Yoshitsune (TV series) explained

Genre:Taiga drama
Director:Mayuzumi Rintaro
Starring:Hideaki Takizawa
Ken Matsudaira
Aya Ueto
Satomi Ishihara
Kiyotaka Nanbara
Tsuyoshi Ujiki
Atsushi Itō
Ken Kaitō
Hiroshi Abe
Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Kazushige Nagashima
Ikkei Watanabe
Kayoko Shiraishi
Ren Osugi
Masanobu Katsumura
Shingo Tsurumi
Masaya Kato
Masao Kusakari
Akihiro Miwa
Mari Natsuki
Akira Nakao
Ichikawa Sadanji IV
Naomi Zaizen
Izumi Inamori
Nenji Kobayashi
Keiko Matsuzaka
Tetsurō Tamba
Mikijirō Hira
Kiichi Nakai
Hideki Takahashi
Tetsuya Watari
Narrated:Kayoko Shiraishi
Theme Music Composer:Taro Iwashiro
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Num Episodes:49
Channel:NHK

is a Japanese television drama series originally broadcast between 9 January and 11 December 2005, with a three-part special compilation being aired from 24 December to 25 December 2005. The 44th Taiga Drama, the original work is by Miyao Tomiko, screenplay by Kaneko Narito and starring Hideaki Takizawa.

Plot

In the Heiji Rebellion, Taira no Kiyomori defeats Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Yoshitomo flees the battle but is betrayed by his own vassal and killed in Owari province. Yoritomo (one of Yoshitomo's sons) is captured, but Kiyomori decides to spare him and banishes him to Izu. Yoshitomo's beloved concubine Tokiwa Gozen flees to Kyoto with their three children. After learning that Kiyomori has arrested her own mother, Tokiwa goes to him to plead for mercy. Kiyomori spares the lives of the children, sending the older two to temples, and brings the youngest boy, Ushiwaka, and Tokiwa into his household. Treating him as his own child, Kiyomori receives criticism of his generous behavior towards Ushiwaka, the son of his enemy. Soon, he sends Ushiwaka to the Kurama temple where he is renamed Shanao. Shanao frequently escapes the temple at night, and this behavior makes it clear that he will not enter the priesthood. After learning the true identity of his father, of his Genji lineage, and of Kiyomori's plans to move against him he bids his mother farewell and travels northeast to Oshu.

While Kiyomori starts to build a dream city and international port in Fukuhara, he also starts to work his way into the Imperial Court, eventually marrying his daughter Tokiko to the Emperor. With this new power the Heike grow fierce and unpopular with the court and people of Kyoto. Shanao, now named Yoshitsune after his rite of manhood, is living under the guardianship of Fujiwara no Hidehira and decides to join his exiled older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo and throws himself into the feud between the Heike and Genji.

Production credit

Cast

Minamoto clan (Genji)

Taira clan (Heike)

Northern Fujiwara

Imperial family

Accolades

8th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 歴代の受賞者・受賞作品. Nikkan Sports. 24 January 2011.