About this season
Zankuro Matsudaira (Ken Watanabe) is a low-grade vassal of the Tokugawa Shogun, forced to moonlight as a bodyguard and executioner to make ends meet. He also has a drinking problem, an overeating mother, and a propensity to protect the oppressed, all of which eat into his finances. His confident mother Masajo (Kyoko Kishida) is the descendant of a famous family of shogunate retainers and a mistress of the pen and sword, who regards her son as a failure.
Episodes (11)
1
E1
1. Spring and Fire Prevention
Aired 1 January 1997
2
E2
2. Staying to Work
Aired 8 January 1997
3
E3
3. A Mother's Revenge
Aired 15 January 1997
4
E4
4. The Visitor from the North
Aired 22 January 1997
5
E5
5. Kumogakure
Aired 29 January 1997
6
E6
6. The Officer's Trap
Aired 5 February 1997
7
E7
7. Kichiji, the White Fish
Aired 12 February 1997
8
E8
8. Reward Under the Cherry Trees
Aired 19 February 1997
9
E9
9. The Refugee
Aired 26 February 1997
10
E10
10. The Flower of Nardus
Aired 5 March 1997
11
E11
11. Umbrella
Aired 12 March 1997