* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Onna Jōshu Naotora (NHK Taiga Drama, 2017)
大河ドラマ おんな城主 直虎
The 56th NHK Taiga Drama, broadcast in 2017. Lead role of Ii Naotora played by Kō Shibasaki; script by Yoshiko Morishita. The drama depicts the life of Ii Naotora, who governed Ii Valley (Iinoya) in Tōtōmi Province (present-day Hamamatsu, Shizuoka) as an unprecedented female domain lord. Her ward and adoptive successor, Ii Naomasa, went on to serve as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Tokugawa Ieyasu, carrying forward the Ii family's illustrious sword and armor culture of the famous "Ii Red Brigade."
Description
Work Overview
"Onna Jōshu Naotora" was the 56th NHK Taiga Drama, broadcast from January 8 to December 17, 2017. Written by Yoshiko Morishita, it starred Kō Shibasaki as Ii Naotora. Miura Haruma played her childhood friend Ii Naochika, and Takahashi Issei played the chief retainer Ono Masatsugu. The drama depicts the eventful life of Naotora, who as a woman bore the fate of the Ii clan as a castle lord in the Sengoku period, along with the growth of her successor Ii Naomasa (Suda Masaki).
Ii Naotora: The Sword and Resolve of the "Onna Jōshu"
Historically, Ii Naotora was a rare female warrior who continued to serve as castle lord even after taking Buddhist vows. As a castle lord in the Sengoku period, she would naturally have worn a sword, but few historical records concerning Naotora's sword survive. From the standpoint of Japanese sword culture, the most important point of this work lies in the continuity between Naotora and her adopted son, Ii Naomasa (Ii Manchiyo), who later became one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa and made his name known throughout the land with the Aka-zonae. Naotora's guidance shaped Naomasa's spirit as a warrior, and this in turn led to the flowering of the Ii family's culture of swords and armor.
The Aka-zonae (Red Brigade) and Sword Culture
The "Aka-zonae" is a military uniform in which armor, banners, and other equipment are unified in red, and it is famous for having been adopted by the Ii family under the Tokugawa regime. The Aka-zonae was originally the uniform of the elite troops of the Takeda clan. It is said that Ii Naomasa, who absorbed many of the Takeda clan's surviving retainers after the clan's fall, inherited it. Hikone Castle Museum (Hikone, Shiga) holds Ii family heirloom arms and armor, including the vermilion lacquered armor known as the "Ii Aka-zonae."
Ii Family Swords at Hikone Castle Museum
Hikone Castle Museum houses swords and sword mountings handed down in the Ii family, including the tachi signed Kunimune (second generation) and the tachi signed Kunimune (Hōki), both designated Important Cultural Properties.
Cultural Impact
Broadcast in 2017, this drama, with its unprecedented protagonist as a female castle lord, broadened public interest in the history of the Ii family. The Taiga Drama Hall that Hamamatsu set up to coincide with the broadcast drew about 780,000 visitors.
Real Swords Featured
Tachi signed Kunimune, Ii Family Heirloom (held by Hikone Castle Museum)
Hikone Castle Museum holds swords handed down in the Ii family, including the tachi signed Kunimune (second generation) and the tachi signed Kunimune (Hōki), both designated Important Cultural Properties.
See authentic Japanese swords
See authentic Japanese swordsThis page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.