Abarenbo Shogun

Details

Title: 暴れん坊将軍
Title (romaji): Abarenbo Shogun
Also known as: The Unfettered Shogun / Unruly Shogun
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Jidaigeki
Episodes: 832
Broadcast network: TV Asahi
Broadcast period: 1978 thru 2004
Air time: Varies
Opening theme song: Abarenbo Shogun Theme
Ending theme songs:

Season 1-2: Hono'o no Otoko, by Kitajima Saburo

Season 3-4: Gamanzaka, by Kitajima Saburo

Season 5-7: Otoko Do, by Kitajima Saburo

Season 8: Hidamari Ninjo, by Kitajima Saburo

Season 9: No ending theme used

Season 10 & 800th episode: Mirai, by Kitajima Saburo

Season 11-12: No ending theme used

Final and Spring SPs: Teru, by Kitajima Saburo

Synopsis

Tokugawa Yoshimune is the 8th Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. He continues to have bad people creating havoc within his city of Megumi. With the help of his close associates, Lord Tokugawa is allowed to roam throughout his city, disguised as Tokuda Shinnosuke, an average Joe living within Megumi. By mixing in with the population, Shin-san (as everyone in the city calls him) is able to research issues first-hand. His help include oniwaban (ninjas) and the captain of the Megumi fire company. Yoshimune uses the fire company as his base while he's away from Himeji Castle. The captain of the company, and the oniwaban know his identity, but everyone else in the city are unaware that he is the Shogun. Once Yoshimune solves the crimes, he confronts them. Just about every time, the bad people whip our their samurai swords in an attempt to kill Yoshimune, although most of the time they still don't know who he REALLY is. Most of the time, Yoshimume flips his samurai sword so that the dull side is out. This way, he can still take his opponents down without making sashimi out of them. Very rarely will he actually hit people with the sharp part of the blade... They have to be some really mean guys for Yoshimune to go that far!

The show was frequently topical, and touched on many themes of present-day life. The most common subject was political corruption. Drugs, unequal power relationships, poverty, urbanization, the generation gap, inflation, and the tension between Japanese and foreign knowledge were recurring themes.

Abarenbo Shogun aired from 1978 thru 2002. In 2003, TV Asahi aired a final episode, ending Matsudaira Ken's 25-year reign. --- written by Groink 20:56, 24 Jul 2005 (EDT)

User/Viewer Ratings

5.00

(2 votes)

Seasons

Season 01: 1978-Jan-01 to 1982-May-01 (207 eps)
- Season 1 was called Yoshimune Hyobanki: Abarenbo Shogun
Season 02: 1983-Mar-05 to 1987-Mar-07 (191 eps)
Season 03: 1988-Jan-09 to 1990-Sep-29 (129 eps)
Season 04: 1991-Apr-06 to 1992-Sep-26 (74 eps)
Season 05: 1993-Apr-03 to 1994-Mar-26 (44 eps)
Season 06: 1994-Oct-08 to 1996-Jan-20 (51 eps)
Season 07: 1996-Jul-13 to 1997-Jan-25 (18 eps)
Season 08: 1997-Jul-22 to 1998-Mar-07 (22 eps)
Season 09: 1998-Nov-07 to 1999-Sep-30 (38 eps)
Season 10: 2000-Mar-30 to 2000-Sep-14 (25 eps) (799 eps seasons 1 thru 10)
- Season 10 Special aired on 2001-Jan-11, marking 800th episode overall
Season 11: 2001-Jul-15 to 2001-Dec-10 (19 eps)
Season 12: 2002-Jul-08 to 2002-Sep-09 (10 eps)
Final Special: 2003-Apr-7
Spring Special: 2004-Mar-29
General Special: 2008-Dec-29

Cast

NOTE: There were literally over 1,000 guests appearing throughout the years. As a result, the cast listing consists of artistes who appeared in the show either on a regular or semi-regular basis.

Matsudaira Ken as Tokugawa Yoshimune
Yokochi Masashi as Tadasuke (original)
Tamura Ryo as Tadasuke (replaced Masashi's character)
Arishima Ichiro as Kano Gorozaemon
Funakoshi Eiji as Tanokura Magobei (replaced Ichiro's character)
Kitajima Saburo as Tatsugoro
Yamamoto Joji as Chojiro (new captain when Tatsugoro retired)
Hamahata Kenkichi as Yamashita Konai
Yokochi Tadashi as O'oka Tadasuke
Miyauchi Hiroshi as Sukehachi (original male oniwaban)
Natsuki Yoko as Osono (original female oniwaban)
Asaka Mayumi as Sagiri (replaced Yoko, but as a new character)
Takashima Reiko as Kozoe
Harukawa Masumi as Osai
Asaji Yoko as Osai
Watanabe Atsushi as Monjiro
Ito Tsukasa as Oyo
Godai Takayuki as Saizo
Misora Hibari (a limited number of eps early on)
Ryuko as Ryuko, the retired sumo wrestler turned fireman
Ishino Yoko (later seasons)
Matsumura Yuki (S11)
Nakamura Azusa as Turuhime Chizuru
Ikuina Akiko as Obun
Takashima Tadao as Shishido Kanbe
Nagauchi Minako as Tsukishima
Omori Takahito as Jyumonji Hayato
Otake Kazue as Ayame
Sato B-saku
Kashiwabara Yoshie (柏原芳恵)
Katsuno Hiroshi
Nakao Akira
Nagato Hiroyuki
Fuke Norimasa
Nomura Shoji
Harukawa Masumi (春川ますみ)
Kochihira Chika (S9)
Wakayama Genzo as the narrator, who along with Ken, appeared in every episode

Production Credits

Screenwriter: Ozawa Eisuke, Imamura Bunjin
Producer: Ozawa Eisuke
Director: Ozawa Eisuke, Tomari Tsutomu, Ichikura Haruo, Morimoto Hirofumi
Music: Kikuchi Shunsuke

Review

When I first watched Aberenbo Shogun, two other shows came to mind. The first one is the tokusatsu Japanese TV series Kamen Rider V3 (TOEI, 1973). Both Abarenbo Shogun and V3 are quite similar in the way the formatting flow. Both series have incredible theme music. Second, the opening credits portion are very similar... Yoshimune is stampeeding on a horse, while Kamen Rider V3 is riding along on his motorcycle with bombs blowing up around him. And, the fighting scenes have some really cheezy sound effects (well, Abarenbo Shogun has a lot less).

The second show is the 1957 movie Toyama no Kinsan Hayabusa Bugyo (TOEI, 1957). Kataoka Chiezo plays the character of Toyama Kinshiro, a commissioner from northern Edo. He goes undercover as a commoner to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders committed within the city. Kinshiro and Yoshimune are almost identical in that they detect trouble within the city, they disguise themselves so that they blend in, they find out who the bad guys are, and then they kick butt! The only difference is that Kinshiro has his shoulders covered with Sakura tattoos, which he displays when confronting the bad guys. All Yoshimune does is say, "I know who you are! Drop that sword and put your hands up!!!!"

With all three of these shows made by TOEI, maybe that's why they all feel similar. As for Abarenbo Shogun itself, I'd score a 5 out of 5. That's because the show has a lot of action, heart, and great storylines. --- written by Groink 20:56, 24 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Trivia

Tokugawa Yoshimune lives in Edo Castle. However, in the episodes, TOEI chose to use images of Himeji Castle.

External Links