NHK Classic Television
Miyamoto Musashi, Legendary Swordsman of Japan
– Robert J. Terry 9/2003

How is a legend born? In America, the word “legend” is often bandied about, but true legends are not often encountered. Heroes? Yes, we often hear about such people. Stars? Certainly. (Not to mention “superstars,” though the term seems overused today.) And practically anyone can be a “celebrity.” But legends are not often encountered.

NHK (the national broadcast corporation of Japan, similar to England’s BBC) has attempted to present the history of one of the truly legendary figures of Japan in its “Taiga Dorama” (“taiga” = great river, a lyrical description of a great wave of humanity, multi-level social interaction and history in a “dorama” = drama), “Miyamoto Musashi,” shown with subtitles in English Saturday nights at 9 pm on Channel 18.

Musashi was born in 1584 during the period of Warring States which was characterized by constant turmoil as warlords fought and usurped territory or found their own territory usurped. As a result, the country was flooded with masterless samurai (“ronin”) who moved from place to place seeking positions as retainers. Success could only be assured by prowess with a sword. Musashi was one of these ronin. Perhaps he might be compared to American legends like Wyatt Earp (though he never held an official position as a lawman) or Jim Bowie (whose life differed in that there were unsavory aspects of Bowie’s character as a speculator and slave trader and he died a bloody death at the Alamo).

The comparison with Jim Bowie is an attractive one since Bowie achieved fame by way of his skill with the hunting knife that even today bears his name. Musashi is just as closely identified with the Japanese sword. However, Musashi possessed a more sensitive nature, and was a gifted poet as well as an artist whose ink brush paintings can be found in museums throughout the country. On the other hand, mention of Bowie’s name points up the fact that legendary figures often appear in wild, frontier-like settings. Sixteenth century Japan was a lawless time that only ended in October 1600 at the battle of Seki-ga-Hara, when Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated his main rivals to consolidate power in his hands.

The 17 year old Musashi took part in that battle after having been taught the art of fencing by his father and defeating his first major opponent when he was only 13. He went on to fight duel after duel throughout the country. At one point an older swordsman observed one of those bouts and criticized Musashi for his relatively undisciplined technique. “Of course you won the duel but you lost as a samurai,” he said. That spurred Musashi on to travel far and wide in an effort to refine his skill.

NHK is renowned for the quality and cultural merits of its productions, and appearing in one of these taiga dorama gives an actor a great deal of prestige. More than fifteen years ago a popular stand-up comedian named Nishida Toshiyuki played a leading role as Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the NHK drama, “Onna Taiko-Ki” and it propelled him to stardom. (“Onna” means “woman,” but in this title refers to Hideyoshi’s wife, Nene. “Taiko,” or father of the senior advisor to the Emperor, was the official designation Hideyoshi adopted as defacto shogun, and “ki” means “chronicle.”) Nishida also plays a minor role as a ronin in this production. (Another comedian/actor/director, Biito Takeshi plays Musashi’s father, Shinmen Munisai.)

Musashi himself is played by an actor who knows something about legends himself. He is Ichikawa Shinnosuke. His father is the famous Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro XII, the lineage of whose name goes back to the seventeenth century. Shinnosuke was named after Ichikawa Danjuro VII, one of the most illustrious actors of that line. He has performed on stage in the starring roles in several notable productions, such as that of Benkei in “Kanjincho,” one of the 18 classical plays (“Juhachi-Ban”) of the Kabuki canon. He was reluctant to take the year’s leave of absence from the stage that appearing in the NHK drama required, but the attraction of playing Musashi was irresistible.

Musashi fought the most important duel of his life against Sasaki Kojiro (played by Matsuoka Masahiro, who has appeared in other NHK productions, although he began his career as a singer and has participated in the traditional New Year’s Eve “Ko-Haku Uta Gassen” songfest for the past nine years). Sasaki was Musashi’s great rival, and they finally confronted each other in a life or death duel in 1612 when Musashi was 29 years old. It was fought on Ganryu Island in the Kanmon Straits between the main island of Honshu and the southern island of Kyushu.

One of the joys to be savored in these NHK dramas is seeing some of Japan’s most beautiful actresses perform. Yonekura Ryoko plays Otsu, Musashi’s lifelong love. Yonekura began her career as a model and at the age of 28 is now appearing in her first NHK production.

Miyazawa Rie plays Sasaki’s lover, Oshino. She made her film debut at 15 in 1988 and has grown more lovely with each passing year. Much in demand for film, stage and television roles, this is her fourth appearance in an NHK drama. She has also been featured in foreign movies, and won the Best Actress Award at the 23rd Annual Moscow International Film Festival.

These are only a few of the personalities to be seen in this television program. It is teeming with famous characters and incidents from Japanese history. In addition, many of the weekly episodes are supplemented by short “documentary” style segments which show the real life towns and countryside that Musashi spent time in. Although this portion of the program is not subtitled, it gives one a sense of the environment in which the man lived.

Don’t miss seeing this educational but fast-paced drama filled with historical battles, samurai, sword fights and ninja, amongst many other attractions. It is delightfully entertaining.

Miyamoto Musashi
9:00 pm Saturdays, Channel 18