Abarenbo Shogun

Overview

Set in the 18th century, the show follows the Shogun Yoshimune, who likes to disguise himself as a low-ranking samurai and go into his capital of Edo to see the life of the common man, as well as to seek out and punish evildoers who would hurt his citizens. He is aided by Magistrate Oo'oka and a vivacious fireman, Tatsugoro, as well as a rotating cast of other recurring characters.

Along with Zenigata Heiji and Mito Kōmon, it ranks among the longest-running series in the jidaigeki genre. Like so many other jidaigeki, it falls in the category of kanzen-chōaku, loosely, "rewarding good and punishing evil."

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Episodes

S01E01 The Star of Edo

January 7, 1978 45 min
Roughhousing daimyo Tokugawa Yoshimune of Kishu reluctantly becomes the Shogun so that he may bring prosperity to everyone in the country. On his procession to Edo Palace, he runs into his old friend Tatsugoro, and...

S01E02 The Remarkable Charlatan

January 14, 1978 45 min
Ogyu Shosen is called a quack doctor, but Yoshimune thinks he should be made surgeon-general.

S01E03 The First Fireman Banner

January 21, 1978 45 min
Hatamoto firemen are causing a nuisance and thieving in town, so fiery Tatsugoro and his gang of construction workers aim to take them down.

S01E04 Mother From Long Past

January 28, 1978 45 min
A hatamoto's spoiled brat daughter is in the habit of thieving and blaming it on commoners. Meanwhile, Yoshimune becomes preternaturally obsessed with a den-den taiko (a type of child's toy).

S01E05 Spring in the O'oku

February 4, 1978 45 min

S01E06 The Splendid Potato Samurai

February 11, 1978 45 min

S01E07 The Man of River Styx

February 25, 1978 45 min

S01E08 The Befouled Truncheon

March 4, 1978 45 min

S01E09 The Chivalrous Thief

March 11, 1978 45 min

S01E10 The Blossoming Meyasubako

March 18, 1978 45 min

S01E11 The Finest Kiyari Song

March 25, 1978 45 min

S01E12 The Amazing Kishu Woman

April 1, 1978 45 min
Yoshimune's old friend from Kishu, a female lumberjack, comes to Edo to engage in lumber trade, but gets in trouble.

S01E13 The Perilous Souvenir Gift

April 8, 1978 45 min
Yoshimune's old friends from Kishu, Sakichi and Onatsu of the lumber store, are leaving town, so Yoshimune comes to bring them a present. He ends up getting in the way of a drug bust and...

S01E14 The Golden Crow Charms

April 15, 1978 45 min
Fireman Genzo wins the lottery, but is then reported to the police for having a forged ticket.

S01E15 The Quack Who Calls Forth Spring

April 22, 1978 45 min
Even though he has been made surgeon-general, nobody trusts Ogawa Shosen or Yoshimune's city hospital. Yoshimune decides to get himself admitted as Shin-san to investigate from within.

S01E16 Showdown at Beautiful Yoshiwara

April 29, 1978 45 min

S01E17 Love and the Guardian Deity

May 6, 1978 45 min
Satsuma domain bully a store that is in their debt by trying to steal the storekeeper's girlfriend, and by framing them for theft. Only a man of stone can save Tamba-ya from destruction!

S01E18 The Beat of a Taiko Drum in Edo

May 13, 1978 45 min
Yoshimune really wants to attend a festival in Edo, but he has important business to attend to in the palace. Jii says he can go out as long as he is back by 4 PM....

S01E19 A Ballad of a Fireman

May 20, 1978 45 min
Tatsugoro's family is indebted to a samurai family, so Tatsugoro gives the samurai family his very best fireman to adopt, since the samurai have no heir of their own. The other samurai do not like...

S01E20 Iris and Sympathy

May 27, 1978 45 min

S01E21 Fireman's Standard was Watching

June 3, 1978 45 min

S01E22 Friendships Support the World

June 17, 1978 45 min

S01E23 Rage of the Fishmonger

June 24, 1978 45 min

S01E24 The Dreadful Shichi-ri Messengers

July 1, 1978 45 min

S01E25 Heavens! Great Trouble in Edo

July 8, 1978 45 min

S01E26 The Drunken Man Who was Promoted

July 15, 1978 45 min

S01E27 The Woman Who Challenged the Yagyu Family

July 22, 1978 45 min

S01E28 A Flower Blooms in the Dark

July 29, 1978 45 min

S01E29 The Goofiest Pickpocket in Edo

August 19, 1978 45 min

S01E30 The Misjudged Betrayer

September 9, 1978 45 min

S01E31 The Woman Who Disappeared from the Hunting Ground

September 16, 1978 45 min

S01E32 The Best Announcement of the Winner in Japan

September 23, 1978 45 min
Ryuko and Isonokaze were sumo wrestlers for a clan who tried to make them throw a match. Ryuko hides out at the fire house and meets Shin-san, who is very excitable and really, really wants...

S01E33 A Daimyo's Famed Shiruko Restaurant

September 30, 1978 45 min
A certain han ruled by a child lord is having money trouble, so one of the han's samurai starts a sweet bean soup restaurant to try and raise funds. The samurai has some trouble getting...

S01E34 The Women Who Dance in a Tempest

October 7, 1978 45 min

S01E35 The Bride with an Explosive

October 14, 1978 45 min
A land reclamation project is taking place largely with Shogunate funds, carried out by contract with 2 companies (which are marrying their kids together as the ultimate symbol of the contract). One of the companies...

S01E36 The Deceiving Mole Under a Woman's Eye

October 21, 1978 45 min

S01E37 Feel Her Heart

October 28, 1978 45 min

S01E38 The Woman Who Challenged Her Master

November 4, 1978 45 min

S01E39 A Sweet Snare from RyuKyu

November 11, 1978 45 min

S01E40 Go! The Prodogy of the Commoners

November 18, 1978 45 min

S01E41 Hara-Kiri! The Drunkard Magistrate

December 2, 1978 45 min

S01E42 A Hot Man and a Brazen Hussy

December 9, 1978 45 min

S01E43 The Shogun's Secret Ninja

December 16, 1978 45 min
Female ninja Osono's dad Seiemon comes to town. He is now a cotton-farming country samurai. Needs dried sardines for fertilizer. The hatamoto of sardineland is driving the fishermens' prices down so all the farmers secretly...

S01E44 Fresh Blood on the Bestowed Sword

December 23, 1978 45 min

S01E45 The Counterfeit Coins and the Candy Man

December 30, 1978 45 min
A man makes little pretty sugar candies for kids and tells funny stories. He used to be a counterfeiter because of his great manual dexterity, but vowed to turn his life around. Shin-san becomes interested...

S01E46 A Grand New Year's Gift

January 6, 1979 45 min

S01E47 The Female Doctor with a Fist

January 13, 1979 45 min
Edo is invigorated by an unusually aggressive and outspoken female doctor, Oshino, who physically beats her patients if they do not obey her.

S01E48 Hell in the Heavenly Bath

January 20, 1979 45 min

S01E49 The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

January 27, 1979 45 min

S01E50 The Great Packed Lunch of a Woman

February 3, 1979 45 min

S01E51 The Bride of the Fish Market

February 10, 1979 45 min

S01E52 The Downfall of Ooka Echizen No Kami

February 17, 1979 45 min
A bad gang leader kidnaps Tadasuke's wife (who never appeared before or since), as she went to the shrine to pray for a baby. Tadasuke decides that justice outweighs his bride and prepares to prosecute...

S01E53 The Best Dry Sake for Mother and Son

February 24, 1979 45 min
Clannish Edoite sake sellers turn against a travelling Osakan female sake seller to force her out of the market; only her long-lost son, an Edoite sake seller, can save her.

S01E54 The Female Doctor Who Loves Money

March 3, 1979 45 min
Oshino, the female doctor with a fist, is in charge of a temple that gives free medical service to orphans, but it is reputed that she is stealing all the money instead.

S01E55 This Small Incident Occured Ten Years Ago

March 10, 1979 45 min
Shoheiko, the official Shogunate college, has an admissions scandal where the bureaucrats turn out to have been accepting bribes for admissions. Yoshimune suggests opening it to commoners and calls up some obscure scholars; the vicious...

S01E56 The Man Who Died in the Light Snowfalls in Spring

March 17, 1979 45 min
Ryuko's friend is killed by a rice wholesaler. Shin-san investigates this and discovers a whole sordid rice-based drama, including collective punishment, famine, and assassination.

S01E57 Eliminations of Black Sheep

March 24, 1979 45 min

S01E58 The Best Cherry Blossom Dance in Edo

March 31, 1979 45 min

S01E59 The Firemen's Standard is the Firemen's Heart and Soul

April 7, 1979 45 min

S01E60 Only the Sun Knew

April 14, 1979 45 min

S01E61 The Perished Love in a Spring Storm

April 21, 1979 45 min

S01E62 A Single Flower in the Dark

April 28, 1979 45 min

S01E63 The Fallen Flower in the Game of Chance

May 5, 1979 45 min

S01E64 Holding a Fire Standard for a Spear

May 12, 1979 45 min

S01E65 The Troublesome Tea Urn Trip

May 19, 1979 45 min

S01E66 Daruma Smiled on Joshu Road

May 26, 1979 45 min

S01E67 Commissioner Ooka Committs Hara-Kiri!

June 2, 1979 45 min

S01E68 A Bogus Complaint

June 9, 1979 45 min

S01E69 Very Proud of the Celebrated Sword

June 16, 1979 45 min
An unbalanced ronin wants to become the sword teacher to a daimyo, so he can get enough money to buy back his really sexy sword from the pawn shop. However, a competitor attacks him, crippling...

S01E70 A Loach Pot Rather Than A Domain

June 23, 1979 45 min

S01E71 The Best Godfather in Japan

June 30, 1979 45 min

S01E72 Revenge Colored with Safflowers

July 7, 1979 45 min
A pregnant safflower farmer's husband is run over by the local lord's horse. She's lured to the daikan's office to get compensated but is raped and turned into the lord's concubine instead. She schemes to...

S01E73 A Man Passionate About the Snow on Mount Fuji

July 14, 1979 45 min
A kind but untalented kitchen-supervisor samurai is assigned to accompany his domain's gift to the Shogun: big blocks of ice. Shin-san, tramping around Shinjuku, accidentally discovers this delivery and starts accompanying it too, and discovers...

S01E74 Kick the Edo Illness Out!

July 21, 1979 45 min
A mysterious illness (beriberi) becomes common and Yoshimune calls his doctor to find out what the cause is. His doctor says only his own special blend of medicine (very expensive) can cure it. Oshino, the...

S01E75 Gorozaemon Kano's Disappearance

August 11, 1979 45 min
Kano Gorozaemon, who is practically Yoshimune's adoptive father, goes out into Edo to get a surprise present for the Shogun, and is kidnapped by a nutter who wants to frame him for murder to steal...

S01E76 Suspicion Begets Idle Fears

August 18, 1979 45 min
A lord lets 3 master ghost actresses into his house as maids, somehow doesn't connect this with supernatural happenings in his house.

S01E77 The Bride That Came From Kishu

August 25, 1979 45 min
Kikue, the daughter of a potter, comes to Edo and meets her old friend Shin-san, who she recognizes as the Shogun. She came to marry Kano Gorozaemon, who proposed to her when she was eight...

S01E78 A Man Hunting the Whole Country

September 8, 1979 45 min
The Ogobanshu (kind of like a guild of hatamotos) want to hunt, but in setting the borders of the hunting area they recklessly steal the corner of a VERY sensitive farmer's farm.

S01E79 Peerless! The Taste of Momma

September 15, 1979 45 min
Matsumae domain officials and the store Ebisu-ya are conspiring to give predatory loans to alcohol shops. Lady merchant Omasa from Osaka wants to get a better deal, and her son unfortunately took the debt from...

S01E80 The Direct Retainers of the Shogun Run Wild

September 22, 1979 45 min
Hatamotos, a domain, a runaway killer samurai from the domain, the firemen, and jii for some reason, all end up in a gigantic free for all fight.

S01E81 Heroes in the Darkness

September 29, 1979 45 min

S01E82 Angelic Neighborhood Bully

October 13, 1979 45 min

S01E83 Thief Targeting the Nation

October 20, 1979 45 min

S01E84 O-sai Flies!

October 27, 1979 45 min

S01E85 Mount Fuji Saw The Wild Spear

November 3, 1979 45 min

S01E86 The Shogun Permitted a Thief

November 10, 1979 45 min

S01E87 Bullet Aiming At 8 Million Koku

November 17, 1979 45 min

S01E88 Burn! Even If You Must Die

November 24, 1979 45 min

S01E89 Embarrased To Recieve Flowers in Congratulation

December 1, 1979 45 min

S01E90 Beast Battle! Master Tatsugoro

December 8, 1979 45 min

S01E91 Duel! In the Stormy Castle

December 15, 1979 45 min

S01E92 Cheers! Quack Doctor

December 22, 1979 45 min

S01E93 The Will of the Raging Samurai

December 29, 1979 45 min

S01E94 The Lanterns of Early Spring and Noon Emerge

January 5, 1980 45 min

S01E95 I Saw a Rainbow in the Sea of Flames

January 12, 1980 45 min

S01E96 Get the Vermin Out of the Castle!

January 19, 1980 45 min

S01E97 I Don't Need a Mother!

January 26, 1980 45 min

S01E98 The Girl From the Wolf Village

February 2, 1980 45 min

S01E99 A Dohyori of Fire!

February 9, 1980 45 min

S01E100 The Fake Shogun

February 16, 1980 45 min

S01E101 The Eight Million Koku Porter

February 23, 1980 45 min

S01E102 The Collector Who Collected the Villain's Head

March 1, 1980 45 min

S01E103 Catastrophe! We Shouldn't Have Gotten Out of the Way!

March 8, 1980 45 min

S01E104 Japan's Most Wanted Bride

March 22, 1980 45 min

S01E105 Stop! Uncontrolled Official Carriage

March 29, 1980 45 min

S01E106 What is a Shogun?

April 5, 1980 45 min

S01E107 Watch Out! A Female Spy

April 12, 1980 45 min

S01E108 The Man Who Gives Orders to the Shogun!

April 19, 1980 45 min

S01E109 Snacks Delight on a Sunny Day

April 26, 1980 45 min

S01E110 Youth of Edo, Stand Up!

May 3, 1980 45 min

S01E111 Love Blossoms in Ubasuteyama!

May 10, 1980 45 min

S01E112 The Proud and Naive Samurai

May 17, 1980 45 min

S01E113 The Man Who Didn't Stop

May 24, 1980 45 min

S01E114 I Saw the Real One! The Hayabusa Brat

May 31, 1980 45 min

S01E115 Beware of the Quick Bucks

June 7, 1980 45 min

S01E116 The Man Who Died and Flourished

June 14, 1980 45 min

S01E117 Courage in the Face of Injustice

June 21, 1980 45 min

S01E118 Thief Training

June 28, 1980 45 min

S01E119 The Fox Woman Cries, the Banner of Empathy

July 5, 1980 45 min

S01E120 The Princess Take - Tears from a Wedding Procession

July 12, 1980 45 min

S01E121 The Flourishing of the Female Bushido

July 19, 1980 45 min

S01E122 The Sad Song of the South

July 26, 1980 45 min

S01E123 The New Boss! - Osai, of the Fire Extinguisher

August 2, 1980 45 min

S01E124 The One Who Stood Out After Being at Risk of Drowning

August 9, 1980 45 min

S01E125 Floating Lanterns That Mark a New Beginning in a Man's Life

August 16, 1980 45 min

S01E126 Love Sold for 20,000 Ryu

August 23, 1980 45 min

S01E127 The Trap in the Wolf Village

August 30, 1980 45 min

S01E128 Melancholy Ninja Love

September 6, 1980 45 min

S01E129 Dad, You Used to Be Someone

September 13, 1980 45 min

S01E130 My Childhood Friend is an Oku Woman

September 27, 1980 45 min

S01E131 There was a Bullet in the Clam Chowder!

October 4, 1980 45 min

S01E132 Run! The Shogun's Horse!

October 11, 1980 45 min

S01E133 Listen! The Chronicles of the Old Man and the Young Master

October 18, 1980 45 min

S01E134 A Silly Dance in an Oily Hell

October 25, 1980 45 min

S01E135 Duel on the Steam of Hell

November 1, 1980 45 min

S01E136 The Woman Who Bet on the Mountain of Fire

November 8, 1980 45 min

S01E137 Edo's Female Chief

November 15, 1980 45 min

S01E138 Hakone's Melancholic Drizzle

November 22, 1980 45 min

S01E139 The One Who Flirted Was to Blame

November 29, 1980 45 min

S01E140 The Wild Spear Everyone Fears

December 6, 1980 45 min

S01E141 The Bandit Harusame's Mother

December 20, 1980 45 min

S01E142 Munenryu Shintoism and Confucianism According to the Hayashi Clan

December 27, 1980 45 min

S01E143 I Am the Most Unpleasant Person in the World

January 10, 1981 45 min
Shin-san accidentally gets involved with two low-class thieving morons, to Tatsugoro's horror. Tatsugoro finally manages to get rid of them, and one of them is promptly killed by evil ninjas for having seen something he...

S01E144 One Life For One Isshou of Shochu

January 17, 1981 45 min

S01E145 The Silent Man's Divorce Letter

January 24, 1981 45 min

S01E146 Ah! Justice Has Tears!

January 31, 1981 45 min

S01E147 Megumi Clan's Love Bridge

February 7, 1981 45 min

S01E148 Japan's Number One Little Thief

February 14, 1981 45 min

S01E149 Tops Spinning Beneath a False Union

February 21, 1981 45 min

S01E150 The White Waves That Shame the Flowers

February 28, 1981 45 min

S01E151 Sado, the Shining Yellow

March 7, 1981 45 min

S01E152 The Shogun, the Horse Thief, and the Brat

March 14, 1981 45 min

S01E153 When a Man Sparks

March 21, 1981 45 min

S01E154 The Love That Blooms Inside a Coffin

March 28, 1981 45 min

S01E155 I Don't Want to Be the Shogun's Bride

April 11, 1981 45 min

S01E156 Jongara with a Munen-Ryu Kid

April 18, 1981 45 min

S01E157 The Cursed Box of 1000 Ryos

April 25, 1981 45 min

S01E158 Hell's Bells Ring at 6.00 p.m

May 2, 1981 45 min

S01E159 Rest in Peace, Onaka - The Flowing Lanterns

May 9, 1981 45 min

S01E160 The Flowers That Fall Without Waiting for Spring

May 16, 1981 45 min

S01E161 The One Who Smiled in the End

May 23, 1981 45 min

S01E162 The Blooming Ginseng Flower That the Firefighter's Matoi Made Flourish

May 30, 1981 45 min

S01E163 The Cowardly Samurai Who Made a Demon Woman Cry

June 6, 1981 45 min

S01E164 Break the Chains of the Heart With Human Kindness

June 13, 1981 45 min

S01E165 Whose Ungrateful Son is it

June 20, 1981 45 min

S01E166 Promise of the Bell the Girl With Bangs and a Sword

June 27, 1981 45 min

S01E167 The Decisive Duel of the Lantern Samurai

July 4, 1981 45 min

S01E168 Legitimate Marital Fight

July 11, 1981 45 min

S01E169 Clear Sky - The Hungry Lancer

July 18, 1981 45 min

S01E170 The Duel! Blood in the Fuefuki River of Koshu

August 1, 1981 45 min

S01E171 Burning Tears of the Traitor

August 8, 1981 45 min

S01E172 The Flower in the Shadow That Made a Man Bloom

August 15, 1981 45 min

S01E173 Waves of the Seto Maiden

August 22, 1981 45 min

S01E174 Onomichi - Sunset of Revenge

August 29, 1981 45 min

S01E175 The Million Kokus Dependent

September 5, 1981 45 min

S01E176 The Bond of Hatred Between Father and Daughter

September 12, 1981 45 min

S01E177 The Morning When Demons Wept

September 19, 1981 45 min

S01E178 The Bet For the Dance Fan in the Sumo Ring

September 26, 1981 45 min

S01E179 The Samurai Tanuki Performs a Great Feat

October 3, 1981 45 min

S01E180 The Man Who Steals While Preaching

October 10, 1981 45 min

S01E181 Oath of Brothers

October 17, 1981 45 min

S01E182 The One Who Eats From the Table and the One Who Doesn't

October 24, 1981 45 min

S01E183 The Night Flower That Blooms Once

October 31, 1981 45 min

S01E184 The Man Who Danced in the Shadows

November 7, 1981 45 min

S01E185 The Man Who Danced in the Shadows

November 14, 1981 45 min

S01E186 The Love Story of a Man and His Taiko Drum

November 21, 1981 45 min

S01E187 Sorry, Shogun! The Change of a Monk

November 28, 1981 45 min

S01E188 Call of the Storm! The Bride From Megumi

December 5, 1981 45 min

S01E189 The Heart of a Mother That Made Demons Cry

December 12, 1981 45 min

S01E190 The Number One Rain Man in Japan

December 19, 1981 45 min

S01E191 Cold Wind of Yoshiwara, Tears of a Woman

December 26, 1981 45 min

S01E192 Laughter and Tears, The Dramatic Life of the People of Kawachi

January 9, 1982 45 min

S01E193 The First Snow is the Make-Up of the Dead of a Sad Woman

January 16, 1982 45 min

S01E194 The Poor and Nameless Grass

January 23, 1982 45 min

S01E195 The Fragrance of the Sea, Tastes Like Mama

January 30, 1982 45 min

S01E196 Why Sadness in Sharing an Umbrella?

February 6, 1982 45 min

S01E197 A Remora That is More Frightening Than a Pufferfish

February 13, 1982 45 min

S01E198 Sadness. Fallen Flowers of Those Who Stay

February 20, 1982 45 min

S01E199 The Villain Who Laughed Last

February 27, 1982 45 min

S01E200 Laughter and Tears, Three Girls From Edo

March 6, 1982 45 min

S01E201 The Greatest Achievement of a Drunken Jitte

March 13, 1982 45 min

S01E202 The Tale of the Fame of the Fool Kanpachi

March 20, 1982 45 min

S01E203 The Flower That Disappeared in an Avalanche

March 27, 1982 45 min

S01E204 Farewell Flower, Night Gust

April 10, 1982 45 min

S01E205 Spring Has Come Again! Spouses' Kanzashi

April 17, 1982 45 min

S01E206 You're a Child. Don't Cry, Torokichi!

April 24, 1982 45 min

S01E207 The Farewell of the 808 Towns

May 1, 1982 45 min

Cast

Ken Matsudaira
Ken Matsudaira
Tokugawa Yoshimune
Saburo Kitajima
Saburo Kitajima
Tatsugoro
Tadashi Yokouchi
Tadashi Yokouchi
Oo'oka Echizen-no-Kami Tadasuke

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