Musashi 2003 Taiga Drama

Left: the classic cover of Yoshikawa Eiji's "Musashi"
Right: Ichikawa Shinnosuke's NHK Musashi

Happy New Year! May 2019 be kind, healthy and beautiful for us all…

When I was a teenager, I happened upon “Musashi”, a novel by Yoshikawa Eiji about a well-known Japanese historical figure called Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵). I read the seven volumes of the novel and I liked it. I do think it was a bit difficult for me to understand; not language-wise (it was in Indonesian), but because it spoke of Zen, something I didn’t get as a teenager.

Yet the story cling to my mind, such that in 2004, just before I had a surgery, I searched for the books again (I had misplaced my first copies).  Gramedia said the book was out of print, such that I eventually bought the copies (all the seven volumes) from my local book rental. The copies were dirty, but I treasured them so much. I read them again as I recuperated from my surgery. This time, the values in the novel was easier to understand. And this time, I appreciate the main characters more.




Then around Christmas time two weeks ago, I suddenly searched for a Musashi series in YouTube. I don’t remember how I came to search for it, for it was 14 years ago that I last read the book. I just searched for Musashi and found the 2003 Taiga series of Musashi. The series was star-studded by amazing actors and actresses, inter alia Ichikawa Shinnosuke (市川新之助, later known as Ichikawa Ebizō XI 市川海老蔵) as Shinmen Takezo (新免武蔵, later known as Miyamoto Musashi 宮本武蔵), Yonekura Ryoko (米倉涼子) as Otsu (お通, Musashi’s childhood friend and sweetheart), Tsutsumi Shinichi (堤真一) as Musashi’s childhood friend Honiden Matahachi, Matsuoka Masahiro (松岡昌宏) as Sasaki Kojiro and Watase Tsunehiko (渡瀬恒彦) as Takuan Sōhō (my favourite Zen priest).

I’m grateful I found the series. Kudos to YouTuber AndruZ Long for uploading all the 49 episodes, English-subbed (click here for Episode 1). I wouldn’t have been able to understand the nuances otherwise, particularly during the conversations involving Takezo/Musashi, Takuan Sōhō, Otsu, Yagyū Sekishusai (Fujita Makoto藤田まこと) and Sanada Yukimura.


(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)
(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)
(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)


(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)
(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)
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(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)
(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)
(SPOILER ALERTS ONWARDS!!!)



Before discussing this series’ many impressive aspects, I must cast a warning towards those who have read Yoshikawa Eiji’s “Musashi” novel. This 2003 series was a loose-fit to the novel. It was indeed based on the novel, as was the previous Musashi movie/series. However, events were re-assembled and extended, characters were revisited and repurposed such that I had to do a double take to see whether that character was indeed the character in the novel. Thus, I admit that I was ambivalent at the direction this Taiga drama took on Musashi and other characters. The drama has taken some great creative licence on some events and characters. Nevertheless, I do now think the creative licence served the series well, thus I still finished the series with a warm feeling in my heart (hence the blog article). I do wish that some events in the series followed the novel closer, but these issues were not enough to prevent me from re-watching the series and downloading them as well.

One of the most important aspects this series has compared to the novel is that the series extended Musashi’s adventures beyond the duel with Sasaki Kojiro in Ganryujima. As history told, Sasaki Kojiro died during the duel (in April 1612), and thus where the novel stopped. Musashi was briefly reunited with Otsu before the duel though, so readers know the two would be together, or would try to be together. But after the duel, readers basically had to refer to historical notes to know what happened to Musashi.

However, here in this series, the story continued until the Siege of Osaka in 1614-1615, and then jumped to the time when Musashi wrote The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin no Sho 五輪の書). As with historical drama, we thus need to watch it with a bowl of salt, lest it would be difficult to differentiate which aspects are historical and which ones are fictional.

Now, all that said…After finishing the series, I find that the most impressive aspect in the series is the very subtle but impactful transitions from Takezo to Musashi. The wild, brash Takezo took years to be the wiser Musashi. The transition between the bloodthirsty Takezo to the wiser leader that was Musashi was subtle, natural, but meaningful when the tempering was finished. Yet, after he became Musashi, something happened to Otsu that Musashi had to seek for the spirit of Takezo again to help Otsu. The lesson was clear to me: Takezo needed Musashi to be a better man, yet Musashi also needed Takezo to have that better man stay grounded. One cannot do without the other.

I also see this series as a love story, a love letter to Musashi and Otsu. The novel acknowledged that Musashi loved Otsu (and of course vice versa), but their interactions were so few and far between (there were only three events: Otsu rescuing Takezo from the village, Takezo meeting Otsu again with Jotaro, and then Musashi meeting Otsu just before his duel with Sasaki Kojiro). Thus, readers (at least myself) were left desperately begging for more. In this series, viewers were also left begging for a bit more, but we viewers are much more sated, IMO, compared to when reading the novel. The series gives us more episodes of Takezo/Musashi and Otsu together. The series does more than acknowledging the love between Musashi and Otsu; it cements the importance of Otsu in Musashi’s life. In the series, Musashi didn’t become Musashi on his own. True, he had to walk that path alone to find himself. However, he had Otsu (and also Matahachi) in spirit, to accompany him in his darkest hours.

And I like this Musashi thusly; for thus the series made him more relatable to us mortals.

Yet, I’m not finished here. One more character exists so strongly that I have to write down my impression. Sasaki Kojiro, portrayed as Musashi’s nemesis in the novel. In the novel, Kojiro hated Musashi. He was more cruel and cold in the novel. The novel Kojiro was very selfish and had no space for love in his heart. Yet, in the series, Sasaki Kojiro was a noble warrior. True, he wanted to test who was the best between him and Musashi. However, prior to the duel, Kojiro warned Musashi of a possible ambush that might await the winner of the duel in Funajima (later known as Ganryujima after Kojiro). Kojiro also loved two women at the same time, not because he was two-timing them, but because the circumstances separated him from his first love (Oshino), thus he became entangled with his second love (Koto). Kojiro was portrayed as a warrior who respected a fair game. After Musashi defeated him, Kojiro whispered, “Magnificent, Musashi!” before telling Musashi to go (because some people would come to kill him).

「尊 だ！武蔵！。。。行け！」

Suffice to say that, when the novel Kojiro left little impressions in me, the series Kojiro left a deep impression in me, such that at some points I actually enjoyed having him having more screen times than the titular character himself!


To summarise: Musashi 2003 is a Taiga drama worth watching. It’s 49 episodes, so yes, it’s long, but the time I spent watching it was time well-spent. The OST was grand as well; as expected from a master like Ennio Morricone. The series leaves such a warm impact in my heart that I’m now into my second viewing of the whole 49 episodes. This time, I intend to savour every episode, in case I miss any details.


A TIDBIT ABOUT MUSASHI’S NAME 

Musashi's full name Miyamoto Musashi, written in Kanji as such: 宮本武蔵 . The first two Kanjis are read as “Miyamoto”, the last two Kanjis are read as “Musashi”. I am rather confused with the reading of the “first name”, that is Musashi, hence I need to write it here.

The novel said that Musashi’s name was derived from his childhood name, i.e., “Takezo”. In speaking of 武蔵 (which is traditionally read as “Musashi”), the kun-yomi of the first kanji 武 can be read as "take", while the on-yomi of the second kanji 蔵 can be "zo". Hence, 武蔵 can definitely be read as “Takezo”.

However, how does 武蔵 read as "Musashi"? The on-yomi of the first Kanji 武 can indeed be "Mu". However, where is the "sashi" coming from? The second Kanji武蔵 can be read as “osa” or “sa”, but not “sashi”.

After talking about this issue with my Japanese tutor, she explained that, apparently, Musashi’s name was used to be spelled as 武蔵志. That’s apparent then, that it’s Mu-Sa-Shi (onyomi-kunyomi-onyomi), for the character 志has the on-yomi of “shi” . But later on, the last Kanji was dropped somehow, such that it’s now just 武蔵. My Japanese tutor said that the government then introduced a rule that a name can only use two Kanjis, no more. Hence, Musashi is now spelled 武蔵.

By the way, the actor of Musashi 2003 (Ichikawa Shinnosuke 市川新之助, later known as Ichikawa Ebizō XI or 十一代目市川海老蔵) shares two same Kanji characters with Shinmen Takezo's Kanji characters. The 'shin'  in Shinnosuke is 新, the same with the 'shin' in Shinmen. The zō in Ebizo is 蔵, which is the “zo” in Takezo, or “sa” in Musashi.




CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS IN MUSASHI 2003

Back to the series, where I’m now going to discuss the character developments in the series. If the first section is not enough spoilers for you, here I need to give another warning: this section below has spoilers, so do not read if you don’t want further spoilers while watching the series!


Miyamoto Musashi (a.k.a. Shinmen Takezo)

The Takezo and Musashi in the series are very similar to what I conjured up in my mind when reading the novel. Deep within, Takezo was a lonely man who needed love. When Otsu depicted how she kept thinking of how Takezo would curl up in his battered hut all alone, I could feel his loneliness and her pain in the knowledge that she could do very little to ease Takezo’s pain. Takezo’s desire to be strong was perhaps a reflection of his desire to be acknowledged by his father. Takezo closing his heart was due to fear that he’d crumble if he let anyone in. He continued to display that loneliness even after he – as the famous Musashi – had his third separation from Otsu (!!). His loneliness was more… tempered due to maturity, but there remained the little boy that was disappointed that his mother left him, that his father abandoned him, and now his beloved (I do believe they were married) unintentionally left him too.

And then of course there was Musashi’s determinations in the battles. They were always there, although the fire was tempered over time, but the determination was always there. The swift moves, the glaring eagle (or Kabuki) eyes, the steps… they were amazingly portrayed in the series.  Musashi’s anger, bloodthirst and confusion when he was Takezo…, his desire to be better, his wisdom, and his ways of confronting his own swirling doubts and demons as he transformed into Musashi were well-conveyed in the series.

There's a major difference in Musashi's journey between the novel and the drama. I'm not sure how Musashi's name was changed in the novel (my Amazon copy is en route), but IIRC, Takuan Sōhō was the one who bestowed Musashi that name. Here in the series, it was Ikeda Terumasa who bestowed Takezo that new name, rearranged from the Kanji characters of Takezo's name.

Also a big difference: in the novel, Takezo stayed at Terumasa's castle for a good three years, learning Zen, Koan, calligraphy and what have you, before re-emerging as Musashi. In the series, Takezo couldn't stand that training, thus he left running like crazy. Takezo received his enlightenment bits by bits, chiefly after the bloodshed episodes with the Yoshioka Kenpo.

I'm still ambivalent which version I like better, but I now think that even Yoshikawa Eiji's version was very much novelised, hence both versions might not be close to the truth of how Takezo became Musashi.

Nevertheless, IMO the masterpiece that is Musashi here are attributable to the way the actor played Musashi. Although I cannot find fault in ANY of the actors or actresses in Musashi 2003, I have to say I’m in love with Ichikawa Shinnosuke/Ebizō for his Musashi. Being a seasoned Kabuki actor, Shinnosuke imbued Musashi with recognisable Kabuki glances and glares, particularly when portraying the wild Takezo during the early episodes. I know that the earlier Musashi also received acclaimed critics, but I just cannot erase Shinnosuke’s Takezo and Musashi in my mind. To me, Shinnosuke portrayed Takezo and Musashi just like in the book. Takezo’s craziness, confusion and loneliness and his growth into Musashi… Shinnosuke captured them perfectly and simmered them with the right temperature to make the growth believable.

And I just have to add this photo of Musashi with a mobile phone. Too cute to resist!
I think the photo is from Ichikawa Ebizō's photobook.

Otsu

Yonekura Ryoko’s Otsu is amazing as well. In the novel, Otsu was naturally a very brave girl; she had zilch martial art ability, yet she travelled southern Honshu just to find Takezo. Yet, the novel Otsu was a shadow who always chased after Musashi; a strong shadow, but a shadow nonetheless. Yet, here in the series, Otsu is IMO stronger and more opinionated. She wasn’t just a shadow following Takezo’s trails. Here she was his confidant, his irreplaceable counsellor, perhaps more irreplaceable than Takuan Sōhō. The series didn’t turn the story into just a love story (>cough!< K- and C- period drama! >cough!<), yet the series imbued the story with believable love to make the story natural.  The series didn’t turn Musashi into a soapy character… he still had his aspirations etc., but now here he had wishes as a normal man would too.

This spoiler-loaded screen cap shows how prominent Otsu's presence is in Musashi's life 

However, the series took a great creative licence in Otsu’s journey to be with her Takezo. For instance, the novel had Musashi and Otsu separated twice. The first one was when Musashi left her on whatever bridge that was outside Ikeda Terumasa’s castle (he had originally promised to travel together with her). The second one was after the Yoshioka fight where Otsu agreed to travel with Musashi (and Jōtaro), but then Musashi tried to embrace and kiss her, and she was scared of the earthly fire within Musashi. Thus, Otsu and Jotaro travelled ahead of Musashi, but Musashi kept walking behind them. They were later separated because Otsu was attacked and kidnapped, but she was later rescued (IIRC by Yagyū Hyogonosuke).

In this series, our couple was separated three times. The first one was outside the Terumasa castle (Takezo ran passed Otsu while she wasn’t looking). The second separation was because of what she saw during the Yoshioka clash. The third separation was after both of them met again in Edo (and lived together, assumingly married, for a good semester there), for Otsu wanted to visit the dying Yagyū Sekishusai, but the visit was prolonged into six months and – in the absence of communication between them – Musashi thought that Otsu had changed heart and got engaged with Hyogonosuke instead.

Also, IIRC, I don't think Otsu actually spent that much time (if at all) in Master Koetsu's place, but the series gave a good few months of Otsu learning to make papers in Koetsu’s mansion. I do find Otsu’s reaction to Musashi's action in the Yoshioka clash very relatable. It was her disgust and disappointment of seeing Musashi killing the child leader of the Yoshioka clan that stopped Otsu from following Musashi. TBH, I felt the same way too, thus I understand Otsu’s change of heart; that for a good few months she no longer wanted to seek Musashi. Yet, when she finally decided that she forgave Musashi and wanted to see him again, she braced danger just to be with him again.

There’s another important aspect of Otsu here: she searched for her estranged mother and she finally found her… of sort. Musashi was important in the final moments of Otsu trying to find her mother, hence it again cemented the notion that just as Otsu supported Musashi, Musashi also supported her.


Otsu-Musashi romance

As I wrote above, the love between Otsu and Musashi was strengthened in this series. As Mata-yan told Musashi in the later episode, Otsu only had Musashi and Musashi only had Otsu. They both needed each other.

Oh but the way Takezo/Musashi’s love was portrayed here… it melts my heart. As I said before, Musashi’s love to Otsu is/was very sweet. After they were together again, every time Musashi returned home, the first name he uttered was Otsu’s. In the later episode, they’d live in a village together. When he came back to the village after meeting Takuan and Ikeda Terumasa, again the first name he uttered was hers. When Musashi heard that Otsu and Matahachi were attacked, the name he cried first as he ran madly into the house was Otsu’s. When Otsu briefly lost her mind due to the painful and traumatic journey she went through to reach Edo, Takezo was so heartbroken that he cried when Otsu didn’t want to eat the dish he cooked… and then he cried again when she did nibble the dish a bit.

Thus, despite the series not having any intimate scenes at all between them (barring Takezo’s attempt to embrace Otsu after he murdered the Yoshioka child), I can feel the deep and steady love Otsu and Musashi shared here. Compared to the romantic period dramas in recent years (My Only Love Song, which I actually like thanks to the GongLee couple, came to mind), I actually prefer this sweet, silent, love declarations between Otsu and Musashi. It was naturally sweet, naturally warm, developed naturally as time went by… yet very believable that I swooned and swooned every time we had Takezo/Musashi-Otsu scenes.

Prior to this scene shot in Ep 28, Musashi came out of the house to ask Otsu
what their guest wanted. Even just the way he asked Otsu showed how much he loved her!

I also like it that Otsu always called Musashi ‘Takezo’. Musashi himself asked her to call him ‘Takezo’; that for her, he’d always be Takezo. Just Takezo, without the honorific ‘san’ at the end. Otsu would add ‘san’ to other people (including to Matahachi), she’d add ‘sama’ to people that she saw having a higher status (including Takuan Sōhō and Yagyū Hyogonosuke)… but here in this series, Otsu just called Musashi as “Takezo”. Without ‘san’.

(thus I need to check the original novel; did Yoshikawa Eiji make Otsu calling Musashi “Musashi-sama” (like in the 1984 series?) or just “Musashi” or just “Takezo”?)

I also love it that Musashi almost always consulted Otsu on important matters; and in odd moments that he acted alone, he welcomed Otsu’s objections. After they started living together, Musashi acted as a good husband would to his wife; involving her in important matters. Asking her opinions on important matters. It warms my heart so…

(click here to read my Musashi-Otsu fan-fiction!)


Honiden Matahachi

“Mata-yan” is Takezo’s pet name for Matahachi, and Matahachi himself actually liked that name. Tsutsumi Shinichi portrayed a happy-go-lucky Mata-yan that makes you want to punch and hug him at the same time. While Mata-yan was a loser during most course of the novel, the series established him as someone who learned and became better, yet he still managed to give us laughters almost every time he appeared. Throughout the series, Matahachi grew to become an important friend for both Musashi and Otsu here. In particular to Otsu, Matahachi still cared for her, yet the love transformed to that of a loyal friend. Mata-yan is an important person to Takezo here. Just like Otsu, Mata-yan grounded the famous Musashi to become a much wiser and more mature version of Takezo.  Mata-yan did a very heroic thing towards the end of the series that made me admire him more.


Takuan Sōhō

I always liked Takuan when I read the novel; I thought he was such an interesting priest. Here in the series, I love the way Watase-san portrayed Takuan Sōhō. His Zen lectures are worth-listening over and over again! In the novel, Takuan was generally seen as Takezo’s and Otsu’s spiritual teacher, and the series portrayed him as such. There was only one event where the role between Takezo and Takuan was reversed (Takezo said something that reminded Takuan of his own mistake), but in general, Takuan was there to impart wisdom to Musashi, Otsu, Matahachi and other characters (yes, even to Yagyū Munenori).


Sasaki Kojiro

I never liked Sasaki Kojiro when I read the novel. There, he was a cheat, an arrogant warrior and also a man who wouldn’t blink twice to force himself to Akemi. Therefore, I had to do a double take when I realised that Sasaki Kojiro (and also Musashi) were more romanticised here than in the book. Musashi was just more romanticised to a degree, for in the novel he also loved Otsu dearly (tho she was not a historical character). Kojiro, however, was moulded into almost another character due to his loyalty to his women and him upholding honour in bushido. Interestingly, I'm actually okay with it ^_^

I like this Kojiro, such that I actually mourned his death. Unlike in the novel, despite their rivalry and lethal duel, the series actually refused to paint Kojiro as the main villain of the series. Musashi's archenemy here - the one he hated until the end of the series - was someone else, not Sasaki Kojiro.


The main supporting women: Honiden Osugi, Akemi, Oshino and Koto

Osugi with Takezo and Otsu in Ep 2. Fear Osugi indeed my friends! Feeeearrrr her! 

In the novel, as the head of the Honiden family, Osugi was a formidable opponent of Musashi’s, despite him being stronger than her. Here in the series, Osugi didn’t lose that fire that trembles even the fiercest warrior. Osugi didn’t have a change of heart to Otsu the way she did in the novel… the changes came slowly here instead of abruptly. But in the end, we had the dear old Osugi, and we love her, just as we would love our chatterbox grandmother.

Akemi was a strong-headed and strong-willed woman here. I don’t recall how she was portrayed in the novel, but she surely provided many good reasons here why she was the woman for Matahachi.

I don’t remember Oshino and Koto in the novel… I do remember a woman (the daughter of an important person) in the novel who cried when Kojiro left for the duel, but I don’t remember Kojiro having a sincere relationship with any woman, let alone loving two women at the same time. That is not the kind of greedy love either. Kojiro was loyal to Koto despite him always loving Oshino. After Koto’s death, after he was reunited with Oshino, Kojiro kept viewing his memories of Koto respectfully.


The Yagyū clan: Sekishusai, Hyogonosuke and Munenori

Just like in the novel, Yagyū Sekishusai was still the amazing old master here in the series. The series portrayed Musashi’s desire to meet Sekishusai faithful to the novel. That is, Musashi saw a peony flower cut in such a way that no way the flower cutter was an ordinary swordsman. Yet, unlike in the novel, the series allowed Musashi to have a duel with Sekishusai, and Musashi lost. Because Sekishusai wanted Otsu to end up with Hyogonosuke, the old warrior also hid the fact that Otsu was in the Yagyū Manor from Musashi (the old warrior made Otsu left on an errand mission with Hyogonosuke just as he heard Musashi was around), the fact that the old man regretted afterwards. Still, Sekishusai imparted his wisdom to Musashi; that during a battle, a warrior must pay attention to the surroundings, including to the sound of the wind and the singing birds.

Yagyū Hyogonosuke was the beloved grandson of Yagyū Sekishusai. He was also the heir of the Yagyū clan and the Shinkage fighting style. Hyogonosuke was an honourable warrior to the end of the series. He loved Otsu, but he never let himself (consciously at least) to be the third wheel between Otsu and Musashi. I love Hyogo. Otsu called him Hyogonosuke-sama, and I think that honorific ‘-sama’ befits him.

I actually chucked despite the seriousness of the situation here.
Otsu placed herself between her love and the man she respected to prevent them
from killing each other. (Ep 46)

Yagyū Munenori was the least likeable character in this series, IMO. He ordered many despicable actions in the series that I wished someone would just stab him off. He might not be portrayed as the real historical Munenori was, but I truly despised him at many points in the series. To think that he had the name Yagyū was a waste to me, for the other Yagyū warriors were truly honourable. The series actually established that it was Munenori – NOT Kojiro – who was Musashi’s archenemy here.


Musashi’s protégés: Jōtaro and Iori

I’ve loved Jōtaro since I read about him in the novel; he was very relatable in his teenage whirlwind and his interactions with Otsu were interesting. Here in the series, Jōtaro was just like the novel Jōtaro. The series also had a lovely scene where Musashi remembered his childhood days as he watched Jōtaro skipping happily in front of him, thus Musashi suddenly hugged the boy the way he would his own son or nephew.  In the novel, we learned that Jōtaro’s dad was actually a guy who wanted to deflower Otsu, but either Takuan Sōhō or Yagyū Hyogonosuke prevented that from happening. Here in the series, Jōtaro’s dad was “just” a normal farmer.

In the novel, Musashi’s second protégé was called Iori. Here, he was called Sannosuke, but the events surrounding his meeting with Musashi was very similar to that of Iori’s. I like Sannosuke, but I wish he’d call Musashi “sensei” like Jōtaro would. Instead, Sannosuke just called Musashi “Takezo”.


Other characters

Okoh was originally as rotten as her novel counterpart. However, she changed midway and realised she actually had a heart to care for others. Yoshioka Seijuro was written the way the novel was: ignorant and thought too highly of him. The series tells us what happens to Seijuro later; IIRC it wasn’t done in the novel. Gion Toji’s main stories remained exactly as the novel; rotten and arrogant. He also became a bandit after the downfall of Yoshioka. However, he wasn’t killed when he and his men tried to capture Musashi.




THE FATES OF THE CHARACTERS (BIG SPOILERS!)


The first death of an important character here was that of Yagyū Sekishusai, thus the same as the novel. The last death to be told in the series was that of Musashi’s; that is after he finished writing Go Rin no Sho.

As for other characters… Musashi killed Yoshioka Denshichiro as per the novel. Much later, he also killed Gion Toji in a duel. Musashi later buried Toji respectfully. Sannosuke died when the village that Musashi and Otsu built together was attacked by Yagyū Munenori’s men. Mata-yan died protecting Otsu from Aya (Munenori’s ninja assassin); Mata-yan’s death surprised me so, because I always thought Otsu would be the one who died first.

Unlike in the novel, Okoh became friends with Musashi and lived until the end of the series, accompanying the single-mother Akemi to raise Mata-yan's child. Yoshioka Seijuro became a priest, known as Onshin; his dialog with Musashi later was an oasis in the midst of the Siege of Osaka. Jōtaro was never seen again after Otsu returned him to his parents, and thus my disappointment, for he didn’t accompany Musashi as long as I wished him to.

They're officially my favourite classical Japanese couple now, Musashi & Otsu!

Last but not least, I love it that in this series, Musashi was allowed to be with Otsu for a good few years. After the duel with Sasaki Kojiro in Ganryujima, I watched this series with trepidation, for I thought that it was just a matter of time that Otsu was killed off.  Otsu was not a historical figure, and Musashi was recorded to be a loner during the Osaka-Edo campaigns in 1614-1615. I thought that NHK might have killed Otsu just by 1614, because that would be a good excuse for the writers to make Musashi siding with the Toyotomi during the Siege of Osaka.

However, I was wrong. NHK was kind to us Musashi-Otsu shippers. NHK actually allowed Otsu to survive the Siege of Osaka…This series actually gave us that scene where Musashi and Otsu stood next to each other outside Osaka, watching the castle burning… and then one of the most beautiful scenes: Otsu sleeping in Musashi’s embrace in a small cave in the rain, as Musashi watched her peacefully and caressed her hair with his cheek…

I was soooo relieved when we arrived at this scene in Ep 49!

The story jumped a few years to show us an older Musashi, painting a bird picture in front of a shrine. On the shrine, there was Otsu’s tablet and her flute. Otsu’s voice said how Musashi was always there to protect her, to be with her. That he taught her to trust others, yet she also taught him to be a better person.

The older Musashi who painted the bird painting was a wiser, more in peace Musashi. As he painted, we heard Otsu’s voice.

You paint birds so well. Because they have strength to survive on their own, birds are able to soar high in the heavens. You always said that. 

My days with you were all happy. You were always there. That is why I was able to live. Man cannot live on his own. I taught you that. And you taught me how to trust others. Thank you. 

How gorgeous… Whether Musashi truly had a woman he shared his life with or not… the love story between Musashi and Otsu here rivalled – nay – surpassed that of the novel (and the novel depicted their love beautifully as well!).

In a way, the decision to keep Otsu until the very end of the series might have been influenced by the fact that there was the grave of a woman very close to Musashi's real grave, and that woman was said to be the woman he loved (Ep 48 Musashi Travel notes). That's good. I don’t think I would re-watch the series again if Otsu was killed… but since she lived long enough to accompany Musashi, I have been re-watching it…


I only hope that Ichikawa Ebizō (the very actor who brought Musashi to live for us in this series) is in peace now. His wife Kobayashi Mao passed away on 22 June 2017 due to breast cancer… watching him giving a press release about Ms Mao’s death just tore my heart into pieces. I sincerely hope he finds his inner strength and peace, and one day he’ll love again, while still keeping the love of Ms Mao within his heart…

By the way, Ebizō is an amazing father! Just a month after his wife’s death, he involved his 4 years old son in his Kabuki performance. Seeing the cute video below just makes me want to go to Japan to see Ebizō’s Kabuki!

Now that goes another block of fund to fly me to Tokyo. Not only I have Okada Masaki and Lee Jong-hyun-CNBlue to see now, I now have Ichikawa Ebizō’s Kabuki shows to see gladly!


神様、お願い致しますね。。。