bigpaulshy

The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 was one of the pivotal moments in Japanese history. Although the battle itself only lasted 6 hours, the events which led up to it were years in the making. This was effectively the battle where the Tokugawa clan began the usurpation of the power base of the Toyotomi clan put in place by the regent Hideyoshi. This film is the story of the political maneuvering and events which led up to the clash at Sekigahara where the Western forces organised by Ishida Mitsunari were pitted against the Tokugawa in the East. I really liked this film because of the way Ishida Mitsunari was portrayed by Junichi Okada. In many of the Taiga dramas which deal with the backdrop to Sekigahara, Mitsunari is portrayed as an indecisive un-charismatic coward with his own lack of leadership, personality and battle nous being responsible for the result of the battle. Here he is portrayed as competent and intelligent and it is a refreshing change. The film is quite slow to start with but that is a simple reflection of the reality of the build-up to Sekigahara with the Tokugawa playing the long game before making their move. The film is beautifully shot with lavish backdrops and excellent costumes. The acting is also excellent. I can see why anyone without a bit of knowledge of Japanese history would be bamboozled by the plethora of characters presented here and that may spoil some people's enjoyment of the film

This 2013 6-part mini-series tells the tale of a gang of thieves called the Kumokiri (Clouds and Mist) named because of their amazing ability to materialise and disappear like the clouds and rain during their robberies. This is not just any bunch of thieves carrying out smash-and-grab raids - the targets are usually rich and corrupt and the robberies are researched and planned meticulously (sometimes years in advance) by gang leader Nizaemon, played by Kiichi Nakai (who excelled as ninja Tsuzura Juzo in Owl's Castle). As a result the Shogunate appoints master swordsman Abe Shikibu (played by Jun Kunimura) to catch and stop the gang. The result is a battle of wits between the bandits, planning their biggest ever raid, and the samurai squad tasked to stop them. Great story line and excellent characters played by a really strong cast which also features the excellent Ibu Masato (Gunshi Kanbe, Fuurin Kazan) and a really enjoyable series all round.

After the poorly received 'Hana Moyu', the producers of 2016's year- long Taiga drama have brought out the big guns in the shape of Sanada Maru (named after the small fortification built by Sanada Yukimura to defend Osaka Castle during the Winter Battle of Osaka in 1615). The drama starts with the turmoil of the Sengoku Period and the struggle of the relatively small Sanada clan to survive after the collapse of the Takeda and charts the fate of the Sanada during the rise of OdaNobunaga, the primacy of the Toyotomi and the power shift to the Tokugawa. Masao Kusakari (who played Sanada Yukimura in the brilliant 1985 drama "Sanada Taiheiki") excels as the wily Masayuki while there are welcome taiga returns to Seiyo Uchino (as Tokugawa Ieyasu) who previously played Yamamoto Kansuke in "Furin Kazan" and Fumiyo Kohinata (as Toyotomi Hideyoshi) who played Suwa Yorishige in the same series. All in all a really well-cast drama with amazing costumes and an excellent soundtrack based around a virtuoso violinist. One of the great stories in Japanese history. Highly Recommended.