Magistrate Mayuzumi

騎馬奉行がゆく

Kibabugyō ga yuku
The mounted magistrate leaves

Trailer

Towards the end of the Tokugawa era, social tensions in the country increases. A "multi-shot rifle" is stolen by burglars from the storage room in Edo Castle. They are after the new Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi. The investigation is led by the newly appointed chief investigator for arson and robbery in Osaka, Mayuzumi Kuranosuke. As a mounted investigator and judge, he is the male hero of this television film.
Historical background:
In 1837, as a result of a famine in Osaka that was made much worse by corrupt officials, the magistrate of Osaka-East, Ōshio Heihachirō, initiated to storm Osaka Castle. This resulted in the destruction of 5 bridges, 18,000 houses and 1,800 warehouses by fire. Soon after the suppression, Ienari Tokugawa resigned after more than 50 years in government. He died in the fourth year of the reign of his son Tokugawa Ieyoshi.

Movie Data

International title: Magistrate Mayuzumi
Original title: 騎馬奉行がゆく Kibabugyō ga yuku
Published: 1995
Length: 126 minutes

Staff
Director: Inoue Taiji
Script: Shimura Masahiro
Music: Yokoyama Setiji

Cast
Takahashi Hideki: Mayuzumi Kuranosuke
Katahira Nagisa: Ogin
Honda Hirotaro: Akutsu Gen
Yoshino Mayumi: Kayo
Sonoda Hirohisa: Kamio Unpei
Tani Kanichi: Hishakaku
Shoji Terue: Okume
Shikauchi Takashi: Tsutsumi Ryuken
Nakata Hirohisa: Honda Ecchu-no-Kami
Kitahara Yoshiro: Hayashi Higo-no-Kami
Meguro Yuki: Hiraiwa
Tsutsumi Daijiro: Kusanagi Iori
Okabe Masaaki: Erzähler
Oide Shun: Tokugawa Ieyoshi
Sagawa Tetsuro: Mizuno Echizen-no-Kami
Kamiya Shigeru: Nakano Sekio

Plot

The film takes up a popular theme of the Jidaigeki universe: disputes in the Tokugawa family over the succession to the office of the Shogun.
This time, Mayuzumi Kuranosuke is the hero of the story. He is appointed by the new Shogun Ieyoshi as "investigator and judge in arson and robbery cases" in the city of Osaka. His troop is given special powers: the license to fight, kill, capture and execute.
The script is written in the style of a crime thriller. It begins with the theft of a "20-shot rifle" - although it looks like a 21-shot one. The investigation leads to the environment of the dead Ōshio Heihachirō, the rebel of Osaka. The aim is to thwart an attack on the Shogun Ieyoshi.
The head of a wealthy family, Nakano Sekio, is behind these machinations. He does not want to give up without a fight the advantages he has gained during the 50-year rule of Shogun Ienari.
The story is garnished with a quarrelsome older couple (in the tradition of Japanese comedy), a pickpocket and the daughter of the rebel Ōshio. Air rifles, ninja methods, firearms and swords are used.
The story is well written and filmed, but of course does not stick to the historical facts. Unfortunately, the actors are difficult to distinguish for non-Japanese eyes. As a crime thriller, however, the film is nice to watch.

Ienari, Ieyoshi, Iesada

Tokugawa Ienari (徳川 家斉; * 1773; † 1841) was the 11th shogun from 1786 to 1837. Hitotsubashi Ienari was adopted by the shogun Tokugawa Ieharu in 1781 after his two sons had died. His great-grandfather was Tokugawa Yoshimune. He took office at the age of 14. During his minority, Matsudaira Sadanobu led the regency. Ienari's main wife was a daughter of Shimazu Shigehide (1745–1833), the powerful daimyō of Satsuma. Ienari fathered 51 children with 40 women, 31 of whom died in childhood. In addition, he maintained a harem with around 900 women.

Tokugawa Ieyoshi (徳川 家慶; * 1793; † 1853) was the 12th Shogun from 1837 until his death. He was the second eldest son of the 11th Shogun Tokugawa Ienari. The end of Ieyoshi's reign saw the arrival of Matthew Perry's fleet in Edo Bay.

Tokugawa Iesada (徳川家定; * 1824; † 1858) was the 13th Shogun from 1853 to 1858. During his term of office, the treaties with the imperialist powers that forced the opening of Japan were signed. He was the third surviving biological son of Tokugawa Ienari and was later adopted by his brother Tokugawa Ieyoshi, who was 31 years older.