 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 ] Next Last |
Many jidaigeki take place in Edo, the military capital. Others show the adventures of people wandering from place to place. The long-running television series Zenigata Heiji and Abarembo Shogun typify the Edo jidaigeki. Mito Komon , the fictitious story of the travels of the historical daimyo Tokugawa Mitsukuni, and the ZatoichiZatoichi ( Japanese language) is a fictional character featured in a series of Japanese films, and a television series, set in the Edo period. Zatoichi is seemingly only a blind masseur who wanders around the country, however, he is also a highly skilled movies and television series, exemplify the travelling style.
Another way to categorize jidaigeki is according to the social status of the principal characters. The title character of Abarembo Shogun is Tokugawa YoshimuneTokugawa Yoshimune ( November 27 1684 July 12 1751) was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, known for his financial reform. He is best known for dismissing his conservative adviser Arai Hakuseki and instigating the Kyoho reforms. Yoshimu, the eighth Tokugawa shogunFor the James Clavel novel, see Shogun or for the TV Miniseries. In Japanese history, a Shogun was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era beginning in 1868. Bakufu is a Japanese word for the administration of a Shogun. The head of the samuraiSamurai ( or sometimes ) is a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan. A more appropriate term is bushi (lit. warrior or armsman") which came into use during the Edo period. However, the term "samurai" now usually refers to warrior nobility, not class, Yoshimune assumes the disguise of a low-ranking hatamotoA hatamoto is an official guard of a daimyo or shogun in feudal Japan. Characterized by their use of the nodachi, or fieldsword, they often acted as an elite force and a quick reinforcement. During Edo period, hatamoto were samurai directly loyal to shogu, a samurai in the service of the shogun. Similarly, Mito Komon is the retired vice-shogun, accompanied by two samurai retainers while masquerading as a merchant. In contrast, the title character of Zenigata Heiji is a commonerA commoner in British law, is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a noble. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as HRH Prince William of Wales or HRH The Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family,, working for the police, while Ichi, a masseur, is an outcast.
Whether the lead role is samurai or commoner, jidaigeki usually reach a climax in an immense sword fight just before the end. This earns them the nickname chambara. The title character of a series always wins, whether using a sword or a jitte (the device police used to trap, and sometimes to bend or break, an opponent's sword).
Jidaigeki are a parade of people with occupations unfamiliar to modern JapaneseThe Japanese people (, nihon-jin or nippon-jin) are those, most of whom speak the Japanese language, were born in Japan, and live their entire lives in Japan with Japanese citizenship and names. Very few are originally from outside Japan. Japanese people, and especially to foreigners. Here are a few.
Warriors
The warrior class included samurai, hereditary members in the military service of a daimyo or the shogun (themselves samurai). Ronin, samurai without masters, were also warriors, and like samurai, wore two swords; they were, however, without inherited employment or status. Bugeisha were men who aimed to perfect their martial arts, often by travelling throughout the country. Ninja were the secret service, specializing in stealth, the use of disguises, explosives, and concealed weapons.
Craftsmen
Craftsmen in jidaigeki included metalworkers (often abducted to mint counterfeit coins), bucket-makers, carpenters and plasterers, and makers of woodblock prints for art or newspapers.
Merchants
In addition to the owners of businesses large and small, the jidaigeki often portray the employees. The banto was a high-ranking employee of a merchant, the tedai, a lower helper. Many merchants employed children, or kozo.
Governments
In the highest ranks of the shogunate were the roju. Below them were the wakadoshiyori, then the various bugyo or administrators, including the jisha bugyo (who administered temples and shrines), the kanjo bugyo (in charge of finances) and the two Edo machi bugyo. These last alternated by month in the role of chief administrator of the city. Their role was mayor, chief of police, and judge, and jury in criminal and civil matters.
The machi bugyo oversaw the police and fire departments. The police, or machikata, included the high-ranking yoriki and the doshin below them; both were samurai. In jidaigeki, they often have full-time patrolmen, okappiki and shitappiki, who were commoners. (Historically, these people were irregulars, called to service only when necessary.) Zenigata Heiji is an okappiki. The police lived in barracks at Hatchobori in Edo. They manned ban'ya, the watch-houses, throughout the city that had a million residents. The jitte was the symbol of the police, from yoriki to shitappiki.
A separate police force handled matters involving samurai. The ometsuke were high-ranking officials in the shogunate, and controlled a group of metsuke and kachi-metsuke who could detain samurai. The feudal nature of Japan made these matters delicate, and jurisdictional disputes are common in jidaigeki.
Edo had three fire departments. The daimyo-bikeshi were in the service of designated daimyo; the jobikeshi reported to the shogunate; while the machi-bikeshi, beginning under Yoshimune, were commoners under the administration of the machibugyo. Thus, even the fire companies have turf wars in the jidaigeki.
Each daimyo maintained a residence in Edo, where he lived during sankin kotai. His wife and children remained there even while he was away from Edo, and the ladies-in-waiting often feature prominently in jidaigeki. A high-ranking samurai, the Edo-garo, oversaw the affairs in the daimyo's absence. In addition to a staff of samurai, the household included ashigaru (lightly armed warrior-servants) and chugen and yakko (servants often portrayed as flamboyant and crooked). Many daimyo employed doctors, goten'i; their counterpart in the shogun's household was the okuishi. Count on them to provide the poisons that kill and the potions that heal.
The cast of a wandering jidaigeki encountered a similar setting in each han. There, the karo were the kuni-garo and the jodai-garo. Tensions between them have provided plots for many stories.
What would a jidaigeki be without characters to give the flavor of the times? Jugglers, pedlars, fortune-tellers, candy-sellers, rag-pickers, blind moneylenders, itinerant singer/ shamisen-players, effete courtiers from the imperial capital at Kyoto, the Dutch kapitan from Nagasaki, streetwalkers and prostitutes from the licensed and unlicensed quarters, the million-dollar kabuki actor, flute-playing mendicant Buddhist priests wearing deep wicker hats, and of course geisha, provide a never-ending pageant of old Japan.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|