Akikusa Shintaro

Akikusa Shintaro, was a leading character in the Japanese television historical drama series "The Samurai" (Japanese: "Onmitsu Kenshi"). The role of Shintaro was played by Ose Koichi.

"The Samurai", set in late 18th Century feudal Japan, was shown in Australia in 1965 and became a huge ratings success, being the highest rating show on the National Television Network which included Sydney TV Channel TCN-9 and Melbourne TV Channel GTV-9. The show captivated schoolchildren of the era and is so fondly remembered decades later that DVDs of six series of "The Samurai" were released by Siren Visual Entertainment between 2002 and 2006.

Akikusa Shintaro was the elder half-brother to the Shogun, Tokugawa Ienari. Shintaro's real name was Matsudaira Nobuchiyo. He acted to protect Ienari's position as Shogun because his half-brother was still in his minority. Shintaro posed as a ronin (masterless Samurai) but was actually operating under instructions from Matsudaira Sadanobu, the Shogun’s roju (chief councillor).

Shintaro was assisted by his faithful Iga Ninja friend Tombei the Mist and also often accompanied by the boy Shusaku. Shintaro and Tombei fought against such ninja groups as the Koga Ninja and Fuma Ninja. These ninja were often employed by rebel daimyo (lords) who were working against the Shogun.

Shintaro was chivalrous, loyal and behaved in a gentlemanly fashion towards women. He usually wore a kimono and had a pony-tail. He wore the two traditional swords of the Samurai (the long "katana" and the short "wakizashi"). He was a master swordsman who though often surrounded by enemy ninjas would defeat them with swift, graceful and deadly swordsmanship.

A familiar feature of the series involved attacking ninja crying out "Die Shintaro!" just before they leapt into battle. But invariably these would be their final words as they were duly dispatched by Shintaro's sword.

Akikusa Shintaro appeared in all ten series of "The Samurai", making his last appearance in the episode "The Duel" where he was last seen on a boat with his arch-rival Kongo of Koga presumably about to engage in a duel to the death out on the lake.

References

*"The Samurai" DVDs Series 1 to 6 (Siren Visual Entertainment)

External links

* [http://www.home.netspeed.com.au/reguli/samchar.htm "The Samurai" cast & characters] at Nikki White's "The Ensovaari Embassy" website.
* [http://au.geocities.com/rocket42au/samurai/sam0cd1.html Scanlen's 'Samurai' Swap Cards image gallery] at Rocket TV Fan Page