Asian DramaWiki Forum

We in real life don't realise that show business is real business. At times it is also cut-throat business.

All actors have to present a smiling face and be prepared to give a friendly outlook on even their most difficult rivals.

It's one business when who you know is as important as what you know. Takes a very well established fine actor who can get the big roles. right place and right time is always needed.

I hope Juri and also Mukai will keep rising in the show business world. they are both charming and act with confidence I think.

bmwracer wrote: I worry that she'll get pidgeon-holed into superficial romance dramas... I'd like to see her as a professional: doctor, cop, lawyer, etc... Something smart and lively.

Oh, I think she could easily move into those roles (à la Shinohara Ryoko, perhaps?). One thing she showed in Gou is that she has left the ditzy Nodame behind. The career path for actors is never sure -- as Peggy just pointed out -- but Juri chan has a pretty solid head on her shoulders, so I think she will go far.

Gankooyaji wrote:One thing she showed in Gou is that she has left the ditzy Nodame behind.

I think she proved that in Last Friends... Even though overall that drama sucked (not Juri-chan's fault: The writers. )

bmwracer wrote:

Gankooyaji wrote:One thing she showed in Gou is that she has left the ditzy Nodame behind.

I think she proved that in Last Friends... Even though overall that drama sucked (not Juri-chan's fault: The writers. )

Agree (on both counts -- I couldn't even get through Last Friends....).

Gankooyaji wrote:Agree (on both counts -- I couldn't even get through Last Friends....).

I was able to get through it... Thanks to the fast forward button.

I shall be sad if I have to watch Hidetada burn down Osaka castle. Hideyoshi put his whole imagination into making it the most beautiful living place for ChaCha and Hideyori. The decorations were apparently so wonderful and gold was used everywhere. Unusual to see such glorious decorations, as Japanese castles in those days were not always so extravagant.

I think the castle was rebuilt not too many years ago but the inside was not re done.

It would be interesting to know which castles were built of wood and which had stonework in the actual structure. The moats and walls were quite fascinating in the stonework and how they were put together.

When I visited Osaka Castle it was not a "real" castle. Almost all the real castles have burned down or were disassembled a long time ago. Osaka (Like Odawara, Hiroshima, and Nagahama) castle is a totally modern concrete building in the same shape as the old castle, from the outside.

The interior is a museum with modern floors, lights, toilets and even an elevator. The exterior of the building is just supposed to look like an old castle. Often the base of the castle is original stone work, if that helps. I have not visited EVERY castle so I can't say for sure, but the ones I have been too are all basically modern museums (With plenty of original artifacts inside) and a the shape of the old building.

However, although I've not been yet, Himeiji castle is supposed to be the last great castle. It still has all the traditional Tatami floors, paper interior walls, the works. I don't think it's all original materials, but it's supposed to be a real castle, not just a castle shaped museum.

At the end of November I took a trip to Nagahama, in Shiga prefecture, to visit the Gou Museum. Nagahama is where Gou and her sisters were born, so that's where they built the museums.

It was quite an experience, there were three museums. The first was the "real historical" one with artifacts from the real castle (The one that burned down in the first episode) it included a lot more background on the area and the Azai clan.

The second Museum was my favourite, it was a history of the Gou Drama. Many behind-the-scenes photos and sketches. It also had a nice collections of scripts, props and costumes used on the show.

The third was a very similar type of museum that encompassed all 50 NHK Taigra Dramas. A script here, a prop there, and posters everywhere. I have not seen many of the other drama's so it was a bit lost on me.

Sadly all three closed down at the start of December, just after the drama finished. I assume the best parts of the second museum will be added to the third and they will move to a new location for the new Drama next year.

http://www.azai-go.jp/

Finally, although I was unable to take photos inside the exhibits, I did "accidentally" snap a few.

Peggy wrote:I shall be sad if I have to watch Hidetada burn down Osaka castle. Hideyoshi put his whole imagination into making it the most beautiful living place for ChaCha and Hideyori. The decorations were apparently so wonderful and gold was used everywhere. Unusual to see such glorious decorations, as Japanese castles in those days were not always so extravagant.

I think that was the last thing on Hidetada's mind He was more determined to end it all and bring peace. That is more important than keeping a beautiful castle. He wanted to end Toyotomi's rule and buring Osaka castle was one way of doing it. The other was to cut all roots related to Toyotomi in case they intend to revive their kingdom later. It was a tough call but it was necessary. There can only be one.

Just finished watching Episode 44.

Boy, that Fuku is one manipulative, conniving beeotch... And Takechiyo is still a little twerp.

The final third or quarter of this drama has been really disappointing: Juri-chan's not getting much screen time and when she is on screen, Go is either sobbing or being upset about everything happening around her.

The writer seems to have run out of steam.

I haven't viewed the last 2 episodes of Gou to see whether Fuku appears, but she certainly did not disappear from the Tokugawa shogunate. According to her Wikipedia entry, she established the Ooku, the women's quarter in Edo Castle. I'm guessing that this was during Iemitsu's time as Shogun. She was later given the title Lady Kasuga by the court.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Kasuga

^ Yup, I mentioned that a couple of pages back...

Sorry that I missed your earlier post, bmwracer. That's the problem with jumping in when not closely following the topic.

And maybe it's already been said, but I think the production team did a big disfavor to Juri by having her play Gou as the mischievous young child. It destroyed much of her credibility for later episodes.

sensei991 wrote:And maybe it's already been said, but I think the production team did a big disfavor to Juri by having her play Gou as the mischievous young child. It destroyed much of her credibility for later episodes.

I don't think having her being mischievous ruined her character's credibility... I think the writer/writers didn't develop her character much more after she became an adult, particularly in comparison to Chacha and Hatsu.

I think they hung Juri-chan out to dry in this role.

Episode 45 just aired here... One more to go.

As expected, the local station is airing the final episode in two parts over two weeks.

Episode 45 is now available for download: http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_103551.htm

I never knew what a cruel life Ieyasu had when he was very young/ He was taken from his mother at three and sent as hostage and then sent again as hostage when he was about nine. Not sure if that was the last time but he was harshly used when he was nineteen when a lot of battles were going on during the early years of Oda and Yoshitomo and Taira clans.

I can understand why he hated war and why he knew that somehow he wanted to find a way for peace in Japan. He really did succeed in the end.

Hope that the final ep wil get sub soon . My mother and I truly fall in love with this taiga.
Although there are some part of it that I don't like, Gou~Himetachi no Sengoku is really a great taiga.

My favourite characters: Sen no Rikyu, Tokugawa Hidetada, Oda Nobunaga and Ichi .

And obviously I love to watch Hidetada-Gou's relationship . It rarely had lovey-dovey scenes between these two, but I can understand their feeling towards each other.

This is the first time I like Mukai's acting, I watched some dramas and movies that he took part in and I must say sincerely that his acting is weak although his personality is cute and friendly . In the end I fall in love with his character in Gou. Hidetada became one of my most favourite characters in Jdorama .

Juri never disappointed me (Sunao ni narenakute is an exception I guess ). I saw her character grow up in each episode and the strength inside Gou was always there. The more she grow up, the more she became gentle and sympathetic with people around her . I found it great that although sometime Gou annoyed me I still love her like that. Because she is special from the woman that lived in the same period with her.

All the veteran actors and actresses did a wonderful job. I love all their characters.

And, I just love the way the script writer and the director expressed the feeling of death in this taiga.
It's a great honor to me to watch all the most beautiful moments of this taiga .

Final hardsubbed episode is out: http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_104238.htm

Unsure where to post my thanks to everyone involved in this project, so I'll do it here. This has been a major undertaking and labor of love from some really dedicated, kindhearted folks -- bmwracer, gryzze, liubeibei (and I do hope he's all right), yanie, avallac'h and anyone else I left out (with apologies). Your hard work has been really appreciated and can hardly be repaid, except with grateful thanks!

but he was harshly used when he was nineteen when a lot of battles were going on during the early years of Oda and Yoshitomo and Taira clans.

Sigh well it'd be hard for him to be involved with both Oda and Yoshitomo since Oda lived in the late 1500s and Yoshitomo during the 1100s.

...but yes Ieyasu's life was rather cruel.

sigh indeed, Not Yoshitomo of course. But the reasoning is correct. He had a tough time in his childhood and youth and he must have hated war and battles and therefore looked for a way to bring the country together after Oda and Hideyoshi. He was content to wait them both out and finally he did the job with the aid of his son Hidetada.

Almost correct, but actually its more like he did so against the will of his son Hidetada, who by all accounts was a fairly large boob. Failing to arrive with the vanguard army to the decisive "kessen" at Sekigahara as well as futilely trying to placate the will of Yodo by marrying his daughter Sen off to Hideyori against Ieyasu's own wishes.

If you wanted to put your esteem in any one person of that era who most contributed to the 200+ years of peace that followed under the Tokugawa bakufu, it could easily be argued that none of what had been achieved would have been possible without Toyotomi Tokichiro Hideyoshi.

Ah well to each his own. My esteem goes always to Nobunaga. He is my favourite daimyo all the time. I think he was a fascinating person with very forward looking ideas. I think witihout his kickstart there might have been a much longer period of wars without any thought for peace in Japan.

My only question about him is why on earth did he allow that situation at Honnoji. He was defenceless and he had put the idea in the head of the man who then caused his death. It has always puzzled me.

Gou and Hidetada must have been a strange couple really. He seemed so vague but turned out to be quite ruthless once his father died. Between them they raised (or didn't) two weird sons who lived brutal lives but at least one was dispatched by his brother.
Life and death moved hand in hand in those days no matter how close the family connection.

Credit: mayeve @ blogspot

By the way, as many people have already noticed, a documentary program about the eldest sister has just been posted on D-Addicts as:

Rekishi Hiwa Historia #136 - 2013.01.30.H264.378p.mkv

This provides excellent historical background for the Gou series.

A history progam (Rekishi Hiwa Historya, episode 062) is posted now in the j-tv Chinese hardsub category of D-Addicts. Since this torrent orignated on the Chinese torrent sites, there are Chinese hard subs, but these are easy to ignore.

The broadcast of episode 062 was created to provide historical backgrown for the Taiga drama Gou and is told from the standpoint of Gou and her uncle Oda Nobunaga. You quickly see why the Nobunaga "brand" was so important and why the marriages of Gou were so politically important.

Since Oda Nobunaga is the focus of the program, this also provides background for the recent broadcast of "Onna Nobunaga." It is interesting to see when the real history matches or is a odds with the pseudo-history of "Onna Nobunaga."

Is there a 720p batch for this series? The 396 eps don't look too good.

heat6jones wrote:Is there a 720p batch for this series? The 396 eps don't look too good.

Nope, no batch, but the 720p does exist: http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/torrents ... etachi+720