Kogarashi Monjirō

Kogarashi Monjirō
Also known as 木枯し紋次郎
Genre Jidaigeki
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Kenji Misumi
Starring Atsuo Nakamura
Country of origin Japan
Original language(s) Japanese
No. of episodes 38
Production
Running time 45 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s) Fuji TV, C.A.L
Release
Original network Fuji TV
Picture format Film
Original release 1972 – 1973

Kogarashi Monjirō (木枯し紋次郎) is the main character and title of a Japanese novel by Saho Sasazawa, probably best known in the televised that broadcast on prime-time in 1972–1973, directed by Kon Ichikawa.

Monjirō is a drifter, iconic for his ragged straw hat and cape outfit and long toothpick in his mouth. His stock phrase was "It's nothing to do with me".

A film version directed by Sadao Nakajima appeared in 1972. A manga version was created by Goseki Kojima (artist for Lone Wolf and Cub).

Plot

Kogarashi Monjirō (See §Characters below) is a toseinin (Yakuza) in the Edo period.[1] He travels alone.[2][3]

He is exiled to the island of Hachijō-jima taking blame for a crime committed by a friend, but when the friend breaches the vow of silence in order to protest Mojirō's innocense, it shatters his faith in people.[4]

Characters

Kogarashi Monjirō

The character is known for always having a long toothpick protruding from his mouth,[lower-alpha 1] which sometimes served as a weapon.[6] He wears a weatherbeaten kasa (hat woven from strands of rush), and a soile cloak (or kappa).[6]

He also had a famous punch line, which was "Asshi ni wa kakawari no nei koto de gozansu (It does not concern me)".[lower-alpha 2]

He is a wanderer (watari-mono),[7] and a skilled swordsman, who winds up aiding people he meets in his wayfaring journey,[7] but he maintains he does not act out of altruism or sense of justice, but only acts against those who provoke his anger.[6]

Television production

Film director Kon Ichikawa agreed to take the helm for the TV production did so partly for financial reasons, hoping to accrue funds to be used for his cinematique works.[8] The role of Monjirō was played by then-budding actor Atsuo Nakamura.[1][8]

Monjirō, especially the TV version, achieve folk-hero status.[4]

The production was plagued with problems. The lead actor Nakamura injured his Achilles tendon which disrupted filming, and the series had to go into recess and the hole filled by another program.[6] The troubled production company, Daiei Kyoto also fell into bankruptcy.[6]

Other adaptations

Sadao Nakajima directed the 1972 film version in which the lead role was played by Bunta Sugawara.[9]

It has also been adapted into manga by Goseki Kojima, famous for his samurai comic series Lone Wolf and Cub read not only in the United States but internationally.[5]

Analysis

The wanderer who can be classed with other television and on-screen heroes like Zatōichi or and an academic study compares them with the Japanse folk belief in marebito, wandering spirits who help humankind.[7]

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ One source says he chews on a "long reed of grass".[5]
  2. ↑ Or "It's nothing to do with me".[6]

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 "Kogarashi Monjirō". Jidaigeki Senmon Channel. July 5, 2000. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ Nomura (1999), pp. 183-184.
  3. ↑ "Kaettekita Kogarashi Monjirō" 帰ってきた木枯し紋次郎. www.konichikawa.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 Araki, Hiroyuko (1978), Dorson, Richard M., ed., "The Wandering Infant-Noble Theme in Japanese Legends and Mass Media", Folklore in the Modern World, Walter de Gruyter, p. 153
  5. 1 2 Amano, Masanao; Wiedemann, Julius (2004), Manga Design, 1, Taschen, p. 220, ISBN 9783822825914
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clements, Jonathan; Tamamuro, Motoko (2003), The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953, Stone Bridge Press, p. 198, ISBN 9781880656815
  7. 1 2 3 Araki, Hiroyuko (April 1981), "The Stranger as God: The Place of the Outsider in Japanese Folk Religion", Ethnology, University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, 20 (2): 91, JSTOR 3773058
  8. 1 2 Quandt, James, ed. (2001), Kon Ichikawa, Toronto: Cinematheque Ontario, p. 71, ISBN 0-9682969-3-9
  9. ↑ Kogarashi Monjirô (1972) on IMDb
Bibliography

  • Nomura, Yōichi (能村庸一) (1999). Jitsuroku terebi jidaigeki-shi: chanbara kuronikuru 1953-1998 実録 テレビ時代劇史 ちゃんばらクロニクル1953-1998. Tokyo Shimbun Shuppankyoku. pp. 183–185. ISBN 9784808306540. (in Japanese)


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