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. Two Men
Aired 5 November 1997 • 45 min
2
E2
2. Tiger Hunter
Aired 12 November 1997
3
E3
3. Sister
Aired 19 November 1997
4
E4
4. 36 Bodies
Aired 26 November 1997
5
E5
5. Horse Legs
Aired 3 December 1997
6
E6
6. The Red Gold
Aired 10 December 1997
7
E7
7. If Dogs Could Walk
Aired 17 December 1997
8
E8
8. Voluntary Seppuku
Aired 24 December 1997
9
E9
9. A Lovely Witness
Aired 31 December 1997
10
E10
10. The Woman Who Waits in Vain
Aired 7 January 1998
11
E11
11. Bushi Fukagawa
Aired 14 January 1998