January 6 (2019-01-06) – December 15, 2019 (2019-12-15)
Idaten: Tokyo Orinpikku-banashi (いだてん〜東京オリムピック噺〜, Idaten: The Epic Marathon to Tokyo) is a Japanese historical drama television series and the 58th NHKtaiga drama. It stars Nakamura Kankurō VI and Sadao Abe as marathon runner Shiso Kanakuri and swimming coach Masaji Tabata respectively.[2][3] It began broadcasting in 2019 as part of the lead up to the 2020 Summer Olympics for which NHK was, under the Japan Consortium, principal co-host broadcaster. This drama marks the 55th anniversary of the 1964 Summer Olympics, which the NHK broadcast. It is the second post-war taiga drama in NHK history (the first was Inochi: Life in 1986) and the last series to premiere in the Heisei era and the first series to air during the Reiwa era. The series received an average rating of 8.2%, the lowest in history for a taiga drama.[4]
Plot
The drama focuses on the stories of two Japanese Olympians from different times of the 20th century: marathon runner Shiso Kanakuri, who took part in the 1912 Stockholm Summer Olympics and one of the first Japanese athletes to compete in the Games, and swimming coach Masaji Tabata, known as a founding father of Japanese swimming and was part of the successful efforts to bring the Olympics to Japan.[5]
On November 16, 2016, NHK announced that its 58th taiga drama will be about Japan's participation in the Olympic Games from 1912 up to 1964, with Kankurō Kudō as writer and Tsuyoshi Inoue as chief director.[1][7] The drama series' title, Idaten: Tokyo Orinpikku-banashi (subtitle: "A Tale of the Tokyo Olympics"), was revealed on April 4, 2017.[8]
On March 12, 2019, actor-musician Masanori "Pierre" Taki, who portrayed the role of tabi craftsman Shinsaku Kurosaka, was arrested in Tokyo due to his admission of drug use. This came after authorities searched his home in Setagaya Ward and tested him positive for cocaine use from a urine sample.[16] He was eventually replaced by Hiroki Miyake in the series.[17]
TV schedule
Shiso Kanakuri Arc
Episode
Title
Directed by
Original airdate
Rating
1
"Yoakemae" (夜明け前, Before the Dawn)
Tsuyoshi Inoue
January 6, 2019 (2019-01-06)
15.5%
2
"Botchan" (坊っちゃん)
January 13, 2019 (2019-01-13)
12.0%
3
"Bōken Sekai" (冒険世界)
Takegorō Nishimura
January 20, 2019 (2019-01-20)
13.2%
4
"Shōben Kozō" (小便小僧, Manneken Pis)
Masae Ichiki
January 27, 2019 (2019-01-27)
11.6%
5
"Ame ni mo Makezu" (雨ニモマケズ, Be not Defeated by the Rain)
Tsuyoshi Inoue
February 3, 2019 (2019-02-03)
10.2%
6
"Oedo Nihonbashi" (お江戸日本橋)
Takegorō Nishimura
February 10, 2019 (2019-02-10)
9.9%
7
"Okashina Futari" (おかしな二人, The Odd Couple)
Masae Ichiki
February 17, 2019 (2019-02-17)
9.5%
8
"Teki wa Ikuman" (敵は幾万, Thousands of Enemies)
Tsuyoshi Inoue
February 24, 2019 (2019-02-24)
9.3%
9
"Saraba Siberia Tetsudō" (さらばシベリア鉄道)
Hitoshi Ōne
March 3, 2019 (2019-03-03)
9.7%
10
"Manatsu no Yo no Yume" (真夏の夜の夢, A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Takegorō Nishimura
March 10, 2019 (2019-03-10)
8.7%
11
"Hyakunen no Kodoku" (百年の孤独, One Hundred Years of Solitude)
March 17, 2019 (2019-03-17)
8.7%
12
"Taiyō ga Ippai" (太陽がいっぱい, Purple Noon)
Masae Ichiki
March 24, 2019 (2019-03-24)
9.3%
13
"Fukkatsu" (復活, Resurrection)
Tsuyoshi Inoue
March 31, 2019 (2019-03-31)
8.5%
14
"Shinsekai" (新世界, New World)
Tsuyoshi Inoue and Hitoshi Ōne
April 14, 2019 (2019-04-14)
9.6%
15
"Aa Kekkon" (あゝ結婚, Marriage Italian Style)
Masae Ichiki
April 21, 2019 (2019-04-21)
8.7%
16
"Berlin no Kabe" (ベルリンの壁, Berlin Wall)
Hitoshi Ōne
April 28, 2019 (2019-04-28)
7.1%
17
"Itsumo Futaride" (いつも2人で, Two for the Road)
Masae Ichiki
May 5, 2019 (2019-05-05)
7.7%
18
"Ai no Yume" (愛の夢, Liebesträume)
Kensuke Matsuki
May 12, 2019 (2019-05-12)
8.7%
19
"Hakone Ekiden" (箱根駅伝)
Hitoshi Ōne
May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19)
8.7%
20
"Koi no Katamichi-Kippu" (恋の片道切符, One Way Ticket)
May 26, 2019 (2019-05-26)
8.6%
21
"Sakura no Sono" (櫻の園, The Cherry Orchard)
Takegorō Nishimura
June 2, 2019 (2019-06-02)
8.5%
22
"Venus no Tanjō" (ヴィーナスの誕生, The Birth of Venus)
Satoshi Hayashi
June 9, 2019 (2019-06-09)
6.7%
23
"Daichi" (大地, The Good Earth)
Tsuyoshi Inoue
June 16, 2019 (2019-06-16)
6.9%
24
"Tane maku Hito" (種まく人, The Sower)
Masae Ichiki
June 23, 2019 (2019-06-23)
7.8%
Masaji Tabata Arc
25
"Jidai wa Kawaru" (時代は変わる, The Times They Are a-Changin')
Tsuyoshi Inoue
June 30, 2019 (2019-06-30)
8.6%
26
"Asu naki Bōsō" (明日なき暴走, Born to Run)
Hitoshi Ōne
July 7, 2019 (2019-07-07)
7.9%
27
"Kawarime" (替り目)
July 14, 2019 (2019-07-14)
7.6%
28
"Hashire Daichi wo" (走れ大地を)
Tomohiro Kuwano
July 28, 2019 (2019-07-28)
7.8%
29
"Yume no California" (夢のカリフォルニア, California Dreamin')
Takegorō Nishimura
August 4, 2019 (2019-08-04)
7.8%
30
"Ōgon-kyō Jidai" (黄金狂時代, The Gold Rush)
Yasuko Tsuda
August 11, 2019 (2019-08-11)
5.9%
31
"Top of the World" (トップ・オブ・ザ・ワールド)
Takegorō Nishimura
August 18, 2019 (2019-08-18)
7.2%
32
"Dokusaisha" (独裁者, The Great Dictator)
Hitoshi Ōne
August 25, 2019 (2019-08-25)
5.0%
33
"Jingi naki Tatakai" (仁義なき戦い, Battles Without Honor and Humanity)
The first 13 episodes and 11 succeeding episodes of Idaten were released in separate Blu-ray box sets in Japan on April 24, 2020.[19][20] DVD edition box sets were also released on the same day.[21][22] Episodes 25 to 36 and 37 to 47 were later released in separate Blu-ray box sets as well on May 22, 2020,[23][24] along with their respective DVD versions.[25][24]
Soundtracks
Idaten Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack (Release date: March 6, 2019)[26]
Idaten Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack Part Two (Release date: July 24, 2019)[27]
Idaten Taiga Drama Original Soundtrack Final (Release date: November 20, 2019)[28]
Jigorō Kanō: We mustn't burden athletes with the pressure to win. It's about competing fairly, for peace. Competing with respect for your opponent. That's the spirit of the Olympics, just like Japan's martial arts. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 1)
Jigorō Kanō: Earlier, I dreamt of an Idaten (god of running). He was so fast. He had the legs of an antelope. The face of an elephant. Holding a victory cup. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 1)
Shiso Kanakuri: (Writing in his diary) July 6, 1912, Sunny. The day has arrived. Mishima holds the flag, I hold the placard. No other athletes on our team. A procession of two. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 2)
Shiso Kanakuri: (To Yahiko Mishima, who has lost his self-confidence after training with towering Westerners) Our one step forward is a step for all Japanese! Don't forget that. No matter how fast or slow we are, our steps have meaning! (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 2)
Portuguese Athlete: (Mourning the death of his teammate Francisco Lázaro, who has competed with Shiso Kanakuri in the marathon and collapsed during the race at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics) Lázaro... Such a poor man... Such a poor man. 42 degrees of fever. He's been rushed to the hospital. And in his death bed, he's still running. He's always running... always running... until his last breath. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 2)
Kinue Hitomi: (After losing the women's 100m sprint in semifinals at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, wildly sobbing) May I run in the 800 tomorrow? Men can go home defeated, but a woman cannot. They'll say women are no good. They'll laugh and say it's pointless to try and run like a man! I'm carrying the hopes of all female athletes. All their dreams will end because of me! (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 3)
Japanese-American Old Man: (To Masaji Tabata, just after the Japanese swimming team has won a bunch of medals at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics) Today, a white person spoke to me. What do you think he said? [...] "Are you Japanese? Congratulations!" [...] What's important is he talked to me. It's been 27 years since I came to the United States. This was the first time. A white person holding my hand, saying, "Congratulations! Congratulations!" I've never been happier in my life. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 3)
Masaji Tabata: (To Jigorō Kanō, who is adamant about holding the Olympic Games in Tokyo on schedule) I beg you. Please... Give back the Games. We can't do this. It's disrespectful to the Olympics under these circumstances. I understand how you feel. It's excruciatingly embarrassing. But know this. The only person who can do it, is you. [...] Is this the Japan you want to show the world? [...] Think of the future. Think! If you gracefully bow out now, after the war we'll have another chance. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 4)
Masaji Tabata: (As Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers and not allowed to take part in the 1948 London Olympics) I was enraged, so we held The Other Olympics. [...] Same day, same time as the swimming events. The exact same schedule. (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 5)
Masaji Tabata: (To Kazushige Hirasawa, who is not keen on Tokyo becoming the host city for the 1964 Olympics) We did some awful, disgusting things in Asia. We must do something fun for people! Too early? You must be kidding. It's almost too late! (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 5)
Kazushige Hirasawa: (At an IOC session to select the host city for the 1964 Olympics) I have here with me a textbook used by the sixth graders at Japanese primary schools. Seven pages of this textbook are devoted to an article called "The Flag with Five Circles." The article begins this way. "Olympics. Olympics. Our hearts jump a bit when we hear these words. Athletes gather from all over the world, hoisting aloft their national flags. The athletes compete against each other under the same rules and the same conditions. Peoples from widely separated parts of the world develop friendship while vying for victory. It might be said that the Olympic Games form the biggest festival of youth dedicated to peace." Is this not the time for the fifth continent represented by the Olympic Circles to let the Olympic Games come to the continent Asia? (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 5)
Masaji Tabata: (To Yukiaki Iwata, watching together the closing ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where the athletes rush the field, sometimes arm in arm or riding piggyback, in a disorganized and chaotic spectacle) Iwata, once more, I need to... express my gratitude. Thank you. It was perfect! They were my Olympics. Now they're everybody's! (IDATEN The Epic Marathon to Tokyo: Episode 6)
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