A samurai's pillbox holds the fate of three generations — and one clan's bloody comeback.
Season 1 • Episode 13
LatestAfter the 'Incident at Honnoji' (assassination of Oda Nobunaga by Akechi Mitsuhide, a former trusted general), a group of Tokugawa samurai are rescued by a youth named Yagyu Munenori (2nd son of Yagyu Sekishusai from Yamato) and Kizaru (a Ninja), as they are chased by a bloodthirsty group of samurai. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the lord of his clan, then lave a very special gift to Munenori; a samurai's pillbox, (a veritable work of art, with beautiful lacquered designs) which signifies that he is to be hired by the Tokugawa Clan when he grows up. As a result of the assassination, Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the sole ruler of Japan, and confiscated the Yagyu lands since they had sided with the traitorous Akechi. The Yagyu Clan was considerably weakened, and all but disappeared during Hideyoshi's reign as 'Taiko'.
Acting
Matsumoto Hakuō II's restrained intensity as young Munenori.
Practical Effects
Authentic jidaigeki sword choreography, pre-wire era.
Production
Lacquered pillbox as narrative MacGuffin and art object.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Yagyu clan's historical 'Shinkage-ryu' sword style actually became the Tokugawa shogunate's official martial art — this series dramatizes how that poisonous alliance began.
Matsumoto Hakuō II was a kabuki superstar; his onnagata training explains Munenori's controlled, almost feminine stillness before explosive violence.
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