Sanada Maru (TV series) should not be confused with Samurai Warriors: Sanada Maru.
| Director: | Takafumi Kimura and others |
| Narrated: | Yumiko Udo |
| Starring: | Masato Sakai Yo Oizumi Masami Nagasawa Yoshino Kimura Koji Yamamoto Hirofumi Arai Haru Kuroki Mayu Matsuoka Yō Yoshida Takeo Nakahara Takashi Fujii Kataoka Ainosuke VI Shinya Niiro Taishi Nakagawa Kenichi Okamoto Susumu Terajima Masahiko Nishimura Show Aikawa Kenichi Endō Masanobu Takashima Hiroshi Fujioka Atsuko Takahata Mitsuko Kusabue Yūko Takeuchi Fumiyo Kohinata Kyōka Suzuki Masaomi Kondō Seiyō Uchino Masao Kusakari |
| Country: | Japan |
| Theme Music Composer: | Tatsuya Shimono |
| Opentheme: | by the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Fumiaki Miura |
| Composer: | Takayuki Hattori |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Num Episodes: | 50 |
| Executive Producer: | Yotaro Yashiki Kunio Yoshikawa |
| Runtime: | 45 minutes |
| Network: | NHK |
is a 2016 Japanese historical drama television series and the 55th NHK taiga drama.[1] The series is named after the Sanada Maru, a fortification defended by Sanada during the Siege of Osaka in 1615. Written by Kōki Mitani, it stars Masato Sakai as the samurai Sanada Nobushige. It premiered on January 10, 2016 and concluded on December 18, 2016.
Due to declining viewership for taiga dramas in recent years, NHK strengthened its marketing push for Sanada Maru as compared with its previous taiga dramas.
The drama focuses on the history of the Sanada clan during the Sengoku period in Japan, and in particular on Sanada Nobushige, who would go on to become one of the legendary commanders of the period.
Pro-Tokugawa daimyōs
Production Credits
NHK chose to cast Masato Sakai for the lead role of Sanada Nobushige, a samurai of the Sengoku period. Minoru Kubota of the Yomiuri Shimbun assumes that this is in part to increase viewership for the historical series after years of declining audience numbers for taiga dramas, as Sakai was a popular actor in the dramas he previously starred in.[3] [4]
Due to the decline in viewers of NHK's taiga dramas, which is especially seen in the historically low ratings of preceding taiga drama Hana Moyu in 2015, the public broadcaster strengthened its effort to market Sanada Maru in order for viewership to increase.[4] Locations that were to be depicted in the taiga drama were featured in travel-themed programs such as Tsurube's Salute to Families and Bura Tamori, which also featured actors from Sanada Maru as guests.[4] History-themed documentaries and discussion programs covered the historical background of the drama.[4] Lead actor Sakai was sent out by NHK to major media outlets for interviews, though he was found to be uncooperative in many of them, as questions would focus on his personal life instead of his new role in the drama.[4]
| Episode | Title | Directed by | Original airdate | Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takafumi Kimura | 19.9% | ||||
| 2 | 20.1% | |||||
| 3 | 18.3% | |||||
| 4 | Kunio Yoshikawa | 17.8% | ||||
| 5 | Takafumi Kimura | 19.0% | ||||
| 6 | 16.9% | |||||
| 7 | Tadashi Tanaka | 17.4% | ||||
| 8 | 17.1% | |||||
| 9 | Daiji Kobayashi | 16.6% | ||||
| 10 | 16.2% | |||||
| 11 | Tadashi Tanaka | 15.6% | ||||
| 12 | 17.9% | |||||
| 13 | Takafumi Kimura | 17.5% | ||||
| 14 | 17.1% | |||||
| 15 | 18.3% | |||||
| 16 | Daiji Kobayashi | 16.9% | ||||
| 17 | Shōhei Doi | 17.0% | ||||
| 18 | Tadashi Tanaka | 19.1% | ||||
| 19 | Daiji Kobayashi | 17.0% | ||||
| 20 | Tetsuya Watanabe | 18.7% | ||||
| 21 | Takafumi Kimura | 16.8% | ||||
| 22 | Shōhei Doi | 16.6% | ||||
| 23 | Tadashi Tanaka | 18.9% | ||||
| 24 | Takafumi Kimura | 17.6% | ||||
| 25 | Tetsuya Watanabe | 18.3% | ||||
| 26 | Daiji Kobayashi | 16.4% | ||||
| 27 | Takafumi Kimura | 15.1% | ||||
| 28 | Shōhei Doi | 17.0% | ||||
| 29 | Keita Hosaka | 17.5% | ||||
| 30 | Tadashi Tanaka | 14.5% | ||||
| 31 | Takafumi Kimura | 17.3% | ||||
| 32 | Daiji Kobayashi | 15.8% | ||||
| 33 | Shōhei Doi | 18.0% | ||||
| 34 | Tetsuya Watanabe | 13.2% | ||||
| 35 | Takafumi Kimura | 15.0% | ||||
| 36 | Daiji Kobayashi | 16.5% | ||||
| 37 | Tadashi Tanaka | 17.3% | ||||
| 38 | Takafumi Kimura | 15.7% | ||||
| 39 | Keita Hosaka | 16.6% | ||||
| 40 | Shōhei Doi | 15.0% | ||||
| 41 | Takafumi Kimura | 15.4% | ||||
| 42 | 13.0% | |||||
| 43 | Daiji Kobayashi | 14.5% | ||||
| 44 | Tadashi Tanaka | 15.3% | ||||
| 45 | 15.2% | |||||
| 46 | Keita Hosaka | 14.2% | ||||
| 47 | Daiji Kobayashi | 15.3% | ||||
| 48 | Takuya Shimizu | 16.1% | ||||
| 49 | Takafumi Kimura | 14.8% | ||||
| 50 | 14.7% | |||||
| Average rating 16.6% - Rating is based on Japanese Video Research (Kantō region). | ||||||
| Ceremony | Category | Nominees | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Tokyo Drama Awards | Best Drama Series | Sanada Maru | [9] | |
| Best Actor | Masato Sakai | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Masao Kusakari |