and a little bit more about the newest series..."MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, MASTER OF TWO SWORDS"
The story of Musashi Miyamoto is one of the most famous and often filmed sagas in Japanese film and television history. Almost every production is based upon Eiji Yoshikawa's monumental Musashi novel and starts with Musashi fighting in the famous Battle of Sekigara in 1600 and ends with the equally famous duel at Ganryu Island in 1612. Sorekara no Musashi (literally "And Then...Musashi") basically picks up where Eiji Yoshikawa's novel ends and tells the story of what happened afterwards.
There are some differences between the world created by Eiji Yoshikawa and the one created in Sorekara no Musashi, especially in the names of the characters that surround Musashi. It is unclear as to why the names of the characters were changed (perhaps Eiji Yoshikawa "owned" these characters), but it is not difficult to tell who is who. Musashi's long suffering love Otsu in "MUSASHI" is called Oko in “Sorekara no Musashi”. Similarly, Kojiro's lover Omitsu becomes Orin and Musashi's pupil Jotaro becomes Genta.
There have been 3 Sorekara no Musashi Television productions. The first was a weekly ½ hour TV series which ran for 52 episodes from 1964.03.23 to 1965.04.12. It starred Ryunosuke Tsukigata. The second was an 11 hour mini-series that ran in 5 parts all airing on 1981.01.02. It starred Kinnosuke Yorozuya (formerly known as Kinnosuke Nakamura). The most recent production was entitled Tokugawa Kengo-Den Sorekara no Musashi.
It starred Kinya Kitaoji and like it's predecessor originally aired as a mini-series. This latest production differed slightly from the 1981 production in that it incorported the Yagyu clan into the proceedings, something which added greater excitement and drama to the story. With a perfect blend of drama and action, this 1996 Sorekara no Musashi mini-series makes an excellent sequel to Eiji Yoshikawa's magnificent saga. One of the best samurai TV-series out there!
Both the 1981 mini-series and the 1996 miniseries sound like they would be good. There are several sights on the internet where the 1996 version is available, but I still have not seen any with Kinnosuke Nakamura, who starred in a six-part movie series about Musashi in the 60's and early 70's as well.The equivalent English title would be "Further Tales of Musashi". This is the KIKU-subtitled 13 episode 1996 miniseries based on the book by Katsukiro Kouyama, whose classic samurai novel acted as a sequel to Eiji Yoshikawa's original novel "Miyamoto Musashi." A very intense, fast paced story, the lead role acted in a spirit of dignified machismo by Kinya Kitaoji. Subtitled in English.
Has anyone seen any of these shows and able to give an opinion?
Abayo...
