is the 49th NHK Taiga drama. It was shown on NHK from January 3 to November 28, 2010, spanning 48 episodes. The story centers on the life of 19th-century Japanese historical figures

Iwasaki Yatarō was a Japanese industrialist and financier known as the founder of Mitsubishi, one of Japan's largest conglomerates. Early life Iwasaki Yatarō was born on 9 January 1835 in Aki, Tosa Province (now Kōchi Prefecture) into a provincial farmin ...

and Sakamoto Ryōma. It has been announced that the series will be aired in several other countries, for example Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Production

Production Credits *Original – Yasushi Fukuda *Music – Naoki Satō *Titling – Shishū *Narrator – Teruyuki Kagawa *Historical research – Manabu Ōishi, Tatsuya Yamamura *Architectural research – Sei Hirai *Clothing research – Kiyoko Koizumi *Beauty and costume direction – Isao Tsuge *Sword fight arranger - Kunishirō Hayashi *Production coordinator – Kei Suzuki, Kanako Iwatani *Casting – Keishi Ōtomo

Cast

* Masaharu Fukuyama as **

Tatsuomi Hamada is a Japanese actor represented by TakeOff and Four Springs. As a child actor, Hamada played the role of Sakamoto Ryōma as a child in ''Ryōmaden'' and Hiroshi Ichikawa in ''Kaibutsu-kun''. He won the 2010 Gold Dream Award in October 2010. Bio ...

as young Ryōma Sakamoto family * Shinobu Terajima as – older sister of Ryōma - later ** Tao Tsuchiya as young Otome * Kiyoshi Kodama as – father of Ryōma *

Tetta Sugimoto is a Japanese actor. Career Sugimoto was first a member of a rock band before he debuted as an actor in 1983 in the film ''Hakujasho''. For that film, he won a Japan Academy Prize best newcomer award. In addition to his work in film, he has als ...

as – oldest brother of Ryōma *

Wakako Shimazaki Wakako (わかこ, ワカコ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings *わかこ (in hiragana) *ワカコ (in katakana) *和佳子 "Japanese/peace, excellent, child" *和歌子 "traditional Japanese poetry, child" *若子 "young chil ...

as – Gonpei's wife * Atsuko Maeda as – Gonpei's daughter ** Tamaki Matsumoto as young Harui * Rei Ōtori as – oldest sister of Ryōma – later * Chieko Matsubara as – stepmother of Ryōma *

Tamiyo Kusakari is a Japanese actress and former ballet dancer. In 1997 her portrayal of Mai Kishikawa in '' Shall We Dance?'' won a Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Biography From Toshima, Tokyo, Kusakari start ...

as – mother of Ryōma * Yōko Maki as – Ryōma's wife Iwasaki family * Teruyuki Kagawa as – the founder of

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

, born in Tosa * Keizō Kanie as – Yatarō's father * Mitsuko Baisho as – Yatarō's mother * Maiko as – Yatarō's wife Tosa clan * Masaomi Kondō as - the 15th head of the Tosa Domain *

Munetaka Aoki is a Japanese actor. He played Sanosuke Sagara in the live action adaptation of the manga and anime series ''Rurouni Kenshin''. He is married to Japanese actress and model Yūka. Filmography Film *'' Battle Royale II'' (2003) *''Fly, Daddy, ...

as – nephew of Yoshida Tōyō *

Min Tanaka is a Japanese dancer and actor. Biography Tanaka was trained in ballet and modern dance, but in 1974, turned his back on these forms. He began his solo career with a series of nearly-naked primarily outdoor improvisational dances that took plac ...

as *

Nao Ōmori , sometimes credited as Nao Ohmori or Nao Omori, is a Japanese actor. He was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2004 Yokohama Film Festival. Career Omori starred in Takashi Miike's '' Ichi the Killer''. He co-starred with Shinobu Tera ...

as – leader of the * Ryōko Hirosue as – first crush of Ryōma * Hiroyuki Miyasako as – older brother of Kao * Takeru Satoh as – assassin of the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji governm ...

Takaya Kamikawa is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. Biography Kamikawa was born in Hachioji, Tokyo in 1965. He graduated from Hachioji-Kita high school in Tokyo. While studying economics in Chuo University, he acted in a minor theatrical group whi ...

as – brethren of Ryōma, born in Tosa Domain * Pierre Taki as Chōshū clan *

Katsuhisa Namase is a Japanese actor, known primary for his roles in Japanese television dramas. His roles are often positions of authority, such as managers, principals, or police officers, but many of these characters also share a certain kookiness and incom ...

as – master of Katsura Kogorō *

Shōsuke Tanihara is a Japanese actor probably best known outside Japan for his portrayal of Riki Fudoh in '' Fudoh: The New Generation''. Tanihara hosts ''Tokyo Twenty-Four Living Supported by FLET’S Hikari'', a podcast produced by TOKYO FM. The podcast bega ...

as – disciple of Yoshida Shōin * Yūsuke Iseya as * Toshio Kakei as * Kyōsuke Yabe as *

Hiroyuki Onoue (born July 16, 1985), is a Japanese actor from Osaka Prefecture. Selected filmography TV drama *''Doremisora'' (2002) *''Journey Under the Midnight Sun'' (2006) *''Ryōmaden'' (2010), Itō Shunsuke *''Carnation'' (2011) *''Hana Moyu'' (2015) * ...

as Satsuma clan *

Katsumi Takahashi is a common Japanese given name used by either sex. Possible writings Katsumi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: ;as a given name *克己, "overcome, self/oneself" *克巳, "overcome, sixth earthly branch" *克美, "ov ...

as * Mitsuhiro Oikawa as *

Kenichi Takitō is a Japanese actor. Career Takitō belonged to Tatsuya Nakadai's acting academy and theater troupe Mumeijuku from 1998 to 2007. Filmography Films *'' Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.'' (2003) *''Climber's High'' (2009) – Shusaku Kanzawa *'' Fish S ...

as Chiba Dojo * Shihori Kanjiya as – daughter of Chiba Sadakichi * Kōtarō Satomi as – management of sword school Chiba Dōjō *

Ikkei Watanabe is a Japanese tokusatsu comedy family robot television series created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Animation, Toei. It ran from October 4, 1974, to March 25, 1977, on TV Asahi, NET TV. ran from January 31, 1999 (a week after the ...

as – older brother of Chiba Sanako ;

Tokugawa Bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encycloped ...

Tetsushi Tanaka is a Japanese actor. Personal life Tanaka married actress Yukie Nakama on September 18, 2014, after a six-year relationship. Selected filmography Film *'' Get Up!'' (2003) *''One Missed Call'' (2004) *''Umizaru'' (2004) *'' 69'' (2004) *'' Ver ...

as – the 15th and last ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...

'' of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

* Nakamura Hayato as – the 14th ''

'' of the Tokugawa shogunate * Tetsuya Takeda as – a Japanese naval officer and statesman *

Tortoise Matsumoto Tortoise Matsumoto (トータス松本 ''Tōtasu Matsumoto'', born December 28, 1966, as 松本敦 Atsushi Matsumoto) is the lead singer of the Japanese guitar group, Ulfuls. He has also had a couple of acting roles in TV dramas, starting with ''Nam ...

as – one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States *Tomoharu Hasegawa as Matsudaira Katamori

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time w ...

* Taizō Harada as – the commander of the Shinsengumi * Satoshi Matsuda as – the vice-commander of Shinsengumi * Rakuto Tochihara as – the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi

Kyoto Mimawarigumi The was a special police force created by the Tokugawa shogunate during the late Bakumatsu period to restore public order to Kyoto. History In the unsettled period after to ending of the national isolation policy, the political situation in Jap ...

* Kamejirō Ichikawa as * Tatsuya Nakamura as * SION as Kaientai * Yō Ōizumi as – son of a bun store owner in Kōchi *

Jun Kaname is a Japanese actor and tarento. He was born in Mitoyo, Kagawa and made his drama debut as an actor in 2001 in the Tokusatsu Series "Kamen Rider Agito". He appears not only in TV dramas but also in movies, commercial messages, variety TV progra ...

as * Yūta Hiraoka as – a statesman and diplomat in

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, born in Wakayama domain * Kenta Kiritani as * Daijirō Kawaoka as – Ryōma's adopted child * Atsushi Korechika as People in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

* Yū Aoi as – geisha girl of restaurant in Maruyama * Hirotarō Honda as – business tycoon in Nagasaki *

Kimiko Yo is a Japanese actress. She was given Best Supporting Actress awards at the 2004 and the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival ceremonies. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 32nd and at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize for '' Departures'' a ...

as – business tycoon * Terry Itō as – photographer Foreigners *Timothy Harris as Matthew C. Perry – the Commodore of the U.S. Navy *Randy Buinz as Townsend Harris – a successful

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

merchant and minor politician *Tim Wellard as Thomas Blake Glover – trading merchant in Nagasaki, born in Scotland * Jeffrey Rowe as William Alt * Patrick Harlan as Ernest Satow *Daniel Foley as Rutherford Alcock * Péter Frankl as Léon Roches *Dennis Zomerhuis as Anton L. C. Portman

Season overview

The box set is available in a general DVD version, and a Blu-ray Disc version. The 1st episode and last episodes are 75 minutes long. The others are 45 minutes long, excepting commercials.

Highlight

*Navigator: Munetaka Aoki (Season 1, 2), Teruyuki Kagawa (Season 3, 4)

International

Soundtrack and books

Soundtrack

*''NHK Taiga Drama Ryōmaden Original Soundtrack Vol.1'' (January 27, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Ryōmaden Original Soundtrack Vol.2'' (May 26, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Ryōmaden Original Soundtrack Vol.3'' (September 8, 2010)

Books

Official guide *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden First Part'' (December 8, 2009) *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden Latter Part'' (June 30, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden Last Part'' (October 22, 2010) *''NHK Taiga Drama, Historical Handbook, Ryōmaden'' (November 19, 2009) Novel *''Ryōmaden I SEASON1 RYOMA THE DREAMER'' (November 28, 2009) *''Ryōmaden II SEASON2 RYOMA THE ADVENTURER'' (March 25, 2010) *''Ryōmaden III SEASON3 RYOMA THE NAVIGATOR'' (July 17, 2010) *''Ryōmaden IV SEASON4 RYOMA THE HOPE'' (October 9, 2010) Photo album *''Masaharu Fukuyama - Sakamoto Ryōma Photo Album'' (July 1, 2010) *''Oryō - Yōko Maki Photo Album'' (September 22, 2010) *''2010 Years, the Journey with Masaharu Fukuyama and Ryōma Sakamoto'' (December 9, 2010) Comics and other *''Ryōmaden, Comic Version, First Volume'' (January 25, 2010) *''Ryōmaden, Comic Version, Second Volume'' (April 19, 2010) *''Ryōma Design.'' (November 2010)

Reception

Impact

''Ryōmaden'' made a huge impact in Japan. Kōchi, Sakamoto Ryoma's birthplace reported an increase in tourism when the drama started airing. The Bank of Japan (Koichi Branch) initially estimated the economic benefit to be around 23.4 billion yen. However, they have revised the estimation to 40.9 billion yen in April 2010, due to an increase in tourism because of 'Ryoma Fever.' The final estimation is around 52.5 billion yen, 2.3 times the value from the initial estimation. The Nagasaki Branch also estimated around 21 billion yen of economic benefit to

, the place where Ryoma was in the Kaientai business. Copies of the necklace Ryoma wore are selling well, and it is the number one selling item in the NHK gift shop.

Accolades

*2010 Teamwork of the Year Award *Hashida Sugako Awards :ja:橋田賞 - Fukuyama Masaharu in Ryomaden *Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Award for Domestic Tourism- Fukuyama Masaharu *TV Navi Awards for Best Principal Male Actor 2010 – Fukuyama Masaharu *4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Best Drama (Series Drama) *4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Kagawa Teruyuki *4th Int'l Drama Festival, Tokyo Drama Award: Special Award – Filming staff of "Ryomaden" *2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Best Series (TV Guide Award) *2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Best Producer (TV) –

Suzuki Kei The is a kei car produced by Suzuki between 1998 and 2009. Originally only available as a three-door hatchback, a five-door version arrived in the third quarter of 1999. The car received a facelift in late 2000, when the three-door version was a ...

*2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Newcomers of the Year – Kiritani Kenta & Sato Takeru *2011 Elan d'Or Awards: Special Prize – Terajima Shinobu *2011 Galaxy Awards: Special Award for Contribution to Art (Television category) Individual Award – Fukuyama Masaharu

References

External links

2010 NHK Taiga drama exhibitions "Ryōmaden"

** ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110120183427/http://www.bunpaku.or.jp/old/exhi_ryoma.html The Museum of Kyoto 2010 NHK Taiga drama exhibitions "Ryōmaden"
Kōchi Prefectural Museum of History 2010 NHK Taiga drama exhibitions "Ryōmaden"

* ttp://japan.videoland.com.tw/channel/ryomaden/ryomaden.html VL Japan Channel website* < Tenchijin , Taiga drama , Gō > {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryomaden Taiga drama 2010 Japanese television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings Jidaigeki Television shows written by Yasushi Fukuda Television series set in the 1850s Television series set in the 1860s Cultural depictions of Tokugawa Yoshinobu Television shows set in Nagasaki Prefecture Television shows set in Kōchi Prefecture Television shows set in Kyoto