and are long-running (1970 to 1992)

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning " period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait o ...

'' programs that originally aired from 1970 to 1992. The series was broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certif ...

(Tokyo 12 Channel). The title literally translates as " Oedo Dragnet" ("New Oedo Dragnet" for the second series). Early on, it carried the subtitle "Ōedo Untouchables."

Characters

The central characters are a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp ...

group who serve as

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

agents in

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

. They work

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

under the direction of a

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' Howev ...

, and later, under Matsudaira Sadanobu. * Jūmonji Koyata, masquerading as a vagrant from Sagami, Sanjirō. The male lead, Koyata was played by

Ryōtarō Sugi (born 14 August 1944, Kobe) is a Japanese singer and actor. He is the father of actor Jundai Yamada. He appeared in ''Sukima Kaze'', which sold over a million copies. His acting credits include 18 films. On television, he specialized in ''jid ...

, Kōtarō Satomi, Hiroki Matsukata, Shirō Namiki, and Jun Hashizume. * Isaka Jūzō, masquerading as a

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...

of the same name. Tetsurō Sagawa created the role. * Female leads: Konami ( Meiko Kaji), Yūgiri (Miyako Koshiro), Kurenai Ochō (

Michiyo Yasuda was an animator and colour designer who worked for Toei Animation, A Production, Nippon Animation, Topcraft, and Studio Ghibli. Her designs were used by directors such as Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii. During a career spanning f ...

), Inazuma Oryū ( Sanae Tsuchida), Kazaguruma no Okiku ( Yōko Natsuki), and others. A 1979 film ''Onmitsu Dōshin Ōedo Sōsamō'' starred Hiroki Matsukata, included

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as '' Rashomon'', '' Seven Samurai'', '' The Hidden Fortress'', '' Throne of Blood'', a ...

in the role of Matsudaira Sadanobu.

TV special

The special episode '' Onmitsu Doshin: Oedo Sosamo'' was made in 1979, guest-starring

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as '' Rashomon'', '' Seven Samurai'', '' The Hidden Fortress'', '' Throne of Blood'', a ...

in a rare TV role.

Rebroadcasts

Jidaigeki Senmon Channel has rerun all the other 715 episodes via satellite and cable.

References

External links

Official website
*

1970 Japanese television series debuts 1992 Japanese television series endings Jidaigeki television series Ninja in fiction TV Tokyo original programming {{Asia-tv-prog-stub