is a fictional Japanese person

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

. He has appeared in novels and plays, kōdan

Kodan

, is a style of traditional oral Japanese storytelling. The form evolved out of lectures on historical or literary topics given to high-ranking nobles of the Heian period, changing over the centuries to be adopted by the general samurai class and eventually by commoners, and eventually, by the end...

, television and film jidaigeki

Jidaigeki

is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...

and other media. The earliest known appearance was in the work Ōkubo Musashi Abumi.

Brimming with the Japanese values

Japanese values

Japanese values are cultural assumptions and ideals particular to Japanese culture. The honne/tatemae divide between public expression and private thoughts/feelings is considered to be of paramount importance in Japanese culture.- Empathy and human relations :...

 of giri

Giri

is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to "duty", "obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English. It is defined as "to serve one's superiors with a self-sacrificing devotion" by Namiko Abe. Indeed, the conflict between giri and ninjō, or human feeling, is said to have been the primary...

and ninjō

NinJo

NinJo is a meteorological software system. It is a community project of the German, Canadian, Danish and Swiss national meteorological services and the German military. It consists of modules for monitoring weather events, editing point forecasts and viewing meteorological data. An additional batch...

, the fishmonger Tasuke is the epitome of the Edokko

Edokko

is a Japanese term referring to a person born and raised in Edo . The term is believed to have been coined in the late 18th century in Edo. Being an Edokko also implied that the person had certain personality traits different from the non-native population, such as being assertive, straightforward,...

, the son of Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

. A stock character in works set during the time of the third Tokugawa shogun

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.-Early life :...

 (who ruled from 1623 to 1651), he collaborates with the veteran samurai Ōkubo Hikozaemon

Okubo Tadataka

or Ōkubo Hikozaemon was a Japanese warrior in the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the eighth son of Ōkubo Tadakazu, a vassal of the Tokugawa clan...

.

Tasuke is so beloved that although fictional, he has a grave at a temple in Minato, Tokyo

Minato, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...

.

Kabuki

In kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

, Tasuke is a character in Medashi Yanagi Midori no Matsumae (芽出柳翠緑松前).

Film

The dozen works with Tasuke's name in the title include the 1930 Chiezō Kataoka

Chiezo Kataoka

was a Japanese actor. Born in 1903 in Gunma Prefecture, he was raised in Tokyo. His first starring role in a film was in 1923. Specializing in jidaigeki, he played the lead in various films before and during World War II. After the war, he eventually joined Toei...

 portrayal in the Nikkatsu

Nikkatsu

is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...

 film Isshin Tasuke, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki

Hiroshi Inagaki

was a Japanese filmmaker most known for the Academy Award-winning Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, which he directed in 1954.-Career:Born in Tokyo as the son of a shinpa actor, Inagaki appeared on stage in his childhood before joining the Nikkatsu studio as an actor in 1922...

. Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

 wrote the screenplay for the 1945 Appare Isshin Taskue starring Kenichi Enomoto

Kenichi Enomoto

Kenichi Enomoto was a popular Japanese singing comedian, mostly known by his stage name Enoken ....

 (directed by Kiyoshi Saeki for Toho

Toho

is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...

). Kabuki actor Kinnosuke Nakamura (Yorozuya) starred in five of a series of six movies for Toei

Toei Company

is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, a modest vertically-integrated studio system by the standards of the 1930s United States; operates studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a...

 (Katsuo Nakamura

Katsuo Nakamura

is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 5th Japan Academy Prize and at the 6th Hochi Film Award for Kagero-za, Buriki no kunsho, Shikake-nin Baian...

 portrayed the hero in the other).

Television

Three series and two specials have featured Tasuke in their titles. These aired on TBS

Tokyo Broadcasting System

, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

 (1969, 52 episodes starring Tarō Yamada), Fuji

Fuji Television

is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....

 (1971, 25 episodes, starring Ryōtarō Sugi

Ryotaro Sugi

is a Japanese singer and actor. He was born in Kobe. He is the father of actor Jundai Yamada.Among Sugi's roles is a role in Sukima Kaze, which sold over a million copies. His acting credits include eighteen films...

), Asahi (ANB)

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

 (1989, a New Year special starring Tōru Nakamura

Toru Nakamura

is a Japanese golfer.Nakamura was born in Osaka. He won 20 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour and ranks eighth on the career victories list.-Japan Golf Tour wins :*1973 Hiroshima Open*1974 KBC Augusta, Sapporo Tokyu Open...

), Nippon Television

Nippon Television

is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...

 (1990, a special with Morio Kazama

Morio Kazama

is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Yokohama Film Festival for Shiki Natsuko and Yūgure made and at the 6th and 7th Japan Academy Prizes.-Filmography:...

), and NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 (1999, 24 episodes on Friday evening prime time) with Naoto Ogata as Tasuke.

Song

Isshin Tasuke is in the titles of three enka

Enka

is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more...

. Ichirō Toba sang Bungo no Isshin Tasuke. Mitsuko Nakamura recorded Mitsuko no Isshin Tasuke. Tarō Yamada (who starred in the television series) released Otoko! Isshin Tasuke.

External links

IMDB lists several works:

• Appare Isshin Tasuke 1945
• Isshin Tasuke - Tenka no ichidaiji 1958
• Iyemitsu to Hikoza to isshin yasuke (sic) 1961
• Sarariman Isshin Tasuke 1962
• Shogun Iemitsu, Hikosa and Tasuke Issin (television) 1989