Abarenbo Shogun (1978) Season 1
Set in the 18th century, the show follows the Shogun Yoshimune, who likes to disguise himself as a low-ranking samurai and go into his capital of Edo to see the life of the common man, as well as to seek out and punish evildoers who would hurt his citizens. He is aided by Magistrate Oo'oka and a vivacious fireman, Tatsugoro, as well as a rotating cast of other recurring characters.
Along with Zenigata Heiji and Mito Kōmon, it ranks among the longest-running series in the jidaigeki genre. Like so many other jidaigeki, it falls in the category of kanzen-chōaku, loosely, "rewarding good and punishing evil."
01 Roughhousing daimyo Tokugawa Yoshimune of Kishu reluctantly becomes the Shogun so that he may bring prosperity to everyone in the country. On his procession to Edo Palace, he runs into his old friend Tatsugoro, and a little girl begging for a pardon for her father on death row. Yoshimune decides to sneak out of Edo Palace and do a little detective work.
1/7/1978
02 Ogyu Shosen is called a quack doctor, but Yoshimune thinks he should be made surgeon-general.
1/14/1978
03 Hatamoto firemen are causing a nuisance and thieving in town, so fiery Tatsugoro and his gang of construction workers aim to take them down.
1/21/1978
04 A hatamoto's spoiled brat daughter is in the habit of thieving and blaming it on commoners. Meanwhile, Yoshimune becomes preternaturally obsessed with a den-den taiko (a type of child's toy).
1/28/1978
The Splendid Potato Samurai 06
2/11/1978
The Blossoming Meyasubako 10
3/18/1978
12 Yoshimune's old friend from Kishu, a female lumberjack, comes to Edo to engage in lumber trade, but gets in trouble.
4/1/1978
The Perilous Souvenir Gift 13 Yoshimune's old friends from Kishu, Sakichi and Onatsu of the lumber store, are leaving town, so Yoshimune comes to bring them a present. He ends up getting in the way of a drug bust and is mistaken for a drug dealer.
4/8/1978
14 Fireman Genzo wins the lottery, but is then reported to the police for having a forged ticket.
4/15/1978
The Quack Who Calls Forth Spring 15 Even though he has been made surgeon-general, nobody trusts Ogawa Shosen or Yoshimune's city hospital. Yoshimune decides to get himself admitted as Shin-san to investigate from within.
4/22/1978
Showdown at Beautiful Yoshiwara 16
4/29/1978
Love and the Guardian Deity 17 Satsuma domain bully a store that is in their debt by trying to steal the storekeeper's girlfriend, and by framing them for theft. Only a man of stone can save Tamba-ya from destruction!
5/6/1978
The Beat of a Taiko Drum in Edo 18 Yoshimune really wants to attend a festival in Edo, but he has important business to attend to in the palace. Jii says he can go out as long as he is back by 4 PM. This doesn't seem likely, since Yoshimune gets involved in a big fistfight and village drama.
5/13/1978
19 Tatsugoro's family is indebted to a samurai family, so Tatsugoro gives the samurai family his very best fireman to adopt, since the samurai have no heir of their own. The other samurai do not like him.
5/20/1978
Fireman's Standard was Watching 21
6/3/1978
Friendships Support the World 22
6/17/1978
The Dreadful Shichi-ri Messengers 24
7/1/1978
Heavens! Great Trouble in Edo 25
7/8/1978
The Drunken Man Who was Promoted 26
7/15/1978
The Woman Who Challenged the Yagyu Family 27
7/22/1978
A Flower Blooms in the Dark 28
7/29/1978
The Goofiest Pickpocket in Edo 29
8/19/1978
The Woman Who Disappeared from the Hunting Ground 31
9/16/1978
The Best Announcement of the Winner in Japan 32 Ryuko and Isonokaze were sumo wrestlers for a clan who tried to make them throw a match. Ryuko hides out at the fire house and meets Shin-san, who is very excitable and really, really wants to wrestle him. Eventually Shin-san learns of the wrestling drama that is unfolding...
9/23/1978
A Daimyo's Famed Shiruko Restaurant 33 A certain han ruled by a child lord is having money trouble, so one of the han's samurai starts a sweet bean soup restaurant to try and raise funds. The samurai has some trouble getting customers...
9/30/1978
The Women Who Dance in a Tempest 34
10/7/1978
The Bride with an Explosive 35 A land reclamation project is taking place largely with Shogunate funds, carried out by contract with 2 companies (which are marrying their kids together as the ultimate symbol of the contract). One of the companies invents a bomb with a long fuse, to blow up a mountainous area in the reclamation zone. The other company decides to assassinate the first company, and steals the bomb...
10/14/1978
The Deceiving Mole Under a Woman's Eye 36
10/21/1978
The Woman Who Challenged Her Master 38
11/4/1978
A Sweet Snare from RyuKyu 39
11/11/1978
Go! The Prodogy of the Commoners 40
11/18/1978
Hara-Kiri! The Drunkard Magistrate 41
12/2/1978
A Hot Man and a Brazen Hussy 42
12/9/1978
The Shogun's Secret Ninja 43 Female ninja Osono's dad Seiemon comes to town. He is now a cotton-farming country samurai. Needs dried sardines for fertilizer. The hatamoto of sardineland is driving the fishermens' prices down so all the farmers secretly sell to Seiemon. The merchant tries to assassinate Seiemon and fails, since Seiemon is a ninja. Seiemon stays at the firehouse and plans to secretly assassinate the criminals, then kill himself, because he's depressed.
12/16/1978
Fresh Blood on the Bestowed Sword 44
12/23/1978
The Counterfeit Coins and the Candy Man 45 A man makes little pretty sugar candies for kids and tells funny stories. He used to be a counterfeiter because of his great manual dexterity, but vowed to turn his life around. Shin-san becomes interested in candy just when the guy's old friends force him to counterfeit again...
12/30/1978
The Female Doctor with a Fist 47 Edo is invigorated by an unusually aggressive and outspoken female doctor, Oshino, who physically beats her patients if they do not obey her.
1/13/1979
Hell in the Heavenly Bath 48
1/20/1979
The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword 49
1/27/1979
The Great Packed Lunch of a Woman 50
2/3/1979
The Bride of the Fish Market 51
2/10/1979
The Downfall of Ooka Echizen No Kami 52 A bad gang leader kidnaps Tadasuke's wife (who never appeared before or since), as she went to the shrine to pray for a baby. Tadasuke decides that justice outweighs his bride and prepares to prosecute the gang leader anyway, so Shin-san lets the prisoner go secretly to try and follow him to Tadasuke's bride...
2/17/1979
The Best Dry Sake for Mother and Son 53 Clannish Edoite sake sellers turn against a travelling Osakan female sake seller to force her out of the market; only her long-lost son, an Edoite sake seller, can save her.
2/24/1979
The Female Doctor Who Loves Money 54 Oshino, the female doctor with a fist, is in charge of a temple that gives free medical service to orphans, but it is reputed that she is stealing all the money instead.
3/3/1979
This Small Incident Occured Ten Years Ago 55 Shoheiko, the official Shogunate college, has an admissions scandal where the bureaucrats turn out to have been accepting bribes for admissions. Yoshimune suggests opening it to commoners and calls up some obscure scholars; the vicious bureaucrats attack and kill one. Shin-san absolutely loses his mind, but Tatsugoro is there to give him a helping hand.
3/10/1979
The Man Who Died in the Light Snowfalls in Spring 56 Ryuko's friend is killed by a rice wholesaler. Shin-san investigates this and discovers a whole sordid rice-based drama, including collective punishment, famine, and assassination.
3/17/1979
Eliminations of Black Sheep 57
3/24/1979
The Best Cherry Blossom Dance in Edo 58
3/31/1979
The Firemen's Standard is the Firemen's Heart and Soul 59
4/7/1979
The Perished Love in a Spring Storm 61
4/21/1979
A Single Flower in the Dark 62
4/28/1979
The Fallen Flower in the Game of Chance 63
5/5/1979
Holding a Fire Standard for a Spear 64
5/12/1979
The Troublesome Tea Urn Trip 65
5/19/1979
Daruma Smiled on Joshu Road 66
5/26/1979
Commissioner Ooka Committs Hara-Kiri! 67
6/2/1979
Very Proud of the Celebrated Sword 69 An unbalanced ronin wants to become the sword teacher to a daimyo, so he can get enough money to buy back his really sexy sword from the pawn shop. However, a competitor attacks him, crippling the ronin's hand. Shin-san is really mad about this, even though the ronin attacked him earlier.
6/16/1979
A Loach Pot Rather Than A Domain 70
6/23/1979
The Best Godfather in Japan 71
6/30/1979
Revenge Colored with Safflowers 72 A pregnant safflower farmer's husband is run over by the local lord's horse. She's lured to the daikan's office to get compensated but is raped and turned into the lord's concubine instead. She schemes to have herself murdered so Ooka Echizen will enter the manor and discover these great crimes.
7/7/1979
A Man Passionate About the Snow on Mount Fuji 73 A kind but untalented kitchen-supervisor samurai is assigned to accompany his domain's gift to the Shogun: big blocks of ice. Shin-san, tramping around Shinjuku, accidentally discovers this delivery and starts accompanying it too, and discovers a rival domain is trying to kill the ice to humiliate the first domain.
7/14/1979
Kick the Edo Illness Out! 74 A mysterious illness (beriberi) becomes common and Yoshimune calls his doctor to find out what the cause is. His doctor says only his own special blend of medicine (very expensive) can cure it. Oshino, the female doctor with a fist, however, believes the solution is more simple (and involves punching people).
7/21/1979
Gorozaemon Kano's Disappearance 75 Kano Gorozaemon, who is practically Yoshimune's adoptive father, goes out into Edo to get a surprise present for the Shogun, and is kidnapped by a nutter who wants to frame him for murder to steal his job.
8/11/1979
Suspicion Begets Idle Fears 76 A lord lets 3 master ghost actresses into his house as maids, somehow doesn't connect this with supernatural happenings in his house.
8/18/1979
The Bride That Came From Kishu 77 Kikue, the daughter of a potter, comes to Edo and meets her old friend Shin-san, who she recognizes as the Shogun. She came to marry Kano Gorozaemon, who proposed to her when she was eight (??!) but Kano backed out.
8/25/1979
A Man Hunting the Whole Country 78 The Ogobanshu (kind of like a guild of hatamotos) want to hunt, but in setting the borders of the hunting area they recklessly steal the corner of a VERY sensitive farmer's farm.
9/8/1979
Peerless! The Taste of Momma 79 Matsumae domain officials and the store Ebisu-ya are conspiring to give predatory loans to alcohol shops. Lady merchant Omasa from Osaka wants to get a better deal, and her son unfortunately took the debt from his main sake supplier, so now she needs to get money to save both their skins.
9/15/1979
The Direct Retainers of the Shogun Run Wild 80 Hatamotos, a domain, a runaway killer samurai from the domain, the firemen, and jii for some reason, all end up in a gigantic free for all fight.
9/22/1979
Angelic Neighborhood Bully 82
10/13/1979
Thief Targeting the Nation 83
10/20/1979
Mount Fuji Saw The Wild Spear 85
11/3/1979
The Shogun Permitted a Thief 86
11/10/1979
Bullet Aiming At 8 Million Koku 87
11/17/1979
Burn! Even If You Must Die 88
11/24/1979
Embarrased To Recieve Flowers in Congratulation 89
12/1/1979
Beast Battle! Master Tatsugoro 90
12/8/1979
Duel! In the Stormy Castle 91
12/15/1979
The Will of the Raging Samurai 93
12/29/1979
The Lanterns of Early Spring and Noon Emerge 94
1/5/1980
I Saw a Rainbow in the Sea of Flames 95
1/12/1980
Get the Vermin Out of the Castle! 96
1/19/1980
The Girl From the Wolf Village 98
2/2/1980
The Eight Million Koku Porter 101
2/23/1980
The Collector Who Collected the Villain's Head 102
3/1/1980
Catastrophe! We Shouldn't Have Gotten Out of the Way! 103
3/8/1980
Japan's Most Wanted Bride 104
3/22/1980
Stop! Uncontrolled Official Carriage 105
3/29/1980
The Man Who Gives Orders to the Shogun! 108
4/19/1980
Snacks Delight on a Sunny Day 109
4/26/1980
Love Blossoms in Ubasuteyama! 111
5/10/1980
The Proud and Naive Samurai 112
5/17/1980
I Saw the Real One! The Hayabusa Brat 114
5/31/1980
Beware of the Quick Bucks 115
6/7/1980
The Man Who Died and Flourished 116
6/14/1980
Courage in the Face of Injustice 117
6/21/1980
The Fox Woman Cries, the Banner of Empathy 119
7/5/1980
The Princess Take - Tears from a Wedding Procession 120
7/12/1980
The Flourishing of the Female Bushido 121
7/19/1980
The Sad Song of the South 122
7/26/1980
The New Boss! - Osai, of the Fire Extinguisher 123
8/2/1980
The One Who Stood Out After Being at Risk of Drowning 124
8/9/1980
Floating Lanterns That Mark a New Beginning in a Man's Life 125
8/16/1980
The Trap in the Wolf Village 127
8/30/1980
Dad, You Used to Be Someone 129
9/13/1980
My Childhood Friend is an Oku Woman 130
9/27/1980
There was a Bullet in the Clam Chowder! 131
10/4/1980
Listen! The Chronicles of the Old Man and the Young Master 133
10/18/1980
A Silly Dance in an Oily Hell 134
10/25/1980
Duel on the Steam of Hell 135
11/1/1980
The Woman Who Bet on the Mountain of Fire 136
11/8/1980
Hakone's Melancholic Drizzle 138
11/22/1980
The One Who Flirted Was to Blame 139
11/29/1980
The Wild Spear Everyone Fears 140
12/6/1980
The Bandit Harusame's Mother 141
12/20/1980
Munenryu Shintoism and Confucianism According to the Hayashi Clan 142
12/27/1980
I Am the Most Unpleasant Person in the World 143 Shin-san accidentally gets involved with two low-class thieving morons, to Tatsugoro's horror. Tatsugoro finally manages to get rid of them, and one of them is promptly killed by evil ninjas for having seen something he should not have. Yoshimune learns they were raising a bunch of orphans in an awful shack with their scammed money, and decides he must avenge the dead criminal.
1/10/1981
One Life For One Isshou of Shochu 144
1/17/1981
The Silent Man's Divorce Letter 145
1/24/1981
Megumi Clan's Love Bridge 147
2/7/1981
Japan's Number One Little Thief 148
2/14/1981
Tops Spinning Beneath a False Union 149
2/21/1981
The White Waves That Shame the Flowers 150
2/28/1981
The Shogun, the Horse Thief, and the Brat 152
3/14/1981
The Love That Blooms Inside a Coffin 154
3/28/1981
I Don't Want to Be the Shogun's Bride 155
4/11/1981
Jongara with a Munen-Ryu Kid 156
4/18/1981
The Cursed Box of 1000 Ryos 157
4/25/1981
Hell's Bells Ring at 6.00 p.m 158
5/2/1981
Rest in Peace, Onaka - The Flowing Lanterns 159
5/9/1981
The Flowers That Fall Without Waiting for Spring 160
5/16/1981
The One Who Smiled in the End 161
5/23/1981
The Blooming Ginseng Flower That the Firefighter's Matoi Made Flourish 162
5/30/1981
The Cowardly Samurai Who Made a Demon Woman Cry 163
6/6/1981
Break the Chains of the Heart With Human Kindness 164
6/13/1981
Whose Ungrateful Son is it 165
6/20/1981
Promise of the Bell the Girl With Bangs and a Sword 166
6/27/1981
The Decisive Duel of the Lantern Samurai 167
7/4/1981
Clear Sky - The Hungry Lancer 169
7/18/1981
The Duel! Blood in the Fuefuki River of Koshu 170
8/1/1981
Burning Tears of the Traitor 171
8/8/1981
The Flower in the Shadow That Made a Man Bloom 172
8/15/1981
Onomichi - Sunset of Revenge 174
8/29/1981
The Million Kokus Dependent 175
9/5/1981
The Bond of Hatred Between Father and Daughter 176
9/12/1981
The Morning When Demons Wept 177
9/19/1981
The Bet For the Dance Fan in the Sumo Ring 178
9/26/1981
The Samurai Tanuki Performs a Great Feat 179
10/3/1981
The Man Who Steals While Preaching 180
10/10/1981
The One Who Eats From the Table and the One Who Doesn't 182
10/24/1981
The Night Flower That Blooms Once 183
10/31/1981
The Man Who Danced in the Shadows 184
11/7/1981
The Man Who Danced in the Shadows 185
11/14/1981
The Love Story of a Man and His Taiko Drum 186
11/21/1981
Sorry, Shogun! The Change of a Monk 187
11/28/1981
Call of the Storm! The Bride From Megumi 188
12/5/1981
The Heart of a Mother That Made Demons Cry 189
12/12/1981
The Number One Rain Man in Japan 190
12/19/1981
Cold Wind of Yoshiwara, Tears of a Woman 191
12/26/1981
Laughter and Tears, The Dramatic Life of the People of Kawachi 192
1/9/1982
The First Snow is the Make-Up of the Dead of a Sad Woman 193
1/16/1982
The Poor and Nameless Grass 194
1/23/1982
The Fragrance of the Sea, Tastes Like Mama 195
1/30/1982
Why Sadness in Sharing an Umbrella? 196
2/6/1982
A Remora That is More Frightening Than a Pufferfish 197
2/13/1982
Sadness. Fallen Flowers of Those Who Stay 198
2/20/1982
The Villain Who Laughed Last 199
2/27/1982
Laughter and Tears, Three Girls From Edo 200
3/6/1982
The Greatest Achievement of a Drunken Jitte 201
3/13/1982
The Tale of the Fame of the Fool Kanpachi 202
3/20/1982
The Flower That Disappeared in an Avalanche 203
3/27/1982
Farewell Flower, Night Gust 204
4/10/1982
Spring Has Come Again! Spouses' Kanzashi 205
4/17/1982
You're a Child. Don't Cry, Torokichi! 206
4/24/1982
The Farewell of the 808 Towns 207
5/1/1982
