is a 2018 Japanese historical drama television series and the 57th NHK taiga drama. It stars Ryohei Suzuki as

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...

, who has been dubbed ''the last true samurai''.

Plot

The drama follows the life of historical figure

. Born the first son of a lower-class samurai, he was exiled two times and went through three marriages. He was one of the central figures of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

but later rebelled against the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

over dissatisfaction with Meiji reforms.

Cast

Saigo family

* Ryohei Suzuki as

**Ao Watanabe as Kokichi (young Takamori) * Keiko Matsuzaka as Saigō Masa, the mother of Takamori * Morio Kazama as Saigō Kichibei, the father of Takamori * Toshiyuki Nishida as Saigō Kikujirō, Takamori's son ** Yuki Imai as Teen Kikujirō **Kairi Jō as Child Kikujirō * Ai Hashimoto as Suga, the first wife of Takamori * Haru Kuroki as Iwayama Ito, the third wife of Takamori **

Konomi Watanabe is a Japanese actress and tarento. For the 2011 Japanese movie ''Rebirth'' she received one of the seven Newcomer of the Year awards at the 35th edition of the Japan Academy Prize. She is also known for the 2014 television drama ''Ashita, Mama ...

as young Ito *

Ryo Nishikido is a Japanese singer and actor. He was formerly under the management of Johnny & Associates as a member of Japanese boy bands Kanjani Eight and News. His first solo album was released in December 2019. Biography Ryo Nishikido was born in Hyo ...

as Saigō Jūdō, one of Takamori's brothers **Taiyō Saitō as Saigō Shingo (young Jūdō) * Mone Kamishiraishi as Saigō Kiyo, the wife of Jūdō *Gōta Watabe as Saigō Kichijirō, one of Takamori's brothers **Taketo Arai as young Kichijirō * Yuki Kashiwagi as Saigō Sono, the wife of Kichijirō * Nanami Sakuraba as Ichiki (''née'' Saigō) Koto, one of Takamori's sisters **Yuki Kurimoto as young Koto *Yūki Maekawa as Ichiki Sōsuke, Koto's son *Yū Kayano as Saigō Yasu, one of Takamori's sisters * Kumi Mizuno as Kimi, the grandmother of Takamori *Kon Ōmura as Saigō Ryūemon, the grandfather of Takamori * Muga Tsukaji (Drunk Dragon) as Kumakichi *Mayuko Saigō as Saigō Sakurako *Maika Hara as Saigō Taka, one of Takamori's sisters *Yūki Yagi as Saigō Kikusō, Takamori's daughter

Ōkubo family

* Eita as

Ōkubo Toshimichi was a Japanese statesman and one of the Three Great Nobles regarded as the main founders of modern Japan. Ōkubo was a ''samurai'' of the Satsuma Domain and joined the movement to overthrow the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate during the ''B ...

**Tatsuki Ishikawa as young Toshimichi *

Rie Mimura is a Japanese actress. Her former stage name was Mimula. She is best known for her performance as Kyoko Okudera in ''One Missed Call 2''. Filmography Films *''One Missed Call 2'' (2005) *''Tengoku Kara no Yell'' (2011) – Michiko Oshiro *'' Ch ...

as Ōkubo Masu, the wife of Toshimichi * Mitsuru Hirata as Ōkubo Jiemon, the father of Toshimichi *Mariko Fuji as Ōkubo Fuku, the mother of Toshimichi *Tamami Kusaka as Ōkubo Suma * Yuki Uchida as Oyū

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshim ...

* Ken Watanabe as

Shimazu Nariakira was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Edo period, the 28th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain. He was renowned as an intelligent and wise lord, and was greatly interested in Western learning and technology. He was en ...

, the master of Takamori *

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 Shimazu Hisamitsu * Takeshi Kaga as

Shimazu Narioki was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Edo period, the 27th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain (r. 1809–1851). He was the father of Shimazu Nariakira, Shimazu Hisamitsu Prince , also known as , was a Japanese samu ...

* Rumiko Koyanagi as Yura *

Raita Ryu Raita is a side dish in Indian cuisine made of dahi (yogurt, often referred to as curd) together with raw or cooked vegetables, more seldom fruit, or in the case of boondi raita, with fried droplets of batter made from besan (chickpea flour, g ...

as Zusho Hirosato *Seiya Osada as Shimazu Mochihisa **Rasei Nakajima as young Mochihisa *

Naho Toda is a Japanese actress. Career In 1990, she successfully passed an audition called Horipro Talent Scout Caravan( Ja). Personal life She had graduated from Tamagawa University. Her sister was an actress, and her brother Kōhei Toda ( Ja ...

as Kiku * Yukiya Kitamura as Ōyama Kakunosuke (later Ōyama Tsunayoshi) **Naoki Inukai as young Kakunosuke *

Mitsuomi Takahashi is a Japanese actor best known for playing Satoru Akashi/BoukenRed in the tokusatsu show ''GoGo Sentai Boukenger''. He took part in the 20th and 21st ''SASUKE'' competition. He failed both times in the first stage. Filmography TV shows *Water ...

as Arimura Shunsai (later Kaeda Nobuyoshi) **Yūto Ikeda as young Shunsai *Arata Horii as Murata Shinpachi **Kenshirō Katō as young Shinpachi * Ikki Sawamura as Akayama Yukie * Jun Itoda as Katsura Hisatake * Yu Tokui as Yamada Tamehisa *Shūichirō Masuda as Arima Shinshichi **Masaki Izawa as young Shinshichi * Takurō Ōno as Nakamura Hanjirō **Rukito Nakamura as young Hanjirō *Manabu Hamada as Sakoda Tomonoshin *Shiori Sugioka as Oaki * Tomoya Warabino as Ebihara Shigekatsu * Keita Machida as

Komatsu Tatewaki was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who served the Shimazu clan of Satsuma, and went on to become a government official of the early Meiji period. He was also commonly known as . Komatsu ruled the fief of Yoshitoshi, which was a part ...

Yoshimasa Kondo , born on August 13, 1961 in Nagoya, Japan, is a Japanese theatre and film actor. Biography He debuted as an extra in the series ''Chu-gaku-sei Nikki'', and was later written into the script. He later gained notability while working with the ...

as Tanaka Yūnosuke *Ayumi Tanida as Koba Den'nai *Teppei Akashi as Narahara Kihachirō *Yūki Izumisawa as Kawaji Toshiyoshi * Hideo Sakaki as Shinohara Kunimoto *Yūshin Shinohara as Beppu Shinsuke ;General public * Rin Takanashi as Fuki **Rinka Kakihara as young Fuki *

Taku Suzuki is a Japanese comedian and actor who is part of the comedy duo Drunk Dragon with Muga Tsukaji. He graduated from Kanagawa Prefectural Ayase Nishi High School. Biography Suzuki was born in Ayase, Kanagawa, in 1975. According to ''Shutsubotsu! Ado ...

(Drunk Dragon) as Heiroku, Fuki's father *Sumie Sasaki as Ishi, Kumakichi's grandmother *Fujita Okamoto as Itagaki Yosaji *Toshiyuki Kitami as Ijūin Naogorō, Suga's father *Masayuki Shionoya as Iwayama Naoatsu, Ito's father ;The people of

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...

* Fumi Nikaidō as Aikana, the second wife of Takamori * Akira Emoto as Ryū Samin * Midori Kiuchi as Ishichiyo Kane *Natsuko Akiyama as Yuta *Tsutomu Takahashi as Tomiken *Honami Kurashita as Komurume *Anna Sato as Satochiyo Kane ;The people of Okinoerabujima * Renji Ishibashi as Kawaguchi Seppō *Yoshiki Saitō as Tsuchimochi Masateru *Yōko Ōshima as Tsuchimochi Tsuru

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was ba ...

* Tetsuji Tamayama as Kido Takayoshi * Kenta Hamano as

Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era. A London-educated sam ...

Hayashiya Shōzō IX , formerly known as , is a Japanese rakugoka, tarento and voice actor. He is an associate professor of humanities at Josai International University. He is the son of Hayashiya Sanpei I. Filmography Films *''Tokyo Family'' (2013) *''What a Won ...

as Ōmura Masujirō *Hikaru Futagami as Kusaka Genzui *Osaomu Kaō as Shiraishi Shōichirō * Riki Choshu as

Kijima Matabei , also known as Masahisa (政久), was a Japanese samurai who served as a retainer to Lord Mōri of Chōshū. Though his name was Masahisa, he is known by his "common" name of Matabei. While his income (a stipend of 59 koku) may not have been p ...

* Manabu Ino as Kikkawa Kenmotsu *Masayuki Satō as Miyoshi Shinzō

Tosa Domain The was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its ...

* Shun Oguri as

Sakamoto Ryōma was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the '' Bakumatsu'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period. He was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active op ...

* Asami Mizukawa as Oryō, the wife of Ryōma * Shogo Yamaguchi as Nakaoka Shintarō * Akira Otaka as Yamauchi Yōdō, the lord of Tosa *

Ryo Segawa is a Japanese actor. Filmography Television * ChouSeiShin GranSazer (TV Tokyo, 2003) *Fight (NHK, 2005) *Walkers (NHK, 2006) * 3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei 8 (TBS, 2007) * Hitogata Nagashi (NHK, 2007) * Fuurin Kazan (NHK, 2007) * Natsu no Hi ...

Gotō Shōjirō Count was a Japanese samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gotō Shōjirō" in He was a leader of which would evolve into a political party. Early life ...

Fukui Domain

* Kanji Tsuda as Matsudaira Shungaku * Shunsuke Kazama as Hashimoto Sanai *Asahi Yoshida as Nakane Yukie

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

* Shota Matsuda as

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

, the last shōgun * Kenichi Endō as Katsu Kaishū * Naoki Matayoshi as Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shōgun *Tamotsu Kanshūji as Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th shōgun **Towa Araki as young Iemochi * Naohito Fujiki as

Abe Masahiro was the chief senior councilor (''rōjū'') in the Tokugawa shogunate of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world. Abe was instrumental in the eventual signin ...

Shirō Sano is a Japanese actor. Career Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Sano lived in Tokyo and Matsue, Shimane as a child, before returning to Tokyo to enter art school. He joined several theatrical troupes, including Jurō Kara's Jōkyō Gekijō. He had ...

as Ii Naosuke *Shinji Asakura as Hotta Masayoshi *Satoshi Jimbo as Nagano Shuzen * Takahiro Fujimoto as Yamaoka Tesshū * Jundai Yamada as Hiraoka Enshirō * Masami Horiuchi as Itakura Katsukiyo ;

Ōoku The refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term. History The ''Ōok ...

* Keiko Kitagawa as "Tenshō-in" Atsuhime *

Yoko Minamino , also known as Nanno (ナンノ), is a Japanese actress and singer. She graduated from Horikoshi High School. She played Saki Asamiya in the second season of the live action '' Sukeban Deka'' TV series replacing fellow idol star Yuki Saitō. Sh ...

as Ikushima, the tutor of Atsuhime * Pinko Izumi as Honjuin, Iesada's mother

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princip ...
and Kuwana Domains

Shuji Kashiwabara is a Japanese actor. Career Kashiwabara starred in Yoshihiko Matsui's 2008 film ''Where Are We Going?'' He has also appeared in films such as ''A Day on the Planet'' and ''Alien vs Ninja''. Filmography Films * Hood'' (1998) * ''Desert Moon'' ( ...

as Matsudaira Katamori *Ken Shōnozaki as Matsudaira Sadaaki

Imperial Court

*Nakamura Kotarō VI as Emperor Kōmei *Nomura Man'nojō VI as

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

* Shōfukutei Tsurube II as Iwakura Tomomi *Tomiyuki Kunihiro as

Konoe Tadahiro Prince Senior first rank , son of Motosaki, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the late Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1862 to 1863. His consort was Shimazu Kyoko, an adopted daughter of Shimazu Nariok ...

*Nomura Manzō IX as Sanjō Sanetomi *Takeshi Nadagi as Nakagawa-no-miya * Kenichi Ogata as Nakayama Tadayasu *Yasuto Kosuda as Prince Arisugawa Taruhito

The Government of Meiji

Shugo Oshinari is a Japanese actor. Career Oshinari co-starred in Shunji Iwai's ''All About Lily Chou-Chou'' with Hayato Ichihara. He also appeared in films such as Kenta Fukasaku's '' Battle Royale II: Requiem'' and Takahisa Zeze's ''Heaven's Story''. Filmog ...

as Inoue Kaoru *Shingo Murakami as

Yamagata Aritomo '' Gensui'' Prince , also known as Prince Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a senior-ranking Japanese military commander, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and a leading member of the '' genrō'', an élite group of senior statesmen who dominated J ...

* Kiyohiko Shibukawa as

Itagaki Taisuke Count was a Japanese politician. He was a leader of the "Freedom and People's Rights Movement" and founded Japan's first political party, the Liberal Party (Japan, 1881), Liberal Party. Biography Early life Itagaki Taisuke was born into ...

* Hiroyuki Onoue as Ōkuma Shigenobu *Takaya Sakoda as Etō Shinpei

Foreigners

Thane Camus Thane Alexander Camus (; born November 27, 1970) is an American TV personality and actor in Japan. Biography Camus was born in New York on November 27, 1970. Camus arrived in Japan in 1980 and graduated from a board school in Fujisawa, Kanagawa ...

Harry Smith Parkes Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

*Hannah Grace as Mrs. Parkes *Steve Wiley as Ernest Mason Satow *Blake Crawford as Townsend Harris *Gilles Beaufils as Léon Roches *Noam Katz as Charles Lennox Richardson *Nathan Berry as Dr. William Willis

Others

* Masatō Ibu as Tokugawa Nariaki, the father of Yoshinobu *Onoe Kikunosuke V as Getshō *Kimihiko Hasegawa as Date Munenari *Takayasu Komiya as Tokugawa Yoshikatsu *Michiko Tanaka as Tama *Takashi Tome as Den'emon * Hitori Gekidan as

John Manjirō John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

*Haruna Kondō (

Harisenbon is a female Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Haruna Kondo (近藤春菜) and Haruka Minowa (箕輪はるか) who have featured in a number of television shows. They are employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, and are mainly active in Tokyo. T ...

) as Tora *Michifumi Isoda as Naiki Jinzaburō, the first mayor of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

*Kōkichi Tanoue as Naoo Nakahara

Production

Production Credits *Narrator – Toshiyuki Nishida *Music – Harumi Fūki *Historical research – Izumi Haraguchi, Manabu Ōishi and Michifumi Isoda *Architectural research – Kiyoshi Hirai *Costume designer – Kazuko Kurosawa *

Kagoshima dialect The , often referred to as the , is a group of dialects or dialect continuum of the Japanese language spoken mainly within the area of the former Ōsumi and Satsuma provinces now incorporated into the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. ...

instructors – Takaya Sakoda and Kōkichi Tanoue The series is based on the novel ''Segodon!'' by Mariko Hayashi which was first released in serial format starting February 2016 in the literature magazine ''Hon no Tabibito'', and published as a book by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines s ...

the year after.

Casting

Ryohei Suzuki was announced to portray the lead role of

in ''Segodon'' on November 2, 2016. The main cast for the Saigo and Okuba family were announced on March 27, 2017, which includes Eita, Haru Kuroki, Nanami Sakuraba, Gōta Watabe, Muga Tsukaji, Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Hirata, and Keiko Matsuzaka. The main cast for the Shimazu family was announced on June 27, 2017, which includes

, Yu Tokui, and Ken Watanabe. In September 2017, it was announced that Yuki Saito would not be able to play as Ikushima, and was eventually replaced by

. By November 2017, Etsuko Ichihara also had to drop out as narrator of the series due to her ongoing recovery from

encephalomyelitis Encephalomyelitis is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Various types of encephalomyelitis include: * '' Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis'' or ''postinfectious encephalomyelitis'', a demyelinating disease of the brain and spinal cord, ...

, and was eventually replaced by Toshiyuki Nishida.

TV schedule

Highlight

Soundtracks

*''"Segodon" Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack I'' (February 21, 2018) *''"Segodon" Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack II'' (August 8, 2018) *''"Segodon" Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack III'' (October 10, 2018)

References

External links

Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Segodon Taiga drama 2018 Japanese television series debuts 2018 Japanese television series endings Cultural depictions of Tokugawa Yoshinobu Television shows written by Miho Nakazono Television series set in the 1840s Television series set in the 1850s Television series set in the 1860s Television series set in the 1870s Television series set in the 1880s Television series set in the 1890s