was a short subject children's cartoon

Cartoon

A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

 created by Momoko Maruyama and Ryōtarō Kuwamoto (m&k). It aired daily in the mornings and afternoons on 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....

 in Japan. Two short features were shown in the mornings and afternoons both five minutes long. Its exclusion from the 2010-11 NHK programming schedule signifies the end of its run on the station, but will still be shown in reruns on their Hi-Vision BS premium channel.

Story

200 years ago, Zenmai Zamurai (Zennosuke at that time) was a thief by profession (albeit not a very skilled one). While stealing from a house one night, he fell down a well and died. He was then resurrected by Daifukunokami (The god of Bounty:大福の神) and a wind-up key (zenmai:ぜんまい) was placed on his head. If the key winds down, Zennosuke dies. The only way the key can be wound is by Zennosuke doing good deeds and if he does enough of them, he will be released from his servitude to the god. In order to achieve this end, he is given the Dango-ken, which is a sword with Japanese Dumplings

Dango

is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko , related to mochi. It is often served with green tea.Dango are eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons...

 skewered onto it. Whenever Zenmai Zamurai sees people doing injustice

Injustice

Injustice is the lack of or opposition to justice, either in reference to a particular event or act, or as a larger status quo. The term generally refers to misuse, abuse, neglect, or malfeasance that is uncorrected or else sanctioned by a legal system. Misuse and abuse with regard to a particular...

 or generally being out of control, he uses his sword to shoot the dumplings into their mouths. When people eat the dumplings, they suddenly become happy and realize the error of their ways. He helps out the people of his village in many ways, big and small. Whenever he does well, a rainbow

Rainbow

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...

 comes out of the sky to wind his key. His name and the theme of the show is based on a short Japanese proverb

Proverb

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...

, "Ichinichi Ichizen" (一日一膳), which means "Do a good deed daily".

Characters

• Mamemaru (豆丸) - Zenmai's diminutive best friend and ninja
  Ninja
  A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
  
   in training. He's a nervous boy and wets his pants whenever he gets surprised or panics.

• Zukinchan (ずきんちゃん) - The main female character in the show. She's a good friend of Zenmai and they show a mutual affection towards each other. Her bonnet
  Bonnet (headgear)
  Bonnets are a variety of headgear for both sexes, which have in common only the absence of a brim. Bonnet derives from the same word in French, where it originally indicated a type of material...
  
   hides a large, brown afro
  Afro
  Afro, sometimes shortened to fro and also known as a "natural", is a hairstyle worn naturally by people with lengthy kinky hair texture or specifically styled in such a fashion by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair...
  
  . Zukinchan also has a pet dog with an afro named Botan (ぼたん).

• Chajiji (茶じじ) - Zukinchan's Grandfather. He's very protective of Zukinchan and has an eye for the younger women of the village. He's content to relax with a cup of tea in his red beret with his cat, Matcha(まっちゃ).

• Dangoyababa (だんごやばば) - The proprietor of the Ippuku Dumpling Shop. She is an older woman that has long lost her looks, but more often than not tries to look and act young and sexy, which is met with disgust by the men of the village.

• Namezaemon (なめざえもん)- He is the constant antagonist in the show. Namezaemon is a rich aristocrat that uses money to get what he wants. He is very arrogant and selfish. He is in love with Zukinchan and will do anything to get Zenmai out of the way.

• Mysterious Cupola Helmeted Man (謎の天蓋男) - He was sent by Daifukunokami to keep an eye on and document Zenmai's exploits in secret. However, in doing this, he often indirectly becomes the victim of some misfortune at the end of the program.

• Pierre (町人ピエール) - A blonde haired English teacher from Portugal
  Portugal
  Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
  
  . Even though his spoken Japanese has a strange accent, he studies hard and has quickly learned how to read and write in Japanese, as well as how to say some very difficult tongue-twister
  Tongue-twister
  A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken word game. Some tongue-twisters produce results which are humorous when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their...
  
  s. Dangoyababa is in love with him.

Akutare Zamurai

Zenmai is a shining example of good in his village, but the wind key in his head is big weakness. If he is struck by lightning, the polarity of goodness inverts and he becomes the evil Akutare Zamurai. Under this persona, he plays pranks on and makes life difficult for everyone. The dumplings on his Dango-ken also change to slimy balls which turn others evil when eaten.