Ryōmaden (龍馬伝) 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 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.
Contents
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 Sakamoto Ryōma (坂本龍馬)
Tatsuomi Hamada as young Ryōma
Sakamoto family
Shinobu Terajima as Sakamoto Otome (坂本乙女) – older sister of Ryōma - later Okaue Otome (岡上乙女)
Tao Tsuchiya as young Otome
Kiyoshi Kodama as Sakamoto Hachihei (坂本八平) – father of Ryōma
Tetta Sugimoto as Sakamoto Gonpei (坂本権平) – oldest brother of Ryōma
Wakako Shimazaki as Sakamoto Chino (坂本千野) – Gonpei's wife
Atsuko Maeda as Sakamoto Harui (坂本春猪) – Gonpei's daughter
Tamaki Matsumoto as young Harui
Rei Ōtori as Sakamoto Chizu (坂本千鶴) – oldest sister of Ryōma – later Takamatsu Chizu (高松千鶴)
Chieko Matsubara as Sakamoto Iyo (坂本伊與) – stepmother of Ryōma
Tamiyo Kusakari as Sakamoto Kō (坂本幸) – mother of Ryōma
Yōko Maki as Narasaki Ryō (a.k.a. Oryō) (楢崎龍) – Ryōma's wife
Iwasaki family
Teruyuki Kagawa as Iwasaki Yatarō (岩崎弥太郎) – the founder of Mitsubishi, born in Tosa
Keizō Kanie as Iwasaki Yajirō (岩崎弥次郎) – Yatarō's father
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)
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 ISBN 978-4-14-923353-6 (December 8, 2009)
NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden Latter Part ISBN 978-4-14-923354-3 (June 30, 2010)
NHK Taiga Drama Story Ryōmaden Last Part ISBN 978-4-14-923355-0 (October 22, 2010)
NHK Taiga Drama, Historical Handbook, Ryōmaden ISBN 978-4-14-910730-1 (November 19, 2009)
Novel
Ryōmaden I SEASON1 RYOMA THE DREAMER ISBN 978-4-14-005572-4 (November 28, 2009)
Ryōmaden II SEASON2 RYOMA THE ADVENTURER ISBN 978-4-14-005573-1 (March 25, 2010)
Ryōmaden III SEASON3 RYOMA THE NAVIGATOR ISBN 978-4-14-005574-8 (July 17, 2010)
Ryōmaden IV SEASON4 RYOMA THE HOPE ISBN 978-4-14-005575-5 (October 9, 2010)
Photo album
Masaharu Fukuyama - Sakamoto Ryōma Photo Album ISBN 978-4-06-216230-2 (July 1, 2010)
Oryō - Yōko Maki Photo Album ISBN 978-4-14-081435-2 (September 22, 2010)
2010 Years, the Journey with Masaharu Fukuyama and Ryōma Sakamoto ISBN 978-4-06-216734-5 (December 9, 2010)
Comics and other
Ryōmaden, Comic Version, First Volume ISBN 978-4-7767-2881-8 (January 25, 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 Nagasaki, 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
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