Edo, also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in the 1870s during Meiji era. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo, the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and kiri-sute gomen, the right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations. They cultivated the bushido codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles.
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Edo shogunate, was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
In feudal Japan (1185–1868), a rōnin was a type of samurai who has no lord or master. A samurai becomes a rōnin upon the death of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or legal privilege.
Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide was a daimyō and head of the Yamato Matsunaga clan in Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century.
Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He is also known by his court title, Jibu-no-shō (治部少輔).
The Unfettered Shogun (暴れん坊将軍) was a Japanese television program on the TV Asahi network. Set in the eighteenth century, it showed fictitious events in the life of Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shōgun.
Ōoka Tadasuke was a Japanese samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, as a magistrate of Edo, his roles included chief of police, judge and jury, and Yamada Magistrate prior to his tenure as South Magistrate of Edo. With the title Echizen no Kami, he is often known as Ōoka Echizen (大岡越前). He was highly respected as an incorruptible judge. In addition, he established the first fire brigade made up of commoners, and the Koishikawa Yojosho. Later, he advanced to the position of jisha bugyō, and subsequently became daimyō of the Nishi-Ōhira Domain.
This is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject.
Metsuke (目付) were the censors or the inspectors of Tokugawa shogunate. They were bakufu officials ranking somewhat lower than the bugyō. The metsuke were charged with the special duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration, corruption or disaffection anywhere in Japan, and particularly amongst the populace having status below the daimyō.
Mito Kōmon (水戸黄門) is a Japanese jidaigeki or period drama that was on prime-time television from 1969 to 2011, making it the longest-running jidaigeki in Japanese television history. The title character is the historic Tokugawa Mitsukuni, former vice-shōgun and retired second daimyō of the Mito Domain. In the guise of Mitsuemon, a retired crepe merchant from Echigo, he roams Japan with two samurai retainers, fun-loving Sasaki Sukesaburō (Suke-san) and studious Atsumi Kakunoshin (Kaku-san). An episode typically starts with some injustice perpetrated by a corrupt official, a wealthy merchant or a gangster. The travelers arrive incognito, discover the injustice and quietly investigate it. The episode concludes with a brawl in which the unarmed, disguised protagonists defeat a crowd of samurai and gangsters, culminating in the presentation of the inrō that reveals the hero's identity. Afterwards, the hero passes judgement on the villains, sets things straight with comments and encouragement, and then continues with his journey.
Chanbara (チャンバラ), also commonly spelled "chambara", meaning "sword fighting" films, denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. Chanbara is a sub-category of jidaigeki, which equates to period drama. Jidaigeki may refer to a story set in a historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay.
Sanbiki ga Kiru! (三匹が斬る!) or Three for the Kill! is a group of seven television jidaigeki series broadcast by TV Asahi in Japan. The show aired in the Thursday evening eight o'clock time slot.
Many significant Japanese historical people of the Sengoku period appear in works of popular culture such as anime, manga, and video games. This article presents information on references to several historical people in such works.
Isao Yamagata was a Japanese film actor. In 1942, Yamagata and So Yamamura formed the Bunkaza Theatre Company. In 1949 he made his film debut with Kirareya Senta. Yamagata became famous for his role in 1953 film Gate of Hell. He became a character actor and often played villainous roles. In 1973, Yamagata landed main role on the TV jidaigeki Kenkaku Shōbai.
Edo society refers to the society of Japan under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
The Edo period of the history of Japan is the setting of many works of popular culture. These include novels, stage plays, films, television shows, animated works, manga, and video games. Major events of the period, such as the Siege of Osaka, Shimabara Rebellion, and the decline and fall of the Tokugawa shogunate figure prominently in many works. Historical and fictional people and groups of the period, including Miyamoto Musashi, Izumo no Okuni, Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, the fictional Isshin Tasuke, Yui Shōsetsu, Matsuo Bashō, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Ōoka Tadasuke, Tōyama Kagemoto, the Forty-seven Ronin, Sakamoto Ryōma, Katsu Kaishū, and the Shinsengumi, as well as the fifteen Tokugawa shoguns were active for much or all of their public lives and are dramatized in works of popular culture. The cultural developments of the times, including kabuki, bunraku, and ukiyo-e, and practices like sankin kōtai and Masashi Kishimoto pilgrimages to the Ise Shrine, feature in many works set in Edo Japan.
Kantarō Suga was a leading Japanese actor. His film credits span three decades, from 1960 to 1990. One of his prominent appearances was in the lead role in Pastoral: To Die in the Country. Suga also appeared in The Gate of Youth, Sword of the Beast, and Theater of Life. He also portrays Souichiro Akizuki- the father of Nobuhiko, Kyoko and also the foster father of the protagonist Kotaro Minami in the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Black.
Ken Nishida is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is noted for his roles in Return of Ultraman, Eyeful Daisakusen, Uchuu Keiji Gavan, Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger, G-Men '75, and Shin Kyoto Meikyū Annai. His guest roles have included multiple episodes of Key Hunter, Mito Kōmon, Taiyō ni Hoero!, Zenigata Heiji, and Abarenbō Shōgun. He is also a regular guest star in the two-hour prime-time special drama format, with 35 appearances on the Tuesday Kayō Suspense Gekijō and 25 on the Saturday Doyō Wide Gekijō. A veteran jidaigeki actor, Nishida portrayed the recurring villain Mugensai who masterminded the plot to assassinate the shogun in the series Shogun Iemitsu Shinobi Tabi Part II. He appeared as Asano Daigaku, younger brother of the daimyō whose forced seppuku triggered the events of the Forty-seven rōnin, in The Fall of Ako Castle. A modern role was in the 1986 Kei Kumai film adaptation Umi to Doku of the Shūsaku Endō novel of the same name. Three films in the Gokudō no Onna-tachi series of gangster films are also to his credit. In anime, Ken provided the Japanese voice of Kazundo Gouda in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG.
