Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 348, Taiga Drama
For some reason, after Uesugi Muneyuki disappeared for several days, Ikeda Erena felt that Uesugi Muneyuki seemed to have changed in some way, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems like it was the same last year. Uesugi Muneyuki disappeared for a few days during the New Year, and when he came back, he seemed a little different.

But Ikeda Erena didn't think too much about it; the tall beauty quickly noticed that Uesugi Muneyuki had changed.

He became stronger and more powerful! Stronger and more powerful!
Erina quickly stopped thinking and drifted on the turbulent waters of the small boat, enjoying the ride.

However, with Uesugi Muneyuki's return, there is one thing that needs to be put on the agenda: a guest appearance in this year's NHK Taiga drama "Gunshi Kanbei".

As mentioned earlier, Grandpa Uesugi Kuninori will be 74 years old after the New Year, very close to his retirement at 75. Although the old man is still in good health, he has to make preparations for his passing. One very important arrangement is to serve as the historical consultant for "Gunshi Kanbei" and to arrange for the Uesugi brothers, Sadenori and Muneyuki, to make guest appearances as the younger versions of the Uesugi brothers, Kagekatsu and Kagetora. Although they only have a few scenes, the significance of appearing in a Taiga drama is enormous.

Grandpa's aim was for Uesugi Muneyuki and Uesugi Sadanori to take over his influence and connections at NHK. The older brother, Uesugi Sadanori, was an archaeologist, which happened to be related to Taiga dramas. Uesugi Muneyuki was an even more influential figure and a huge star, especially since he wasn't this famous when he was asked to make a cameo appearance. Now it seems that NHK really hit the jackpot.

What made Uesugi Muneyuki even more upset was that his fee for this cameo appearance was only 1 yen.

Upon returning from Gunma Prefecture, Mai-senpai arranged for her manager, Hamada Rikka, to have her personal agency sign with Uesugi Muneyuki and be affiliated with the Soul-based agency. This arrangement would allow her to manage his entertainment-related business. Uesugi Muneyuki was naturally in favor of this, but Minami-sama insisted on discussing it with the agency first.

On January 6, the last day of the New Year holiday, Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena drove to the filming location of "Gunshi Kanbei".

Rejuvenated by Uesugi Muneyuki's care, Eina Ikeda's face regained its vitality and radiance. As she drove, she felt that with Uesugi Muneyuki by her side, there was nothing to worry about: "To be honest, I'm really not interested in Taiga dramas at all. There are so many characters and so many complicated events that they give me a headache. Besides, there are so many familiar faces in them. I just don't understand how someone can be Oda Nobunaga one minute, Sakamoto Ryoma the next, and then Tokugawa Iemitsu the next?"

"Pfft~ To be honest, that's true." Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but laugh and nodded repeatedly.

Here I should briefly mention what a Taiga drama is.

NHK's Taiga dramas refer to the large-scale historical drama series produced by NHK starting in 1963. The word "Taiga" comes from the French "roman-fleuve" (a long-form novel), which refers to a series of long novels written on the theme of family lineage and life philosophy. Taiga dramas are the television versions of Taiga novels.

It's worth mentioning that Taiga dramas are essentially adapted from various historical novels and are not entirely based on historical fact. However, compared to novels, Taiga dramas are more rigorous in their research on costumes, historical context, and the living environment in the drama. Therefore, they can be considered "historical dramas" similar to "Da Ming Dynasty 1566" and "Yongzheng Dynasty".

As Erena said, after more than 50 years of making Taiga dramas, the current Japanese Taiga dramas have reached the point where there is "nothing left to make." After all, the interesting parts of ancient Japanese history are mainly those few periods: the Genpei War, the Nanboku-chō conflict, the Azuchi-Momoyama period (i.e., the Sengoku period), the Edo period, and the turbulent Bakumatsu period. After that comes the modern period. Strictly speaking, Taiga dramas do not include the modern period, and only occasionally do some modern-themed works such as "Saka no Ue no Kumo" and "Yae no Sakura".

However, theoretically there are five fascinating historical periods, but what is the reality?

In fact, it can be said that the most exciting and essential parts of Japanese history are the Sengoku period and the turbulent end of the Edo period.

These two historical periods have been repeatedly embellished and supplemented with details by the Japanese, and are actually quite different from the real historical figures. For example, the screen images of the famous Shinsengumi of the late Edo period, such as Sakamoto Ryoma, are basically unrelated to the historical Shinsengumi, except for their names.

Uesugi Muneyuki had previously complained that the Japanese have a consistent penchant for fabricating and romanticizing history.

Of course, we need to give the Japanese a little whitewash here. This fabrication doesn't mean that my ancestor was named Dongshan and was severely beaten and humiliated by the imperial court, so I simply don't even acknowledge my ancestors.

Rather, even the Japanese themselves didn't know what was going on.

In fact, Japanese history can be very simply divided into the period before and after the Edo Shogunate. It was only with the beginning of the Edo Shogunate that the Japanese people truly began to have enough to eat and wear, and it was also with the beginning of the Edo Shogunate that the Japanese people began to properly and comprehensively record their history. Before the Edo Shogunate, Japan's own history was a complete mess.

Here, we take Uesugi Kenshin as an example. As we all know, Uesugi Kenshin's father, Nagao Tamekage, the deputy governor of Echigo Province, was a notorious villain who overthrew his superiors. He was a fierce general who fought in more than a hundred battles in his lifetime. So when did he die?
The answer is that the Japanese themselves don't know either, because about 20 historical records from the same period document Nagao Tamekage's death, and these 20 historical records contain as many as 10 different accounts, with the time period varying from the fifth year of Tenbun to the fifteenth year of Tenbun.

Who is true and who is false? Sorry, even the Japanese themselves can't verify it, so they could only use the most reasonable and convincing one. Also, did Uesugi Kenshin actually rule Sado Island?
There are more than 10 historical records with 6 different accounts, namely, direct control, vassalage, nominal submission but actual independence, assistance in suppressing rebellions, and never sending troops at all.

Which one is true? Even the Japanese can't figure it out.

The only truly reliable historical records date back to 1589, when Uesugi Kagekatsu personally led an expedition across the sea to attack and kill local powerful clans, completely seizing Sado Island.

Japanese historical records before the Edo period were so chaotic and bizarre. Everyone was publishing their own books, and each one had a different account. It was like a Warhammer military treatise. Everyone had their own version, and everyone was boasting about their own achievements. There were all sorts of inconsistencies in the details.

Another typical example is that historical records at the time were greatly influenced by political stances. For example, the famous Battle of Tedorigawa was viewed by historians from the point of view to the point of view, from the point of view, from the point of view, from the point of view, from the point of view, to the point of view, from the point of view, in recent years, new theories have suggested that this battle may have actually happened. The biggest reason for this is Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself.

The reason for denying the Battle of Tedorigawa is that some well-known historical records, such as the Nobunaga Gunki, do not mention this battle. However, according to later research, since Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Maeda Toshiie, who had a very good relationship with Ota Gyuichi, the author of the Nobunaga Gunki, and paid him to write the war record, were both defeated and even retreated voluntarily, and were punished by Nobunaga, the author used the technique of euphemism to avoid mentioning these dishonorable things about his patrons in the historical record.

The Uesugi clan's side is not mentioned because Uesugi Kagekatsu, who was on the verge of being destroyed by Oda and was preparing to commit seppuku, was fortunate enough to encounter the Honnoji Incident and quickly submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Naturally, he would not want to cause displeasure to the Taiko (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) by mentioning this defeat. Thus, neither the defeated nor the victorious side is mentioned, and it is very likely that the real Battle of Tedorigawa was buried by history.

This is what makes the Sengoku period of Japanese history so fascinating. On the one hand, a large number of folk records and anecdotes began to appear from the mid-Ashikaga Shogunate period, with various tidbits and interesting plots enriching the historical materials. On the other hand, there was no officially recognized history, leaving a huge space for adaptation and fictionalization. In addition, the Honnoji Incident, the most legendary and bizarre ending in Japanese history, together formed the most exciting historical period of the Sengoku period in Japan.

However, even the most exciting historical events become tedious after decades of repeated remakes. To this day, every major historical figure in Japan's Sengoku period has been remade at least three times from different perspectives and with different interpretations. The content is becoming increasingly tiresome, and as Erina said, the actors are the same ones coming and going, so people are starting to get confused about which show they are playing.

For example, Naoto Takenaka has played Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ishida Mitsunari, and Tokugawa Nariaki at the same time, and then he plays the Foreign Minister in Saka no Ue no Kumo. It just feels out of place.

There's also the very famous actor Toshiyuki Nishida, who, aside from others, has played the role of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Hidetada, Tokugawa Ietsuna, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, and Tokugawa Yoshimune simultaneously. He has played five of the first eight shoguns.

Not to mention the other supporting characters.

Therefore, Ikeda Erena has no idea who is who, and she doesn't know anything about historical figures.

This is also the main reason for the decline of Taiga dramas. In fact, it's quite simple: there was no more content to film.

Historical records for periods before the Warring States period are even scarcer, and the general public barely knows any of the people from those periods, so their interest is very limited. As a result, no one watches these films, and the ratings have repeatedly suffered setbacks.

The Warring States period and the end of the Edo period have been filmed to death and have lost all their novelty.

Putting everything else aside, the Japanese have remade Honnoji Incident at least 28 times (laughs), they have to remake the Demon King every year.

Of course, NHK has also begun to try to reform its Taiga dramas. This invitation to the Uesugi brothers to make a guest appearance is a major signal. If the effect is good enough, the Uesugi brothers may continue to star in the upcoming drama "Sanada Maru".

Uesugi Muneyuki arrived a little early today. He mainly wanted to visit his older brother, Uesugi Sadanori, and also ask about archaeology.

As an archaeologist, how much does Uesugi Sadanori actually know about archaeology in the Kansai region?

Perhaps the key to unlocking the secrets of the new god's existence and ascension lies with the older brother.

(End of this chapter)