat, scholar and Japanologist. He is better known in Japan, where he was known as , than in Britain or the other countries in which he served as a diplomat. He was ...

*Daniel Foley as Rutherford Alcock * Péter Frankl as Léon Roches *Dennis Zomerhuis as Anton L. C. Portman

Season overview

The box set is available in a general DVD version, and a Blu-ray Disc version. The 1st episode and last episodes are 75 minutes long. The others are 45 minutes long, excepting commercials.

Highlight

*Navigator: Munetaka Aoki (Season 1, 2), Teruyuki Kagawa (Season 3, 4)

International

Soundtrack and books

Soundtrack

*''NHK Taiga Drama Ryōmaden Original Soundtrack Vol.1'' (January 27, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Ryōmaden Original Soundtrack Vol.2'' (May 26, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Ryōmaden Original Soundtrack Vol.3'' (September 8, 2010)

Books

Official guide *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden First Part'' (December 8, 2009) *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden Latter Part'' (June 30, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden Last Part'' (October 22, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama, Historical Handbook, Ryōmaden'' (November 19, 2009) Novel *''Ryōmaden I SEASON1 RYOMA THE DREAMER'' (November 28, 2009) *''Ryōmaden II SEASON2 RYOMA THE ADVENTURER'' (March 25, 2010) *''Ryōmaden III SEASON3 RYOMA THE NAVIGATOR'' (July 17, 2010) *''Ryōmaden IV SEASON4 RYOMA THE HOPE'' (October 9, 2010) Photo album *''Masaharu Fukuyama - Sakamoto Ryōma Photo Album'' (July 1, 2010) *''Oryō - Yōko Maki Photo Album'' (September 22, 2010) *''2010 Years, the Journey with Masaharu Fukuyama and Ryōma Sakamoto'' (December 9, 2010) Comics and other *''Ryōmaden, Comic Version, First Volume'' (January 25, 2010) *''Ryōmaden, Comic Version, Second Volume'' (April 19, 2010) *''Ryōma Design.'' (November 2010)

Reception

Impact

''Ryōmaden'' made a huge impact in Japan. Kōchi, Sakamoto Ryoma's birthplace reported an increase in tourism when the drama started airing. The Bank of Japan (Koichi Branch) initially estimated the economic benefit to be around 23.4 billion yen. However, they have revised the estimation to 40.9 billion yen in April 2010, due to an increase in tourism because of 'Ryoma Fever.' The final estimation is around 52.5 billion yen, 2.3 times the value from the initial estimation. The Nagasaki Branch also estimated around 21 billion yen of economic benefit to

, the place where Ryoma was in the Kaientai business. Copies of the necklace Ryoma wore are selling well, and it is the number one selling item in the NHK gift shop.

Accolades

*2010 Teamwork of the Year Award *Hashida Sugako Awards :ja:橋田賞 - Fukuyama Masaharu in Ryomaden *Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Award for Domestic Tourism- Fukuyama Masaharu *TV Navi Awards for Best Principal Male Actor 2010 – Fukuyama Masaharu *4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Best Drama (Series Drama) *4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Kagawa Teruyuki *4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Special Award – Filming staff of "Ryomaden" *2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Best Series (TV Guide Award) *2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Best Producer (TV) –

Suzuki Kei The is a kei car produced by Suzuki between 1998 and 2009. Originally only available as a three-door hatchback, a five-door version arrived in the third quarter of 1999. The car received a Facelift (automotive), facelift in late 2000, when the t ...

*2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Newcomers of the Year – Kiritani Kenta & Sato Takeru *2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Special Prize – Terajima Shinobu *2011 Galaxy Awards: Special Award for Contribution to Art (Television category) Individual Award – Fukuyama Masaharu

References

External links

2010 NHK Taiga drama exhibitions "Ryōmaden"

** ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110120183427/http://www.bunpaku.or.jp/old/exhi_ryoma.html The Museum of Kyoto 2010 NHK Taiga drama exhibitions "Ryōmaden"
Kōchi Prefectural Museum of History 2010 NHK Taiga drama exhibitions "Ryōmaden"

* ttp://japan.videoland.com.tw/channel/ryomaden/ryomaden.html VL Japan Channel website* < Tenchijin ,

, Gō > {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryomaden Taiga drama 2010 Japanese television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings Jidaigeki Television shows written by Yasushi Fukuda Television series set in the 1850s Television series set in the 1860s Cultural depictions of Tokugawa Yoshinobu Television shows set in Nagasaki Prefecture Television shows set in Kōchi Prefecture Television shows set in Kyoto