Kômyô ga tsuji

Komyo Ga Tsuji is the 45th Taiga, or historical drama, presented by NHK, Japan's public television network.

It tells the sweeping story of the Sengoku, or Warring, period of Japanese history through the eyes of Chiyo, the loyal wife of lord Kazutoyo Yamauchi.

Rather than concentrating on the grand spectacle of the period, the show focuses on the relationship between husband and wife through those tumultuous and turbulent times, with the wars as a more of a backdrop.

Though a dedicated and skilled warrior, throughout the series Kazutoyo comes to depend on his wife's cunning and resourcefulness to see him through much of the political intrigue of the time.

From humble foot soldier Kazutoyo rises through the ranks to emerge as one of the Japan's most powerful warlords with much of his success attributed to Chiyo's support.

This fact seems to be borne out by statuary dedicated to her around the country.

Komyo Ga Tsuji is, to some extent, mainly a study of the husband/wife dynamic of the time with fine performances by Yukie Nakama as Chiyo and Takaya Kamikawa as Kazutoyo.

Some westerners may be put off by the apparent subservient role of Nakamura as Chiyo, but part of the point of the series is to illustrate how deceptive the public face of Lord and Lady was at that time. Behind this facade shines through the love the two protagonist share for one another.

Beware of the American commercial broadcast version of Komyo Ga Tsuji which edits nearly twenty-five percent of each presentation including an epilogue that shows locations today where much of the historical events actually took place.