MUSASHI *Ebizo Ichikawa & Ryoko Yonekura ~2003 Drama Series EN Sub

Miyamoto Musashi/Ebizo Ichikawa was the child of an era when Japan was emerging from decades of civil strife. Lured to the great battle of Sekigahara in 1600 by the hope of becoming a samurai; without really knowing what it meant. He regains consciousness after the battle to find himself lying defeated, dazed and wounded among thousands of dead and dying. On his way home, he commits a rash act, becomes a fugitive and brings life in his own village to a standstill; until he is captured by a weaponless Zen monk.

The lovely Otsu/Ryoko Yonekura, seeing in Musashi her ideal of manliness, frees him from his tortuous punishment, but he is recaptured and imprisoned. During three years of solitary confinement, he delves into the classics of Japan and China. When he is set free again, he rejects the position of samurai and for the next several years pursues his goal relentlessly, looking neither to left nor to right.

Ever so slowly it dawns on him that following the Way of the Sword is not simply a matter of finding a target for his brute strength. Continually striving to perfect his technique, which leads him to a unique style of fighting with two swords (Niten-ryu) simultaneously, he travels far and wide, challenging fighters of many disciplines, taking nature to be his ultimate and severest teacher and undergoing the rigorous training of those who follow the Way.

He is supremely successful in his encounters, but in the Art of War he perceives the way of peaceful and prosperous governance and disciplines himself to be a real human being. He becomes a reluctant hero to a host of people whose lives he has touched and been touched by. And inevitably, he has to put his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival; Kojiro Sasaki.

Episode 01
Episode 02
Episode 03
Episode 04
Episode 05
Episode 06 coming soon

Gou Gou, The Cat *Rie Miyazawa Drama Special

Drama: Gou Gou, The Cat
Gu Gu Datte Neko de Aru / グーグーだって猫である
Writer: Yumiko Oshima (manga), Ryo Takada
Episodes: 4 Special drama series
Release Date: October 18 - November 8, 2014

Asako/Rie Miyazawa lives in Kichijōji, Tokyo. She works as a popular manga artist. Everyday, she is busy meeting deadlines, but suddenly her pet Saba dies. Since the death of her pet, Asako cannot draw or even eat. Her editor Omori recommends Asako, to try moving to a particular house. After she moves in, her life does not get better. One day, when Asako walks in Inokashira Park, she meets a homeless person carrying a sick kitten. She wants to help the sick cat. Without telling the homeless person, Asako takes the cat to the hospital.


Episode 01
Episode 02
Episode 03
Episode 04 Final

Twilight Samurai EN Sub *Hiroyuki Sanada & Rie Miyazawa

The movie is set during the period of the Meiji Restoration, circa 1868 -the same period as Kurosawa's great "The Seven Samurai" and Edward Zwick's elegant "The Last Samurai." The three films deal in different ways with a time when samurai still tried to live by the Code of Bushido, even as they faced poverty or unemployment in a changing society. "The Last Samurai" is about samurai opposing the emperor's moves to modernize Japan; ironically, we learn that the hero of "Twilight Samurai" fought and died in that rebellion -- after the story of this movie is over. His name is Seibei/Hiroyuki Sanada, and he lives under the rule of his clan in northeast Japan, where he spends his days not in battle but as an accountant, keeping track of dried fish and other foods in storage. Seeing him bending wearily over a pile of papers, declining an invitation by his fellow workers to go out drinking, we're reminded of the hero of Kurosawa's film "Ikiru." Seibei hurries home because he has a senile mother and 2 young daughters to support, has debt after the death of his wife.
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Click on the bottom left triangle to view part 01

Part 02
Part 03

Shijushichinin no Shikaku (47 Ronin) EN Sub/Streaming

47 Ronin (Shijushichinin no Shikaku)

1994 Film

6.7/10-IMDb

47 Ronin is a 1994 Japanese film, directed by Kon Ichikawa. The film is another version of the Chūshingura, the story of the revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin of Ako against Lord Kira. Wikipedia

Click on the "Triangle" to view the first part (01A)

Part 01b

Part 02