Ryōmaden Explained

Director:	Keishi Ōtomo
Theme Music Composer:	Junichi Hirokami
Composer:	Naoki Satō
Opentheme:	Lisa Gerrard and NHK Symphony Orchestra
Narrated:	Teruyuki Kagawa
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese
Num Episodes:	48
Runtime:	46 x 45 minutes 2 x 75 minutes
Network:	NHK

is the 49th NHK Taiga drama. It was shown on NHK from January 3 to November 28, 2010, spanning 48 episodes.^[1] ^[2] 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 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, 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 as – assassin of the Bakumatsu period
Takaya Kamikawa as – brethren of Ryōma, born in Tosa Domain
Pierre Taki as

Chōshū clan

Katsuhisa Namase as – master of Katsura Kogorō
Shōsuke Tanihara as – disciple of Yoshida Shōin
Yūsuke Iseya 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 as – management of sword school Chiba Dōjō
Ikkei Watanabe as – older brother of Chiba Sanako

Tokugawa Bakufu

Tetsushi Tanaka as – the 15th and last shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate
Nakamura Hayato as – the 14th shōgun 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

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

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

People in Nagasaki

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 – the Commodore of the U.S. Navy
Randy Buinz as Townsend Harris – a successful New York City 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
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.

Season	Episode	DVD release dates	Discs
Season 1	1-13	September 22, 2010	4
Season 2	13-28	November 26, 2010	4
Season 3	29-38	January 28, 2011	3
Season 4	39-48	March 25, 2011	3
Highlight	1-48	April 22, 2011	3

The 1st episode and last episodes are 75 minutes long. The others are 45 minutes long, excepting commercials.

SEASON 1 RYOMA THE DREAMER
Episode	Title	Directed by	Travelogue	Original airdate	Rating
1		Keishi Ōtomo	Kōchi, Kōchi about Sakamoto Ryōma		23.2%
2		Keishi Ōtomo	Kōchi, Kōchi about Sakamoto Ryōma		21.0%
3		Hitoshi Manabe	Aki, Kōchi about Iwasaki Yataro		22.6%
4		Keishi Ōtomo	Chiyoda, Tokyo about Sakamoto Ryōma		23.4%
5		Hitoshi Manabe	Shinagawa, Tokyo about Sakamoto Ryōma		24.4%
6		Hitoshi Manabe	Shimoda, Shizuoka about Yoshida Shōin		21.2%
7		Kazuki Watanabe	Kōchi, Kōchi about Kawada Shōryō		20.2%
8		Kazuki Watanabe	Aki, Kōchi about Iwasaki Yataro		22.3%
9		Keishi Ōtomo	Chiyoda, Tokyo about Yamamoto Takuma		21.0%
10		Hitoshi Manabe	Kōchi, Kōchi about Hirai Kaho		20.4%
11		Kazuki Watanabe	Kōchi, Kōchi about Yoshida Tōyō		21.4%
12		Kazuki Watanabe	Hagi, Yamaguchi about Kusaka Gensui		17.7%
13		Keishi Ōtomo	Kōchi, Kōchi about Sakamoto Ryōma		18.8%
SEASON 2 RYOMA THE ADVENTURER
Episode	Title	Directed by	Travelogue	Original airdate	Rating
14		Kazuki Watanabe	Kōchi, Kōchi about Takechi Hanpeita		18.5%
15		Keishi Ōtomo	Kyoto about Takechi Hanpeita		18.4%
16		Keishi Ōtomo	Sumida, Tokyo about Katsu Rintarō		21.9%
17		Tōjō Kajiwara	Tosashimizu, Kōchi about John Manjirō		21.8%
18		Kazuki Watanabe	Osaka about Sakamoto Ryōma		18.4%
19		Tōjō Kajiwara	Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi about Battles for Shimonoseki		19.0%
20		Keishi Ōtomo	Fukui, Fukui about Matsudaira Shungaku		20.4%
21		Kazuki Watanabe	Kōchi, Kōchi about Yamanouchi Yōdō		20.0%
22		Keishi Ōtomo	Kyoto about Oryō		19.5%
23		Hitoshi Manabe	Kobe about Katsu Kaishū		19.2%
24		Tōjō Kajiwara	Kyoto about Shinsengumi		20.1%
25		Kazuki Watanabe	Kyoto around the Kinmon Incident		20.3%
26		Kazuki Watanabe	Kōchi, Kōchi about Okada Izō		17.9%
27		Keishi Ōtomo	Tama, Tokyo about Tanaka Mitsuaki		17.3%
28		Keishi Ōtomo	Kōchi, Kōchi about Takechi Hanpeita		17.0%
SEASON 3 RYOMA THE NAVIGATOR
Episode	Title	Directed by	Travelogue	Original airdate	Rating
29		Keishi Ōtomo	Nagasaki about Omoto		15.8%
30		Kazuki Watanabe	Nagasaki about Glover		17.9%
31		Toshitake Fukuoka	Nagasaki about Kameyama Shachū		16.0%
32		Tōjō Kajiwara	Muroto, Kōchi about Nagaoka Shintarō		16.7%
33		Keishi Ōtomo	Ureshino, Saga about Ōura Kei		13.7%
34		Hitoshi Manabe	Nagasaki about Kondō Chōjirō		16.3%
35		Kazuki Watanabe	Kyoto about Satchō Alliance		15.4%
36		Keishi Ōtomo	Kyoto about Teradaya sōdō		16.8%
37		Tōjō Kajiwara	Hagi, Yamaguchi about Takasugi Shinsaku		17.6%
38		Kazuki Watanabe	Kagoshima about Sakamoto Ryōma and Oryō		15.8%
FINAL SEASON RYOMA THE HOPE
Episode	Title	Directed by	Travelogue	Original airdate	Rating
39		Keishi Ōtomo	Kitakyūshū about Kiheitai		13.7%
40		Kazuki Watanabe	Nagasaki about Sakamoto Ryōma		14.3%
41		Keishi Ōtomo	Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi about Takasugi Shinsaku		16.3%
42		Tōjō Kajiwara	Fukuyama, Hiroshima about Kaientai		16.1%
43		Kazuki Watanabe	Kyoto about Sakamoto Ryōma		18.0%
44		Toshitake Fukuoka	Nagasaki about Kakure Kirishitan		16.2%
45		Takegorō Nishimura	Yokosuka, Kanagawa about Oryō		15.3%
46		Tōjō Kajiwara	Kōchi, Kōchi about Sakamoto Ryōma		15.7%
47		Kazuki Watanabe	Kyoto about Taisei hōkan		17.6%
48		Keishi Ōtomo	Kyoto about Sakamoto Ryōma		21.3%
Average rating 18.72% – Rating is based on Japanese Video Research (Kantō region).

Highlight

Season	Original airdate	Original airtime	Rating
Season 1	December 29, 2010	21:00–21:59	5.2%
Season 2	December 29, 2010	22:00–22:59	4.3%
Season 3	December 30, 2010	21:00–21:59	6.1%
Season 4	December 30, 2010	22:00–22:59	5.8%

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

International

Translation	Network(s)	Notes
Subtitled	Videoland Television Network	November 15, 2010 –
Subtitled	Channel J	January 17, 2011 –
Subtitled	Thai PBS	March 17, 2011 – September 1, 2011
Dubbed/Subtitled	i-CABLE Entertainment Channel	May 9, 2011 –
None	TV Japan	2010


None	NHK	2010

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 Nagasaki, the place where Ryoma was in the Kaientai business.^[3] Copies of the necklace Ryoma wore are selling well, and it is the number one selling item in the NHK gift shop.^[4]

Accolades

2010 Teamwork of the Year Award^[5]
Hashida Sugako Awards ^[6] - Fukuyama Masaharu in Ryomaden
Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Award^[7] ^[8] for Domestic Tourism- Fukuyama Masaharu
TV Navi Awards for Best Principal Male Actor 2010^[9] – Fukuyama Masaharu
4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Best Drama (Series Drama)^[10]
- 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)^[11]
- 2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Best Producer (TV) – Suzuki Kei 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

External links

< Tenchijin | Taiga drama | Gō >

Notes and References

Web site: http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20091119-OHT1T00029.htm. https://web.archive.org/web/20091120140342/http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20091119-OHT1T00029.htm. ja:福山雅治が紅白出場!16年ぶり2度目. 20 November 2009. 7 May 2015. The Hochi Shimbun. ja.
The name Ryōmaden translates to "The Legend of Ryōma". It is an unusual Taiga Drama as the final episode will be broadcast as early as November, due to second phase of Saka no Ue no Kumo, a series of NHK Special Drama, being broadcast beginning in December.
News: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2011/02/01/kiji/K20110201000164110.html. ja:福山雅治もビックリ！龍馬伝経済効果試算の約２・３倍に. 13 May 2011. Sponichi.
Web site: http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20100914-OHT1T00072.htm. https://web.archive.org/web/20100918075552/http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/news/20100914-OHT1T00072.htm. ja:［業界プロジェクトＸ］ＮＨＫエンタープライズキャラクター事業・兵藤香さん. 18 September 2010. 7 May 2015. The Hochi Shimbun. ja.
Web site: http://info.cybozu.co.jp/events/teamwork/toy2010/. https://web.archive.org/web/20110818125618/http://info.cybozu.co.jp/events/teamwork/toy2010/. ja:ロジカルチームワーク委員会. 18 August 2011. 7 May 2015. Logical Teamwork Committee. ja.
News: http://career.oricon.co.jp/news/87501/full/. ja:草なぎ剛、仲間由紀恵とのW主演作『橋田賞』受賞に男泣き. 12 May 2011. Oricon. Hashida Sugako Award recognised TV Shows that have touched people of Japan or the Japanese Culture
Web site: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/flash/KFullFlash20100929105.html. https://web.archive.org/web/20101003073742/http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/flash/KFullFlash20100929105.html. ja:龍馬伝の福山雅治、イ・ビョンホンら観光長官表彰. 3 October 2010. 7 May 2015. Sports Nippon Newspapers. ja.
Web site: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. mlit.go.jp/common/000125061.pdf. 12 May 2011. The award was given to those who made the biggest impact to tourism in Japan. Koichi and Nagasaki has reported an increase in tourism due to Ryomaden effect.
Web site: TV Navi Awards. tvnaviweb.jp/TVnavi_contents/doYear/2010index.html. 12 May 2011.
Web site: International Drama Festival Award. https://web.archive.org/web/20120204130803/http://www.nab.or.jp/drafes/english/award/index.html. 4 February 2012. 7 May 2015. International Drama Festival in Tokyo.
Web site: Elan d'Or Awards. producer.or.jp/elandor/elandor.html.