You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Japanese. (January 2012)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:眠狂四郎]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|ja|眠狂四郎}} to thetalk page.
Nemuri Kyōshirō (眠 狂四郎,Nemuri Kyōshirō) is a series ofjidaigekinovels written byRenzaburō Shibata. The stories were originally serialized beginning in May 1956 in theShūkan Shinchō.
The stories take place during theEdo period under theTokugawa shogunate and the rules ofTokugawa Ienari and his successorTokugawa Ieyoshi. They center on the title character, a sleepy-eyedrōnin, or masterless swordsman, who is the son of aJapanese mother (the daughter of adaimyō, who commitsjigaki (see "Female Ritual Suicide" inSeppuku) some time after Kyoshiro's birth) and aforeign father, and who was conceived during aBlack Mass (resulting in his fierce hatred for what he considers the hypocrisy of Christianity).[1][2]
From 1963 to 1969,Ichikawa Raizo played "Nemuri Kyoshiro" in the series byDaiei Film.Animeigo released the first six films of the Daiei series on VHS and the first five on laserdisc under the title ofSleepy Eyes of Death.Animeigo later announced that it had renewed their licensing rights to the series and released a boxed set of the first four films on DVD in 2009. A second boxed set containing the next four films was released in summer 2010 (which marked the first official release on DVD in the United States ofThe Mask of the Princess andSword of Villainy ). The third boxed set came out in 2013.
The role of "Nemuri Kyoshiro" was then played byMasakazu Tamura in aFuji TV series and later in five made-for-TV movie specials. Tamura also played the role on the stage in 1973 and 1981.
Nemuri Kyōshirō (1972–1973) a Kansai – Toei production, 26 episodes
The role of "Nemuri Kyoshiro" was then played byKataoka Takao in two series of 50-minute episodes for TV Tokyo.[5] The plotline of the first series takes place during the Tokugawa Ieyoshi shogunate with theSatsuma clan leading a conspiracy with 13 Western clans against the policies of Council LeaderMizuno Tadakuni; when Satsuma clansmen, believing him to be working for Mizuno, murder his friends, Kyoshiro (who despises both the shogunate and the conspirators as equally corrupt) is unwillingly caught up in events and travels to Kyoto to face the leaders of the conspiracy, followed by and assisted upon occasion by O-ran (Kayo Matsuo), a female agent of Mizuno's, and Kinpachi (Shōhei Hino), a ne'er-do-well and occasional pickpocket who's over-fond of gambling and women but with certain unusual skills.
A second series, also starring Kataoka Takao, was broadcast in 1983; this series did not have an underlying plot but consisted of individual stories taking place after Kyoshiro has returned to Edo, using the Funasen boat-inn as a temporary residence.
A manga version ofNemuri Kyoshiro by Yoshihiro Yanagawa was serialized in theWeekly Comic Bunch from the magazine's premier issue in 2001 to issue 43 of 2003. It was collected in tentankōbon editions under the Bunch Comics imprint. Portions of the series were translated in the short lived English anthologyRaijin Comics.
In late 2009 it was announced that Japanese singer-songwriter and actorGackt would lend his image to a new Nemuri Kyoshiro project, starring as the eponymous protagonist, beginning withjidaigekitheatre stage play in May 2010, penned byKundō Koyama.[6] The playNemuri Kyoshiro Buraihikae started on 14 May 2010 atNissay Theatre.[7][8] The show ran for 120 performances in seven cities until February 27, 2011, with an estimated 150,000 spectators.[9] Its music director and score composer wasSugizo.[10] The original soundtrack was released on 14 May 2010 by Gordie Entertainment,[11] while play's DVD recording in February 2011.[12]
