Jidaigeki Special

is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants of their time. ''Jidaigeki'' films are sometimes referred to as chambara movies, a word meaning "sword fight", though chambara is more accurately a subgenre of ''jidaigeki''. ''Jidaigeki'' rely on an established set of dramatic conventions including the use of makeup, language, catchphrases, and plotlines.

Types

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 ''Abarenbō Shōgun'' typify the Edo ''jidaigeki''. ''Mito Kōmon'', the fictitious story of the travels of the historical ''daimyō'' Tokugawa Mitsukuni, and the ''Zatoichi'' movies and television series, exemplify the traveling style.

Another way to categorize ''jidaigeki'' is according to the social status of the principal characters. The title character of ''Abarenbō Shōgun'' is Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa ''shōgun''. The head of the samurai class, Yoshimune assumes the disguise of a low-ranking , a samurai in the service of the shogun. Similarly, Mito Kōmon is the retired vice-shogun, masquerading as a merchant.

In contrast, the coin-throwing Heiji of ''Zenigata Heiji'' is a commoner, working for the police, while Ichi (the title character of ''Zatoichi''), a blind masseur, is an outcast, as were many disabled people in that era. In fact, masseurs, who typically were at the bottom of the professional food chain, was one of the few vocational positions available to the blind in that era. ''Gokenin Zankurō'' is a samurai but, due to his low rank and income, he has to work extra jobs that higher-ranking samurai were unaccustomed to doing.

Whether the lead role is samurai or commoner, ''jidaigeki'' usually reach a climax in an immense sword fight just before the end. 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).

Roles

Among the characters in ''jidaigeki'' are a parade of people with occupations unfamiliar to modern Japanese and especially to foreigners. Here are a few:

Warriors

The warrior class included samurai, hereditary members in the military service of a ''daimyō'' or the ''shōgun'', who was a samurai himself. ''Rōnin'', samurai without masters, were also warriors, and like samurai, wore two swords, but they were without inherited employment or status. ''Bugeisha'' were men, or in some stories women, who aimed to perfect their martial arts, often by traveling 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 ''bantō'' was a high-ranking employee of a merchant, the ''tedai'', a lower helper. Many merchants employed children, or ''kozō''. Itinerant merchants included the organized medicine-sellers, vegetable-growers from outside the city, and peddlers at fairs outside temples and shrines. In contrast, the great brokers in rice, lumber and other commodities operated sprawling shops in the city.

Governments

In the highest ranks of the shogunate were the ''rojū''. Below them were the ''wakadoshiyori'', then the various ''bugyō'' or administrators, including the ''jisha bugyō'' (who administered temples and shrines), the ''kanjō bugyō'' (in charge of finances) and the two ''Edo machi bugyō''. These last alternated by month as chief administrator of the city. Their role encompassed mayor, chief of police, and judge, and jury in criminal and civil matters.

The machi bugyō oversaw the police and fire departments. The police, or , included the high-ranking and the below them; both were samurai. In they often have full-time patrolmen, and , who were commoners. (Historically, such people were irregulars and were called to service only when necessary.) Zenigata Heiji is an . The police lived in barracks at Hatchōbori in Edo. They manned ''ban'ya'', the watch-houses, throughout the metropolis. The was the symbol of the police, from to .

A separate police force handled matters involving samurai. The ''ōmetsuke'' were high-ranking officials in the shogunate; the ''metsuke'' and ''kachi-metsuke'', lower-ranking police who could detain samurai. Yet another police force investigated arson-robberies, while Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples fell under the control of another authority. The feudal nature of Japan made these matters delicate, and jurisdictional disputes are common in ''jidaigeki.''

Edo had three fire departments. The ''daimyō-bikeshi'' were in the service of designated ''daimyōs''; the ''jōbikeshi'' reported to the shogunate; while the ''machi-bikeshi'', beginning under Yoshimune, were commoners under the administration of the ''machi-bugyō''. Thus, even the fire companies have turf wars in the ''jidaigeki''.

Each ''daimyō'' maintained a residence in Edo, where he lived during ''sankin-kōtai''. 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-garō'', oversaw the affairs in the ''daimyō''s absence. In addition to a staff of samurai, the household included ''ashigaru'' (lightly armed warrior-servants) and ''chūgen'' and ''yakko'' (servants often portrayed as flamboyant and crooked). Many ''daimyōs'' 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.

Other

The cast of a wandering ''jidaigeki'' encountered a similar setting in each '' han.'' There, the ''karō'' were the ''kuni-garō'' and the ''jōdai-garō''. Tensions between them have provided plots for many stories.

Conventions

There are several dramatic conventions of ''jidaigeki'':

*The heroes often wear eye makeup, and the villains often have disarranged hair.
*A contrived form of old-fashioned Japanese speech, using modern pronunciation and grammar with a high degree of formality and frequent archaisms.
*In long-running TV series, like ''Mito Kōmon'' and ''Zenigata Heiji'', the lead and supporting actors sometimes change. This is done without any rationale for the change of appearance. The new actor simply appears in the place of the old one and the stories continue. This is similar to the James Bond film series or superhero films, in contrast with e.g. the British television program ''Doctor Who''.
*In a sword fight, when a large number of villains attacks the main character, they never attack at once. The main character first launches into a lengthy preamble detailing the crimes the villains have committed, at the end of which the villains then initiate hostilities. The villains charge singly or in pairs; the rest wait their turn to be dispatched and surround the main character until it is their turn to be easily defeated. Sword fights are the grand finale of the show and are conducted to specially crafted theme music for their duration.
*On television, even fatal sword cuts draw little blood, and often do not even cut through clothing. Villains are chopped down with deadly, yet completely invisible, sword blows. Despite this, blood or wounding may be shown for arrow wounds or knife cuts.
*In chambara films, the violence is generally considerably stylized, sometimes to such a degree that sword cuts cause geysers of blood from wounds. Dismemberment and decapitation are common as well.

Proverbs and catchphrases

Authors of ''jidaigeki'' work pithy sayings into the dialog. Here are a few:

* : Like bugs that fly into the fire in the summer (they will come to their destruction)
* : A wolf in sheep's clothing (literally, a parasite in the lion's body)
* : Fires and brawls are the flower of Edo
* : "The eight hundred neighborhoods of Edo"
* : "On the road you need a companion"

The authors of series invent their own catchphrases called that the protagonist says at the same point in nearly every episode. In ''Mito Kōmon'', in which the eponymous character disguises himself as a commoner, in the final sword fight, a sidekick invariably holds up an accessory bearing the shogunal crest and shouts, : "Back! Can you not see this emblem?", revealing the identity of the hitherto unsuspected old man with a goatee beard. The villains then instantly surrender and beg forgiveness.

Likewise, Tōyama no Kin-san bares his tattooed shoulder and snarls, : "I won't let you say you forgot this cherry-blossom blizzard!" After sentencing the criminals, he proclaims, : "Case closed."

Examples

Films

Video games

The following are Japanese video games in the ''jidaigeki'' genre.

* ''Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki dayo Zen'in Shūgō''—sequel to ''Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari'' (''River City Ransom'' in America) set in feudal Japan.
* '' Genji: Dawn of the Samurai''
* ''Hakuōki'' series
* '' Kengo'' series
* ''Live A Live'' in the "Twilight of Edo Japan" scenario
* '' Ni-Oh'' series
* ''Ninja Gaiden'' series "Ninja Ryukenden", "Legend of the Ninja Dragon Sword" in Japan
* ''Nobunaga's Ambition'' series "Nobunaga no Yabō" in Japan
* ''Onimusha'' series
* ''Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!''
* ''Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!''
* ''Samurai'', a Sega arcade video game released in March 1980.
* ''Samurai Shodown'' series
* ''Samurai Warriors'' (''Sengoku Musō'' in Japan) series
* '' Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice''
* '' Sengoku Ace''
* ''Soul of the Samurai''
* ''Tenchu'' series
* ''The Last Blade'' series
* ''Warriors Orochi'' series
* ''Way of the Samurai'' series

Although jidaigeki is essentially a Japanese genre, there are also Western games that use the setting to match the same standards. Examples are ''Ghost of Tsushima'', the '' Shogun: Total War'' series, and Japanese campaigns of ''Age of Empires III''.

Anime and manga

* ''Azumi''
* ''Basilisk''
* ''Dororo''
* '' Fire Tripper''
* ''Gintama''
* '' Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan''
* '' Hyouge Mono''
* ''Intrigue in the Bakumatsu – Irohanihoheto''
* '' InuYasha''
* ''Kaze Hikaru''
* ''Lone Wolf and Cub''
* ''Mushishi''
* ''Ninja Resurrection''
* ''Ninja Scroll''
* ''Oi! Ryoma''
* '' Otogizoshi''
* ''Princess Mononoke''
* '' Rakudai Ninja Rantarō''
* ''Rurouni Kenshin''
* ''Samurai 7''
* ''Samurai Champloo''
* '' Samurai Executioner''
* '' Shigurui''
* ''Shōnen Onmyōji''
* ''The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls''
* ''Samurai Deeper Kyo''
* ''Sword of the Stranger''
* ''Vagabond''
* ''Yasuke''

Live action television

* Taiga drama Series on NHK.

Prominent directors

Names are in Western order, with the surname after the given name.

* Hideo Gosha
* Kon Ichikawa
* Hiroshi Inagaki
* Akira Kurosawa
* Masaki Kobayashi
* Shozo Makino
* Kenji Misumi
* Kenji Mizoguchi
* Kihachi Okamoto
* Kimiyoshi Yasuda
* Akira Inoue
* Tomu Uchida
*Eiichi Kudo
*Tokuzō Tanaka
*Koreyoshi Kurahara
*Kazuo Ikehiro

Prominent actors

* Tsumasaburō Bandō
* Denjirō Ōkōchi
* Chiyonosuke Azuma
* Utaemon Ichikawa
* Ryūtarō Ōtomo
* Kanjūrō Arashi
* Jūshirō Konoe
* Ryūnosuke Tsukigata
* Chiezō Kataoka
* Ichikawa Raizō VIII
* Hashizo Okawa
* Yorozuya Kinnosuke
* Toshiro Mifune
* Shintaro Katsu
* Tomisaburo Wakayama
* Kōtarō Satomi
* Asahi Kurizuka
* Hiroki Matsukata
* Masakazu Tamura
* Kin'ya Kitaōji
* Sonny Chiba
* Hideki Takahashi
* Ken Matsudaira

Influence

''Star Wars'' creator George Lucas has admitted to being inspired significantly by the period works of Akira Kurosawa, and many thematic elements found in ''Star Wars'' bear the influence of Chanbara filmmaking. In an interview, Lucas has specifically cited the fact that he became acquainted with the term ''jidaigeki'' while in Japan, and it is widely assumed that he took inspiration for the term Jedi from this.

References

External links

A Man, a Blade, an Empty Road: Postwar Samurai Film to 1970
by Allen White, this article discusses specific ''chanbara'' films, their distinction from regular ''jidai-geki,'' and the evolution of the genre.
* Program for a ''jidaigeki'' film series sponsored by the Yale CEAS and the National Film Archive of Japan.

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Film genres
Japanese entertainment terms
Japan in fiction