The Unfettered Shogun
Set in the 18th century, the show follows the Shogun Yoshimune, who likes to disguise himself as a low-ranking samurai and go into his capital of Edo to see the life of the common man, as well as to seek out and punish evildoers who would hurt his citizens. He is aided by Magistrate Oo'oka and a vivacious fireman, Tatsugoro, as well as a rotating cast of other recurring characters.
Along with Zenigata Heiji and Mito Kōmon, it ranks among the longest-running series in the jidaigeki genre. Like so many other jidaigeki, it falls in the category of kanzen-chōaku, loosely, "rewarding good and punishing evil."
Episodes207
The Star of Edo
Roughhousing daimyo Tokugawa Yoshimune of Kishu reluctantly becomes the Shogun so that he may bring prosperity to everyone in the country. On his procession to Edo Palace, he runs into his old friend Tatsugoro, and a little girl begging for a pardon for her father on death row. Yoshimune decides to sneak out of Edo Palace and do a little detective work.
The Remarkable Charlatan
Ogyu Shosen is called a quack doctor, but Yoshimune thinks he should be made surgeon-general.
The First Fireman Banner
Hatamoto firemen are causing a nuisance and thieving in town, so fiery Tatsugoro and his gang of construction workers aim to take them down.
Mother From Long Past
A hatamoto's spoiled brat daughter is in the habit of thieving and blaming it on commoners. Meanwhile, Yoshimune becomes preternaturally obsessed with a den-den taiko (a type of child's toy).
Spring in the O'oku
The Splendid Potato Samurai
The Man of River Styx
The Befouled Truncheon
The Chivalrous Thief
The Blossoming Meyasubako
The Finest Kiyari Song
The Amazing Kishu Woman
Yoshimune's old friend from Kishu, a female lumberjack, comes to Edo to engage in lumber trade, but gets in trouble.
The Perilous Souvenir Gift
Yoshimune's old friends from Kishu, Sakichi and Onatsu of the lumber store, are leaving town, so Yoshimune comes to bring them a present. He ends up getting in the way of a drug bust and is mistaken for a drug dealer.
The Golden Crow Charms
Fireman Genzo wins the lottery, but is then reported to the police for having a forged ticket.
The Quack Who Calls Forth Spring
Even though he has been made surgeon-general, nobody trusts Ogawa Shosen or Yoshimune's city hospital. Yoshimune decides to get himself admitted as Shin-san to investigate from within.
Showdown at Beautiful Yoshiwara
Love and the Guardian Deity
Satsuma domain bully a store that is in their debt by trying to steal the storekeeper's girlfriend, and by framing them for theft. Only a man of stone can save Tamba-ya from destruction!
The Beat of a Taiko Drum in Edo
Yoshimune really wants to attend a festival in Edo, but he has important business to attend to in the palace. Jii says he can go out as long as he is back by 4 PM. This doesn't seem likely, since Yoshimune gets involved in a big fistfight and village drama.
A Ballad of a Fireman
Tatsugoro's family is indebted to a samurai family, so Tatsugoro gives the samurai family his very best fireman to adopt, since the samurai have no heir of their own. The other samurai do not like him.
Iris and Sympathy
Fireman's Standard was Watching
Friendships Support the World
Rage of the Fishmonger
The Dreadful Shichi-ri Messengers
Heavens! Great Trouble in Edo
The Drunken Man Who was Promoted
The Woman Who Challenged the Yagyu Family
A Flower Blooms in the Dark
The Goofiest Pickpocket in Edo
The Misjudged Betrayer
The Woman Who Disappeared from the Hunting Ground
The Best Announcement of the Winner in Japan
Ryuko and Isonokaze were sumo wrestlers for a clan who tried to make them throw a match. Ryuko hides out at the fire house and meets Shin-san, who is very excitable and really, really wants to wrestle him. Eventually Shin-san learns of the wrestling drama that is unfolding...
A Daimyo's Famed Shiruko Restaurant
A certain han ruled by a child lord is having money trouble, so one of the han's samurai starts a sweet bean soup restaurant to try and raise funds. The samurai has some trouble getting customers...
The Women Who Dance in a Tempest
The Bride with an Explosive
A land reclamation project is taking place largely with Shogunate funds, carried out by contract with 2 companies (which are marrying their kids together as the ultimate symbol of the contract). One of the companies invents a bomb with a long fuse, to blow up a mountainous area in the reclamation zone. The other company decides to assassinate the first company, and steals the bomb...
The Deceiving Mole Under a Woman's Eye
Feel Her Heart
The Woman Who Challenged Her Master
A Sweet Snare from RyuKyu
Go! The Prodogy of the Commoners
Hara-Kiri! The Drunkard Magistrate
A Hot Man and a Brazen Hussy
The Shogun's Secret Ninja
Female ninja Osono's dad Seiemon comes to town. He is now a cotton-farming country samurai. Needs dried sardines for fertilizer. The hatamoto of sardineland is driving the fishermens' prices down so all the farmers secretly sell to Seiemon. The merchant tries to assassinate Seiemon and fails, since Seiemon is a ninja. Seiemon stays at the firehouse and plans to secretly assassinate the criminals, then kill himself, because he's depressed.
Fresh Blood on the Bestowed Sword
The Counterfeit Coins and the Candy Man
A man makes little pretty sugar candies for kids and tells funny stories. He used to be a counterfeiter because of his great manual dexterity, but vowed to turn his life around. Shin-san becomes interested in candy just when the guy's old friends force him to counterfeit again...
A Grand New Year's Gift
The Female Doctor with a Fist
Edo is invigorated by an unusually aggressive and outspoken female doctor, Oshino, who physically beats her patients if they do not obey her.
Hell in the Heavenly Bath
The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword
The Great Packed Lunch of a Woman
The Bride of the Fish Market
The Downfall of Ooka Echizen No Kami
A bad gang leader kidnaps Tadasuke's wife (who never appeared before or since), as she went to the shrine to pray for a baby. Tadasuke decides that justice outweighs his bride and prepares to prosecute the gang leader anyway, so Shin-san lets the prisoner go secretly to try and follow him to Tadasuke's bride...
The Best Dry Sake for Mother and Son
Clannish Edoite sake sellers turn against a travelling Osakan female sake seller to force her out of the market; only her long-lost son, an Edoite sake seller, can save her.
The Female Doctor Who Loves Money
Oshino, the female doctor with a fist, is in charge of a temple that gives free medical service to orphans, but it is reputed that she is stealing all the money instead.
This Small Incident Occured Ten Years Ago
Shoheiko, the official Shogunate college, has an admissions scandal where the bureaucrats turn out to have been accepting bribes for admissions. Yoshimune suggests opening it to commoners and calls up some obscure scholars; the vicious bureaucrats attack and kill one. Shin-san absolutely loses his mind, but Tatsugoro is there to give him a helping hand.
The Man Who Died in the Light Snowfalls in Spring
Ryuko's friend is killed by a rice wholesaler. Shin-san investigates this and discovers a whole sordid rice-based drama, including collective punishment, famine, and assassination.
Eliminations of Black Sheep
The Best Cherry Blossom Dance in Edo
The Firemen's Standard is the Firemen's Heart and Soul
Only the Sun Knew
The Perished Love in a Spring Storm
A Single Flower in the Dark
The Fallen Flower in the Game of Chance
Holding a Fire Standard for a Spear
The Troublesome Tea Urn Trip
Daruma Smiled on Joshu Road
Commissioner Ooka Committs Hara-Kiri!
A Bogus Complaint
Very Proud of the Celebrated Sword
An unbalanced ronin wants to become the sword teacher to a daimyo, so he can get enough money to buy back his really sexy sword from the pawn shop. However, a competitor attacks him, crippling the ronin's hand. Shin-san is really mad about this, even though the ronin attacked him earlier.
A Loach Pot Rather Than A Domain
The Best Godfather in Japan
Revenge Colored with Safflowers
A pregnant safflower farmer's husband is run over by the local lord's horse. She's lured to the daikan's office to get compensated but is raped and turned into the lord's concubine instead. She schemes to have herself murdered so Ooka Echizen will enter the manor and discover these great crimes.
A Man Passionate About the Snow on Mount Fuji
A kind but untalented kitchen-supervisor samurai is assigned to accompany his domain's gift to the Shogun: big blocks of ice. Shin-san, tramping around Shinjuku, accidentally discovers this delivery and starts accompanying it too, and discovers a rival domain is trying to kill the ice to humiliate the first domain.
Kick the Edo Illness Out!
A mysterious illness (beriberi) becomes common and Yoshimune calls his doctor to find out what the cause is. His doctor says only his own special blend of medicine (very expensive) can cure it. Oshino, the female doctor with a fist, however, believes the solution is more simple (and involves punching people).
Gorozaemon Kano's Disappearance
Kano Gorozaemon, who is practically Yoshimune's adoptive father, goes out into Edo to get a surprise present for the Shogun, and is kidnapped by a nutter who wants to frame him for murder to steal his job.
Suspicion Begets Idle Fears
A lord lets 3 master ghost actresses into his house as maids, somehow doesn't connect this with supernatural happenings in his house.
The Bride That Came From Kishu
Kikue, the daughter of a potter, comes to Edo and meets her old friend Shin-san, who she recognizes as the Shogun. She came to marry Kano Gorozaemon, who proposed to her when she was eight (??!) but Kano backed out.
A Man Hunting the Whole Country
The Ogobanshu (kind of like a guild of hatamotos) want to hunt, but in setting the borders of the hunting area they recklessly steal the corner of a VERY sensitive farmer's farm.
Peerless! The Taste of Momma
Matsumae domain officials and the store Ebisu-ya are conspiring to give predatory loans to alcohol shops. Lady merchant Omasa from Osaka wants to get a better deal, and her son unfortunately took the debt from his main sake supplier, so now she needs to get money to save both their skins.
The Direct Retainers of the Shogun Run Wild
Hatamotos, a domain, a runaway killer samurai from the domain, the firemen, and jii for some reason, all end up in a gigantic free for all fight.
Heroes in the Darkness
Angelic Neighborhood Bully
Thief Targeting the Nation
O-sai Flies!
Mount Fuji Saw The Wild Spear
The Shogun Permitted a Thief
Bullet Aiming At 8 Million Koku
Burn! Even If You Must Die
Embarrased To Recieve Flowers in Congratulation
Beast Battle! Master Tatsugoro
Duel! In the Stormy Castle
Cheers! Quack Doctor
The Will of the Raging Samurai
The Lanterns of Early Spring and Noon Emerge
I Saw a Rainbow in the Sea of Flames
Get the Vermin Out of the Castle!
I Don't Need a Mother!
The Girl From the Wolf Village
A Dohyori of Fire!
The Fake Shogun
The Eight Million Koku Porter
The Collector Who Collected the Villain's Head
Catastrophe! We Shouldn't Have Gotten Out of the Way!
Japan's Most Wanted Bride
Stop! Uncontrolled Official Carriage
What is a Shogun?
Watch Out! A Female Spy
The Man Who Gives Orders to the Shogun!
Snacks Delight on a Sunny Day
Youth of Edo, Stand Up!
Love Blossoms in Ubasuteyama!
The Proud and Naive Samurai
The Man Who Didn't Stop
I Saw the Real One! The Hayabusa Brat
Beware of the Quick Bucks
The Man Who Died and Flourished
Courage in the Face of Injustice
Thief Training
The Fox Woman Cries, the Banner of Empathy
The Princess Take - Tears from a Wedding Procession
The Flourishing of the Female Bushido
The Sad Song of the South
The New Boss! - Osai, of the Fire Extinguisher
The One Who Stood Out After Being at Risk of Drowning
Floating Lanterns That Mark a New Beginning in a Man's Life
Love Sold for 20,000 Ryu
The Trap in the Wolf Village
Melancholy Ninja Love
Dad, You Used to Be Someone
My Childhood Friend is an Oku Woman
There was a Bullet in the Clam Chowder!
Run! The Shogun's Horse!
Listen! The Chronicles of the Old Man and the Young Master
A Silly Dance in an Oily Hell
Duel on the Steam of Hell
The Woman Who Bet on the Mountain of Fire
Edo's Female Chief
Hakone's Melancholic Drizzle
The One Who Flirted Was to Blame
The Wild Spear Everyone Fears
The Bandit Harusame's Mother
Munenryu Shintoism and Confucianism According to the Hayashi Clan
I Am the Most Unpleasant Person in the World
Shin-san accidentally gets involved with two low-class thieving morons, to Tatsugoro's horror. Tatsugoro finally manages to get rid of them, and one of them is promptly killed by evil ninjas for having seen something he should not have. Yoshimune learns they were raising a bunch of orphans in an awful shack with their scammed money, and decides he must avenge the dead criminal.
One Life For One Isshou of Shochu
The Silent Man's Divorce Letter
Ah! Justice Has Tears!
Megumi Clan's Love Bridge
Japan's Number One Little Thief
Tops Spinning Beneath a False Union
The White Waves That Shame the Flowers
Sado, the Shining Yellow
The Shogun, the Horse Thief, and the Brat
When a Man Sparks
The Love That Blooms Inside a Coffin
I Don't Want to Be the Shogun's Bride
Jongara with a Munen-Ryu Kid
The Cursed Box of 1000 Ryos
Hell's Bells Ring at 6.00 p.m
Rest in Peace, Onaka - The Flowing Lanterns
The Flowers That Fall Without Waiting for Spring
The One Who Smiled in the End
The Blooming Ginseng Flower That the Firefighter's Matoi Made Flourish
The Cowardly Samurai Who Made a Demon Woman Cry
Break the Chains of the Heart With Human Kindness
Whose Ungrateful Son is it
Promise of the Bell the Girl With Bangs and a Sword
The Decisive Duel of the Lantern Samurai
Legitimate Marital Fight
Clear Sky - The Hungry Lancer
The Duel! Blood in the Fuefuki River of Koshu
Burning Tears of the Traitor
The Flower in the Shadow That Made a Man Bloom
Waves of the Seto Maiden
Onomichi - Sunset of Revenge
The Million Kokus Dependent
The Bond of Hatred Between Father and Daughter
The Morning When Demons Wept
The Bet For the Dance Fan in the Sumo Ring
The Samurai Tanuki Performs a Great Feat
The Man Who Steals While Preaching
Oath of Brothers
The One Who Eats From the Table and the One Who Doesn't
The Night Flower That Blooms Once
The Man Who Danced in the Shadows
The Man Who Danced in the Shadows
The Love Story of a Man and His Taiko Drum
Sorry, Shogun! The Change of a Monk
Call of the Storm! The Bride From Megumi
The Heart of a Mother That Made Demons Cry
The Number One Rain Man in Japan
Cold Wind of Yoshiwara, Tears of a Woman
Laughter and Tears, The Dramatic Life of the People of Kawachi
The First Snow is the Make-Up of the Dead of a Sad Woman
The Poor and Nameless Grass
The Fragrance of the Sea, Tastes Like Mama
Why Sadness in Sharing an Umbrella?
A Remora That is More Frightening Than a Pufferfish
Sadness. Fallen Flowers of Those Who Stay
The Villain Who Laughed Last
Laughter and Tears, Three Girls From Edo
The Greatest Achievement of a Drunken Jitte
The Tale of the Fame of the Fool Kanpachi
The Flower That Disappeared in an Avalanche
Farewell Flower, Night Gust
Spring Has Come Again! Spouses' Kanzashi
You're a Child. Don't Cry, Torokichi!