Gunshi Kanbei

is a 2014 Japanese historical drama television series and the 53rd NHK taiga drama. The series was broadcast from January 5 to December 21, 2014, and ran a total of 50 episodes. The drama depicts the life of Kuroda Kanbei (played by Junichi Okada), a retainer of daimyō Kodera Masamoto of Harima Province, and a strategist for daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Plot
The drama tells the story of Kuroda Kanbei, a son of Kuroda Mototaka, chief retainer of Kodera Masamoto who ruled Harima Province (currently Hyōgo Prefecture) in the 16th century. In troubled times, Kanbei persuades Kodera to join forces with the all-powerful Oda Nobunaga. Though imprisoned by Araki Murashige and lamed for life, Kanbei endures hardships and later becomes a strategist for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His son Kuroda Nagamasa serves Tokugawa Ieyasu after the death of Hideyoshi.

Production

 * Screenwriter – Yoichi Maekawa
 * Music – Yugo Kanno
 * Titling – Shoshu
 * Narrator – Shiho Fujimura→Shuko Hirose
 * Historical research – Tetsuo Owada
 * Sword fight arranger - Kunishirō Hayashi
 * Architectural research – Kiyoshi Hirai
 * Clothing research – Kiyoko Koizumi
 * Production coordinator – Takashi Nakamura
 * Director – Kenji Tanaka, Kazuhiro Motoki
 * Performed by Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra
 * Theme performed by NHK Symphony Orchestra

Kuroda family

 * Kuroda Kanbei: Junichi Okada
 * Young Kanbei: Kirato Wakayama
 * Kushihashi Teru: Miki Nakatani
 * Kuroda Nagamasa: Tori Matsuzaka
 * Young Nagamasa (Shōjumaru): Kirato Wakayama
 * Kuroda Mototaka: Kyōhei Shibata
 * Kuroda Kyumu: Daisuke Ryu
 * Kuroda Shigetaka: Raita Ryū
 * Kuriyama Zensuke: Gaku Hamada
 * Mori Tahei: Mokomichi Hayami
 * Inoue Kuroemon Yurifusa: Issei Takahashi
 * Gotō Matabei: Takashi Tsukamoto
 * Mori Kohei: Sansei Shiomi
 * Mori Buhei: Masaru Nagai
 * Ito: Mitsuki Takahata
 * Omichi: Rila Fukushima
 * Eihime: Miyu Yoshimoto



Ibuki

 * Ibuki Zenemon: Isao Bito
 * Tatsu: Nao Minamisawa

Kodera Clan

 * Kodera Masamoto: Tsurutaro Kataoka
 * Kon: Saki Takaoka
 * Kushihashi Sakyonosuke: Toru Masuoka
 * Kushihashi Sayonoshin: Nobuaki Kaneko
 * Ogō Yoshitoshi: Tsutomu Isobe

Oda Clan

 * Oda Nobunaga: Yōsuke Eguchi
 * No: Yuki Uchida
 * Akechi Mitsuhide: Shunputei Koasa
 * Niwa Nagahide: Hiroshi Katsuno
 * Shibata Katsuie: Yoshimasa Kondo
 * Dota Gozen: Naoko Otani
 * Yasuke: Bernard Ackah
 * Oichi: Kyoko Uchida
 * Oda Nobutada: Tomoya Nakamura
 * Oda Nobutaka: Masei Nakayama
 * Oda Nobukatsu: Shōta Kosakai
 * Mori Ranmaru: Hayato Kakizawa

Toyotomi Clan

 * Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Naoto Takenaka
 * One: Hitomi Kuroki
 * Takenaka Hanbei: Shosuke Tanihara
 * Hachisuka Koroku: Pierre Taki
 * Ishida Mitsunari: Kei Tanaka
 * Cha-cha: Fumi Nikaidō
 * Fukushima Masanori: Hideo Ishiguro
 * Katō Kiyomasa: Shinnosuke Abe
 * Toyotomi Hidetsugu: Akiyoshi Nakao
 * Konishi Yukinaga: Shugo Oshinari
 * Magdalena: Mako Ishino
 * Sassa Narimasa: Ryosuke Otani
 * Ukita Hideie: Kouhei Takeda
 * Kobayakawa Hideaki: Yosuke Asari
 * Ōtani Yoshitsugu: Shingo Murakami
 * Ōno Harunaga: Yasuhito Shimao

Tokugawa Clan

 * Tokugawa Ieyasu: Akira Terao
 * Ii Naomasa: Mikihisa Azuma
 * Honda Tadakatsu: Masayuki Shionoya
 * Sakakibara Yasumasa: Ikuji Nakamura

Mōri Clan

 * Mōri Terumoto: Kota Miura
 * Kobayakawa Takakage: Shingo Tsurumi
 * Kikkawa Motoharu: Kazutoyo Yoshimi
 * Ankokuji Ekei: Kazuhiro Yamaji
 * Ukita Naoie: Takanori Jinnai
 * Shimizu Muneharu: Takashi Ukaji
 * Kikkawa Motonaga: Masayuki Deai

Amago Clan

 * Yamanaka Shikanosuke: Tetsuya Bessho
 * Amago Katsuhisa: Kinihiro Suda
 * Kamei Korenori: Takaaki Seki

Others

 * Araki Murashige: Tetsushi Tanaka
 * Dashi: Mirei Kiritani
 * Ashikaga Yoshiaki: Mitsuru Fukikoshi
 * Sen no Rikyū: Masatō Ibu
 * Takayama Ukon/Dom Justo Takayama: Toma Ikuta
 * Maeda Toshiie: Tadashi Yokouchi
 * Yoshida Kanemi: Masami Horiuchi
 * Otsuru: Yui Ichikawa
 * Ōtomo Sōrin: Tsunehiko Kamijō
 * Utsunomiya Shigefusa: Takehiro Murata
 * Hōjō Ujimasa: Goro Ibuki
 * Hōjō Ujinao: Masayoshi Haneda
 * Matsunaga Hisahide: Mickey Curtis
 * Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino: Bob Werley
 * Luís Fróis: Oziel Nozaki
 * Gaspar Coelho: Ricardo Teixeira

Books

 * NHK Taiga Drama Story Gunshi Kanbei Vol.1 ISBN 978-4-14-923345-1 (Official guide)
 * Yoichi Maekawa and Kuniko Aoki, Taiga Drama Gunshi Kanbei'', Tokyo, NHK Publishing Co., Ltd., 2014 (novelisation)