| Ganryujima |
| Tokyo: October 15 - November 4, 1996, Parco Theater Osaka: November 8 - 17, 1996, Theater Drama City |
| Cast: Koji Yakusho: Miyamoto Musashi Toru Masuoka: Sasaki Kojiro Kyouka Suzuki: Otsuru Takashi Kobayashi: Arita Kyuemon Masako Miyaji: Osun Takehiko Ono: Sasuke |
| Playwright: Koki Mitani Director: Kazuya Yamada |
| In this drama, Koji Yakusho played the role of Miyamoto Musashi, but this Musashi character was quite different from that of the Musashi, which he portrayed in the NHK TV serial drama from April, 1984 to March, 1985. This "Ganryujima" drama is a parody of the traditional and legendly Miyamoto Musashi figure: the characterization of Musashi here is that he is unpunctual, untrustworthy, and in fact,a play-boy! The drama begins on Ganryujima island, on the very morning when the dual against Sasaki Kojiro is about to be fought. Sasaki Kojiro (Toru Masuoka) is waiting for Musashi on the shore of Ganryujima, but there is no sign of Musashi, so Kojiro is irritated, and decides on going to meet Musashi at the inn where he is staying, believing that a person doing this sort of considerate act will end up winning the dual after all. When Kojiro steps into Mussahi's room, he is astonished to find that Musashi is suffering from a hangover, quarreling with his mistress, Otsuru (Kyoka Suzuki), and moreover, Musashi seems to have been told the wrong dual time. Kojiro tries to make every sort of possible effort to urge Musashi to go to Ganryujima, but in vain, since various incredible happenings prevent Musashi from leaving the inn... While Sasaki Kojiro is depicted as a nervous, meticulous figure, Musashi comes across as quite easy-going and sloppy. Actually every remark that they utter and everything that they do makes the audience burst into laughter. In the end, Sasaki Kojiro decides to become Musashi's disciple and they go off travelling together, leaving the dual to the inn's master, Sasuke as representing Musashi and Otsuru's ex-husband, Arita Kyuemon as representing Sasaki Kojiro. |
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| Otsuru, Musashi, and Kojiro |
| Synopsis |
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