is a popular character based on the historical

Tōyama Kagemoto was a hatamoto and an official of the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period of Japanese history. His ancestry was of the Minamoto clan of the Mino Province. His father, Kagemichi, was the magistrate of Nagasaki. Biography During his youth, K ...

, a samurai and official 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 ...

during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

of Japanese history. In

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 ...

and kōdan, he was celebrated under his childhood name, Kinshirō, shortened to Kin-san. He was said to have left home as a young man, and lived among the commoners, even having a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

of flowering sakura trees on his shoulder. This story developed into a legend of helping the common people. The novelist Tatsurō Jinde (陣出達郎) wrote a series of books about Kin-san. Noted actor

Chiezō Kataoka Masayoshi Ueki (植木正義, ''Ueki Masayoshi''; March 30, 1903 – March 31, 1983), known professionally as , was a Japanese film and television actor most famous for his starring roles in jidaigeki. Career Born as Masayoshi Ueki in 1903, in G ...

starred in a series of eighteen Toei ''

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 ...

'' films about him. Several Japanese television networks have aired series based on the character. These variously portrayed him pretending to be a petty hood or a yojinbō while solving crimes as the chief of police. People famous for having portrayed Kin-san on television include kabuki stars Nakamura Umenosuke IV and Ichikawa Danshirō, singers Yukio Hashi and Teruhiko Saigō, and actors

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 ...

Hideki Takahashi is a Japanese people, Japanese actor. Born in Kisarazu, Chiba near Tokyo, he attended Ichikawa Gakuen and later Nihon University. Career Takahashi made his debut with Nikkatsu Corporation, Nikkatsu and acted in youth-oriented films. Takahashi ma ...

, Hiroki Matsukata, and

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 ...

. Saigō and Satomi portrayed Kin-san in the series '' Edo o Kiru''.

Film versions

Eighteen films from Toei starred

: *''The Tattooed Magistrate: Cherry Blossoms Dance Volume'' (いれずみ判官　桜花乱舞の巻) (1950) *''The Tattooed Magistrate: Fallen Flowers Showdown Volume'' (いれずみ判官　落花対決の巻) (1950) *''The Official and the Princess of Thieves'' (女賊と判官) (1951) *''The Well-known Magistrate'' (お馴染み判官　あばれ神輿) (1951) *''The Jumping Magistrate'' (飛びっちょ判官) (1952) *''The Bloody Cherry Blossom Magistrate'' (血ざくら判官) (1954) *''A Gang of Five'' (勢ぞろい喧嘩若衆) (1955) *''The Fighting Magistrate'' (喧嘩奉行) (1955) *''The Roar of The Lion'' (荒獅子判官) (1955) *''Short Sword Magistrate'' (長脇差奉行) (1956) *''Pirates Magistrate'' (海賊奉行) (1957) *''Falcon Magistrate'' (はやぶさ奉行) (1957) *''Fireball Magistrate'' (火の玉奉行) (1958) *''Whirlwind Magistrate'' (たつまき奉行) (1959) *''The Edo Official and the Apprentice'' (江戸っ子判官とふり袖小僧) (1959) *''The Official with a Tattoo'' (御存じいれずみ判官) (1960) *''The Magistrate of Chess'' (さいころ奉行) (1961) *''Sakura Official'' (さくら判官) (1962)

Television series

*''Tōyama no Kin-san Torimono Chō'' starring Shunji Natsume 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- ...

*''Tōyama no Kin-san'' starring Ebizō Ichikawa on

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

*''Tōyama no Kin-san Torimono Chō'' starring Nakamura Umenosuke IV on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

(NET) *''Gozonji Tōyama no Kin-san'' starring Ichikawa Danshirō on TV Asahi (NET) *''Gozonji Kin-san no Torimono Chō'' starring Yukio Hashi on TV Asahi (NET) *''Tōyama no Kin-san'' on NET, renamed TV Asahi **starring

from 1975 to 1979 (Sugi also sang the theme song) **starring

from 1982 to 1986 *''Meibugyō Tōyama no Kin-san'' starring Hiroki Matsukata on TV Asahi **Cast included (at various times) Ryōko Sakaguchi, Kimiko Ikegami, Keiko Saitō, Casey Takamine, Tetsuo Ishidate, Kazuo Nakamura, Gō Wakabayashi *'' Edo o Kiru'' starring Teruhiko Saigō and later Kotarō Satomi on TBS, 1975 to 1994 *''Tōyama no Kin-san'' on TV Asahi starring Ken Matsudaira, beginning in January, 2007 *''Oh Edo Rocket'' (anime) featured Toyama as a continuing minor character

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyama No Kin-San Japanese television series Jidaigeki television series Jidaigeki Fictional samurai 1970s Japanese television series 1980s Japanese television series 1990s Japanese television series 2000s Japanese television series