Sanada Maru (TV series)

Sanada Maru (真田丸) is a 2016 Japanese historical drama television series and the 55th NHK taiga drama. The series is named after the Sanada Maru, a fortification defended by Sanada during the Siege of Osaka in 1615. Written by Kōki Mitani, it stars Masato Sakai as the samurai Sanada Nobushige. It premiered on January 10, 2016 and concluded on December 18, 2016.

Due to declining viewership for taiga dramas in recent years, NHK strengthened its marketing push for Sanada Maru as compared with its previous taiga dramas.

Plot
The drama focuses on the history of the Sanada clan during the Sengoku period in Japan, and in particular on Sanada Nobushige, who would go on to become one of the legendary commanders of the period.

Sanada clan

 * Masato Sakai as Sanada Nobushige, also known as Sanada Yukimura
 * Yo Oizumi as Sanada Nobuyuki, Nobushige's older brother
 * Masao Kusakari as Sanada Masayuki, Nobushige's father
 * Masami Nagasawa as Kiri, Nobushige's childhood friend
 * Yoshino Kimura as Matsu, Nobushige's sister
 * Atsuko Takahata as Kaoru, Nobushige's mother
 * Mitsuko Kusabue as Tori, Nobushige's grandmother
 * Susumu Terajima as Ideura Masasuke
 * Takashi Fujii as Sasuke, a ninja in the service of Nobushige
 * Takeo Nakahara as Takanashi Naiki, Kiri's father
 * Takahiro Fujimoto as Hotta Sakubei
 * Haru Kuroki as Ume, Nobushige's first wife
 * Yuri Tsunematsu as Sue (teen), Nobushige and Ume's daughter
 * Seishuu Uragami as Sanada Daisuke, Nobushige and Haru's son
 * Nanako Ōde as Ume, Nobushige and Haru's daughter
 * Yukino Kishii as Taka, Nobushige's third wife
 * Takaya Sakoda as Yazawa "Sanjūrō" Yoriyuki
 * Wataru Takagi as Oyamada Shigemasa, Matsu's husband
 * Satomi Nagano as Kō, Nobuyuki's first wife
 * Hideo Kurihara as Sanada Nobutada, younger brother of Masayuki
 * Toshiki Ayata as Yazawa Yoritsuna
 * Hiroki Konno as Yohachi
 * Yasuhiro Ōno as Kawara Tsunaie
 * Masashi Ōyama as Sanada Nobumasa
 * Ryōhei Hirota as Sanada Nobuyoshi
 * Akiko Yagi as Ono Otsū
 * Ryō Katō as Ishiai Jūzō, Sue's husband
 * Hanamaru Hakata as Saizō
 * Kunihiro Matsumura as Seikai Nyūdō
 * Tomohiro Waki as Isa Nyūdō
 * Yoshiaki Umegaki as Kamanosuke
 * Taku Suzuki as Jūzō
 * Hideto Iwai as Jinpachi
 * Yūma Yamoto as Rokurō

Tokugawa clan

 * Seiyō Uchino as Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobushige's the most powerful nemesis
 * Masaomi Kondō as Honda Masanobu, a strategist for Ieyasu
 * Gen Hoshino as Tokugawa Hidetada
 * Seiko Niizuma as Ogō, Hidetada's wife
 * Yuki Saito as Lady Acha
 * Hiroshi Fujioka as Honda Tadakatsu, Nobuyuki's father-in-law
 * Yō Yoshida as Inahime, also known as Komatsuhime, Tadakatsu's daughter, Nobuyuki's wife & Nobushige's sister in-law
 * Masayuki Itō as Ishikawa Kazumasa
 * Kenji Hamatani as Hattori Hanzō
 * Kōichi Ōhori as Torii Mototada
 * Takaaki Itō as Honda Masazumi

Pro-Tokugawa daimyōs


 * Takuya Ōga as Kuroda Nagamasa
 * Macchu Saitō as Asano Yoshinaga
 * Isao Sano as Hachisuka Iemasa
 * Seiji Hino as Tōdō Takatora

Toyotomi clan

 * Fumiyo Kohinata as Toyotomi Hideyoshi
 * Kyōka Suzuki as Nei, Hideyoshi's wife
 * Yūko Takeuchi as Yodo-dono, Hideyoshi's concubine
 * Taishi Nakagawa as Toyotomi Hideyori, Hideyoshi's son
 * Sera Ishida as young Hideyori
 * Mei Nagano as Senhime, Hideyori's wife
 * Koji Yamamoto as Ishida Mitsunari, the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara
 * Kataoka Ainosuke VI as Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Mitsunari's ally, Nobushige's father-in-law
 * Mayu Matsuoka as Haru, also known as Chikurin-in, Yoshitsugu's daughter, Nobushige's wife
 * Takamasa Tamaki as Shima Sakon
 * Katsura Bunshi VI as Sen no Rikyū
 * Takashi Kobayashi as Katagiri Katsumoto, negotiator with the Tokugawa shogunate
 * Shinya Niiro as Toyotomi Hidetsugu
 * Hirofumi Arai as Katō Kiyomasa, loyal vassal to the Toyotomi clan
 * Motoki Fukami as Fukushima Masanori
 * Yōsuke Asari as Kobayakawa Hideaki
 * Kento Saitō as young Hideaki
 * Rie Minemura as Lady Ōkura-kyō
 * Yoshimasa Kondo as Hirano Nagayasu
 * Tomohiko Imai as Ōno Harunaga
 * Masa Yamada as Naka, Hideyoshi's mother
 * Tetsuya Chiba as Toyotomi Hidenaga
 * Michiko Shimizu as Asahi-hime
 * Nahoko Yoshimoto as Uta, Mitsunari's wife
 * Arisa Nakajima as Yoshino Tayū
 * Kazuya Takahashi as Ukita Hideie
 * Mitsuki Horikoshi as Toyotomi Hidekatsu
 * Ryō Mitsuya as Toyotomi Hideyasu
 * Hirara Hayasaka as Toyotomi Tsurumatsu
 * Masayuki Kizu as Natsuka Masaie
 * Shinya Kote as Ban Naoyuki, aka Ban Dan'emon
 * Jun Inoue as Oda Urakusai
 * Voice Yoshida as Tachibana Gonza
 * Shoko Haida as Ohatsu, Yodo's sister
 * Ben Hiura as Ōsumi Yozaemon
 * "The Seven Generals of Hideyori"
 * Kenji Anan as Chōsokabe Morichika
 * Kenichi Okamoto as Mōri Katsunaga
 * Show Aikawa as Gotō Matabei
 * Kensaku Kobayashi as Akashi Teruzumi
 * Shunya Shiraishi as Kimura Shigenari
 * Kozo Takeda as Ōno Harufusa
 * and Sanada Yukimura

Uesugi clan

 * Kenichi Endō as Uesugi Kagekatsu
 * Shingo Murakami as Naoe Kanetsugu, Kagekatsu’s right‐hand man
 * Yasuyuki Maekawa as Kasuga Nobutatsu

Later Hōjō clan

 * Masanobu Takashima as Hōjō Ujimasa
 * Yoshihiko Hosoda as Hōjō Ujinao
 * Atsushi Yamanishi as Itabeoka Kōsetsusai

Shinano Province

 * Masahiko Nishimura as Muroga Masatake
 * Kenichi Ishii as Kiso Yoshimasa

Takeda clan

 * Takehiro Hira as Takeda Katsuyori
 * Takaaki Enoki as Anayama Baisetsu
 * Kunishirō Hayashi as Takeda Shingen (Ghost)
 * Yōichi Nukumizu as Oyamada Nobushige
 * Takuo Inari as Atobe Katsusuke
 * Kōji Hatta as Oyamada Hachizaemon

Oda clan

 * Kōtarō Yoshida as Oda Nobunaga
 * Yasunori Danta as Takigawa Kazumasu
 * Reo Tamaoki as Oda Nobutada
 * Hisafumi Iwashita as Akechi Mitsuhide
 * Kenji Matsuda as Nagasaki Motoie
 * Tanida Ayumi as Mori Nagayoshi

Date clan

 * Tomoharu Hasegawa as Date Masamune
 * Asahi Yoshida as Katakura Kagetsuna

Maeda clan

 * Katsuya Kobayashi as Maeda Toshiie, a member of the council of Five Elders
 * Masayuki Yorozu as Maeda Toshinaga

Mōri clan

 * Naoki Asaji as Mōri Terumoto, a member of the council of Five Elders

Hosokawa clan

 * Toshihiro Yashiba as Hosokawa Tadaoki
 * Manami Hashimoto as Hosokawa Gracia

Others

 * Matsumoto Kōshirō IX as Luzon Sukezaemon (from 1978 taiga drama Ōgon no Hibi)
 * Sylvia Grab as Izumo no Okuni
 * Kenji Mizuhashi as Kichizō
 * Jun Uemoto as Seikan
 * Ryō Kinomoto as Chōbei
 * Makoto Miyashita as Takemoto Gidayū
 * Makoto Tsuchiya
 * Kazuya Kojima as Muroga Kyūdayū, the son of Muroga Masatake

Production
Production Credits
 * Music – Takayuki Hattori
 * Titling – Shūhei Hasado
 * Historical research – Motoki Kuroda, Masaru Hirayama, Kazuhiro Marushima
 * Architectural research – Kiyoshi Hirai
 * Clothing research – Hiroaki Koizumi
 * Sword fight arranger - Kunishirō Nakagawa

Casting
NHK chose to cast Masato Sakai for the lead role of Sanada Nobushige, a samurai of the Sengoku period. Minoru Kubota of the Yomiuri Shimbun assumes that this is in part to increase viewership for the historical series after years of declining audience numbers for taiga dramas, as Sakai was a popular actor in the dramas he previously starred in.

Marketing
Due to the decline in viewers of NHK's taiga dramas, which is especially seen in the historically low ratings of preceding taiga drama Hana Moyu in 2015, the public broadcaster strengthened its effort to market Sanada Maru in order for viewership to increase. Locations that were to be depicted in the taiga drama were featured in travel-themed programs such as Tsurube's Salute to Families and Bura Tamori, which also featured actors from Sanada Maru as guests. History-themed documentaries and discussion programs covered the historical background of the drama. Lead actor Sakai was sent out by NHK to major media outlets for interviews, though he was found to be uncooperative in many of them, as questions would focus on his personal life instead of his new role in the drama.

Soundtracks

 * Sanada Maru NHK Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack (February 24, 2016)
 * Sanada Maru NHK Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack II (July 20, 2016)
 * Sanada Maru NHK Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack III (November 9, 2016)
 * Sanada Maru NHK Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack: The Best (December 21, 2016)