Gunshi Kanbei (軍師官兵衛, Strategist Kanbei) is a 2014 Japanese historical drama television series and the 53rd NHK taiga drama. The series was broadcast from January 5 to December 21, 2014, and ran a total of 50 episodes.[1] The drama depicts the life of Kuroda Kanbei (played by Junichi Okada), a retainer of daimyō Kodera Masamoto of Harima Province, and a strategist for daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Gunshi Kanbei
Promotional poster
Written byYoichi Maekawa
Directed byKenji Tanaka
Kazuhiro Motoki
StarringJunichi Okada
Miki Nakatani
Akira Terao
Shōsuke Tanihara
Tori Matsuzaka
Yuki Uchida
Toma Ikuta
Shunpūtei Koasa
Fumi Nikaidō
Tetsushi Tanaka
Mirei Kiritani
Gaku Hamada
Mokomichi Hayami
Issei Takahashi
Kei Tanaka
Mitsuki Takahata
Kazuhiro Yamaji
Shingo Tsurumi
Takanori Jinnai
Tsurutaro Kataoka
Masatō Ibu
Hitomi Kuroki
Yōsuke Eguchi
Naoto Takenaka
Kyōhei Shibata
Theme music composerYugo Kanno
ComposerYugo Kanno
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes50
Production
Executive producerTakashi Nakamura
Running time45–60 minutes
Original release
NetworkNHK
ReleaseJanuary 5 (2014-01-05) –
December 21, 2014 (2014-12-21)

Plot edit

The drama tells the story of Kuroda Kanbei, a son of Kuroda Mototaka, chief retainer of Kodera Masamoto who ruled Harima Province (currently Hyōgo Prefecture) in the 16th century. In troubled times, Kanbei persuades Kodera to join forces with the all-powerful Oda Nobunaga. Though imprisoned by Araki Murashige and lamed for life, Kanbei endures hardships and later becomes a strategist for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His son Kuroda Nagamasa serves Tokugawa Ieyasu after the death of Toyotomi.

Production edit

[2]

Cast edit

 
Banner of "Gunshi Kanbei" in Himeji

Kuroda family edit

 
"Kanbei Train"

Ibuki edit

Kodera Clan edit

Oda Clan edit

Toyotomi Clan edit

Tokugawa Clan edit

Mōri Clan edit

Amago Clan edit

Others edit

TV schedule edit

Episode Original airdate Title Directed by Rating
1 January 5, 2014 (2014-01-05) "Ikinokori no Okite" (生き残りの掟) Kenji Tanaka 18.9%
2 January 12, 2014 (2014-01-12) "Wasure'enu Hatsukoi" (忘れえぬ初恋) 16.9%
3 January 19, 2014 (2014-01-19) "Inochi no Tsukaimichi" (命の使い道) 18.0%
4 January 26, 2014 (2014-01-26) "Atarashiki Kadode" (新しき門出) Kazuhiro Motoki 16.5%
5 February 2, 2014 (2014-02-02) "Shitō no Hate" (死闘の果て) 16.0%
6 February 9, 2014 (2014-02-09) "Nobunaga no Kake" (信長の賭け) Kenji Tanaka 15.0%
7 February 16, 2014 (2014-02-16) "Ketsudan no Toki" (決断のとき) 15.2%
8 February 23, 2014 (2014-02-23) "Hideyoshi toiu Otoko" (秀吉という男) 16.1%
9 March 2, 2014 (2014-03-02) "Kanbei Tamesareru" (官兵衛試される) Kazuhiro Motoki 15.4%
10 March 9, 2014 (2014-03-09) "Mōri Shūrai" (毛利襲来) 15.7%
11 March 16, 2014 (2014-03-16) "Inochigake no Utage" (命がけの宴) Taku Ōhara 15.8%
12 March 23, 2014 (2014-03-23) "Hitojichi Shōjumaru" (人質松寿丸) 15.8%
13 March 30, 2014 (2014-03-30) "Kodera wa Madaka" (小寺はまだか) Kenji Tanaka 12.9%
14 April 6, 2014 (2014-04-06) "Hikisakareru Shimai" (引き裂かれる姉妹) Kazuhiro Motoki 14.8%
15 April 13, 2014 (2014-04-13) "Harima Bundan" (播磨分断) Taku Ōhara 14.9%
16 April 20, 2014 (2014-04-20) "Kōzuki-jō no Mamori" (上月城の守り) Kenji Tanaka 16.2%
17 April 27, 2014 (2014-04-27) "Misuterareta Shiro" (見捨てられた城) Kazuhiro Motoki 15.6%
18 May 4, 2014 (2014-05-04) "Uragiru Riyū" (裏切る理由) Taku Ōhara 12.3%
19 May 11, 2014 (2014-05-11) "Hijō no Wana" (非情の罠) Kenji Tanaka 13.7%
20 May 18, 2014 (2014-05-18) "Toraware no Gunshi" (囚われの軍師) Kazuhiro Motoki 15.0%
21 May 25, 2014 (2014-05-25) "Shōjumaru no Inochi" (松寿丸の命) Taku Ōhara 14.8%
22 June 1, 2014 (2014-06-01) "Arioka, Saigo no Hi" (有岡、最後の日) Kenji Tanaka 16.6%
23 June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) "Hanbei no Yuigon" (半兵衛の遺言) Kazuhiro Motoki 16.0%
24 June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15) "Kaettekita Gunshi" (帰ってきた軍師) Taku Ōhara 17.5%
25 June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22) "Eeiga no Kiwami" (栄華の極み) Kenji Tanaka 16.4%
26 June 29, 2014 (2014-06-29) "Nagamasa Uijin" (長政初陣) Kazuhiro Motoki 14.9%
27 July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06) "Takamatsu-jō Mizu-zeme" (高松城水攻め) Taku Ōhara 16.7%
28 July 13, 2014 (2014-07-13) "Honnō-ji no Hen" (本能寺の変) Kenji Tanaka 17.5%
29 July 20, 2014 (2014-07-20) "Tenka no Hisaku" (天下の秘策) Kazuhiro Motoki 19.4%
30 July 27, 2014 (2014-07-27) "Chūgoku Ōgaeshi" (中国大返し) Taku Ōhara 15.6%
31 August 3, 2014 (2014-08-03) "Tenkabito eno Michi" (天下人への道) Hirokazu Ozaki 18.2%
32 August 10, 2014 (2014-08-10) "Saraba, Chichi yo!" (さらば、父よ!) Kazuhiro Motoki 16.1%
33 August 17, 2014 (2014-08-17) "Kizudarake no Tamashii" (傷だらけの魂) Taku Ōhara 16.7%
34 August 24, 2014 (2014-08-24) "Kyūshū Shutsujin" (九州出陣) Hirokazu Ozaki 13.0%
35 August 31, 2014 (2014-08-31) "Hideyoshi no Takurami" (秀吉のたくらみ) Kenji Tanaka 14.5%
36 September 7, 2014 (2014-09-07) "Shiren no Shintenchi" (試練の新天地) Kazuhiro Motoki 15.1%
37 September 14, 2014 (2014-09-14) "Kiidani-jō no Higeki" (城井谷の悲劇) Taku Ōhara 14.6%
38 September 21, 2014 (2014-09-21) "Oikomareru Gunshi" (追い込まれる軍師) Hideki Fujinami 15.0%
39 September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28) "Ato wo Tsugu Mono" (跡を継ぐ者) Kenji Tanaka 14.6%
40 October 5, 2014 (2014-10-05) "Odawara no Rakujitsu" (小田原の落日) Taku Ōhara 17.6%
41 October 12, 2014 (2014-10-12) "Otoko-tachi no Kakugo" (男たちの覚悟) Hideki Fujinami 14.1%
42 October 19, 2014 (2014-10-19) "Taikō no Yabō" (太閤の野望) Kazuhiro Motoki 15.6%
43 October 26, 2014 (2014-10-26) "Josui Tanjō" (如水誕生) Kenji Tanaka 15.3%
44 November 2, 2014 (2014-11-02) "Ochiyuku Kyosei" (落ちゆく巨星) Wataru Suzuki 15.0%
45 November 9, 2014 (2014-11-09) "Hideyoshi no Saigo" (秀吉の最期) Taku Ōhara 16.8%
46 November 16, 2014 (2014-11-16) "Ieyasu Ugoku" (家康動く) Kazuhiro Motoki 16.4%
47 November 23, 2014 (2014-11-23) "Josui Hakaru" (如水謀る) Kenji Tanaka 15.4%
48 November 30, 2014 (2014-11-30) "Tenka Dōran" (天下動乱) Taku Ōhara 16.6%
49 December 7, 2014 (2014-12-07) "Josui Saigo no Shōbu" (如水最後の勝負) Kazuhiro Motoki 15.8%
50 December 21, 2014 (2014-12-21) "Ranse Koko ni Owaru" (乱世ここに終わる) Kenji Tanaka 17.6%
Average rating 15.8% - Rating is based on Japanese Video Research (Kantō region).[3]

Books edit

  • NHK Taiga Drama Story Gunshi Kanbei Vol.1 ISBN 978-4-14-923345-1 (Official guide)
  • Yoichi Maekawa and Kuniko Aoki, Taiga Drama Gunshi Kanbei, Tokyo, NHK Publishing Co., Ltd., 2014 (novelisation)

References edit

  1. ^ Corkill, Edan (1 January 2014). "NHK's yearlong drama 'Gunshi Kanbei' takes cues from Korean success stories". The Japan Times. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b Yoichi Maekawa, NHK Taiga Drama Story Gunshi Kanbei vol.1, Tokyo: NHK Publishing Co., Ltd., 2014
  3. ^ "NHK大河「軍師官兵衛」平均は15.8% 21日に終了". Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved December 21, 2020.

External links edit