The "Bookmarks of Fuji Tour" featured in "Dousuru Ieyasu"

So, past week aired the episode of Dousuru Ieyasu dedicated to the Honnoji Incident that closed the events dedicated to Nobunaga. Unfortunately the western fans of Jun Matsumoto decided that producing subs of this drama wasn't worth their time, so no subs are available and RAWs are stuck to episode 19, meaning that I have no way to review its Nobunaga ;_;

Anyway, the official site and SNS are active about promoting the drama and sharing stuff, so I can offer you guys something to enjoy.

In this article, I'd like to explore the fictional booklet dedicated to the tour of Mount Fuji area that Ieyasu entertained Nobunaga with in the 26th episode of the drama, "Casual Fuji Excursion". The booklet was compiled under the supervision of researchers Yasushi Ohishi and Yoshihiko Sata, following the events narrated in the Shinchoukoki.

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓻ Kyoto 後編

And here we are for the last day of this challenge that celebrates Nobunaga's birthday!

Eheh, you are surprised, aren't you? For this "Kyoto Final Part" I didn't pick the Honnoji Incident but another event that I favoured over the expected tragedy-- The Parade of the 28th Day, 2nd Month of Tensho 9. I used the description from the The Chronicles of Lord Nobunaga by Elisonas and Lamers and I want to focus on two details.

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓺ Nobunaga - Daitokuji Ver.

Ah, almost done with this year's celebration of Nobunaga's birthday!

Today I interpreted another famous portrait of Nobunaga: This is preserved at Daitokuji, and a copy of this painting dating the Edo period could be seen at Soukenji.

More Demonic Nobunaga! He's the "boss" in "Tousouchuu: Great Mission"!

I decided to go back to my usual otaku self, and during the current anime season I decided to watch as many anime as possible.

One of those is the actually mediocre Tousouchuu: Great Mission (逃走中 グレートミッション, On the Run: Great Mission, also anglicized as Run for the Money: Great Mission), that I was curious to watch because of certain premises. --Anyway, as I was lazing it off, Nobunaga appeared on screen!

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓹ Nobunaga - Kobe City Museum Ver.

It's a bit late, but I still managed to contribute a new Nobunaga portrait for 5 weeks straingh!

Today's picture celebrates Nobunaga in his maturity. This was presented to a temple in Azuchi, and like in the previous portrait, it was released some time after his death.
Currently it's preserved at the Kobe City Museum.

THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY (2023)

So, I finally managed to watch THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY, the TOEI colossal featuring Kimura Nobunaga! Looks like the movie was featured in the Far East Film Festival this year, promptly followed by an international released over Amazon Prime Video! Lucky!

Ok, this movie is a perfect example of the "Watch before you speak" attitude that should be our first priority in judging media.
Is this historically correct? No.
Is it politically correct? Maybe, but probably no.
Is it a "feel good" Sengoku movie? No, by any means.
So, is it a good movie worth watching? Yes, oh, yes, it's quite good. As long as you pay attention and read through the lines.

PLEASE MIND THE SPOILERS. If you didn't watch this yet and plan to do, ignore this review for now.

COOMODEL is on a Nobunaga spree! New figure dedicated to Takuya Kimura!

So, as I was drawing this Nobunaga, I stumbled on a serie of new Nobunaga figures by COOMODEL!
Apparently this "Oda Nobunaga 2.0" is inspired by the performance of Kimura in THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY: As you see it's a renewal of their first Nobunaga figure, with the addition of Kimura's head.
I was a bit perplexed because the figures (it's four of them!) don't appear on their official website, but I assume this was a release limited to Taobao only. This wasn't the first time they collaborated with the platform for exclusive releases.

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓸ Nobunaga - Chokoji Ver.

Continuing the celebrations of Nobunaga birthday with an original artwork 'til June 23!

At first I intended to draw my version of Nobunaga from popolar dramas, then I decided to go with something more "cultural" instead, and picked his most famous portraits.
The first one, of course, it's the portrait of Nobunaga preserved at Chokoji Temple, in Toyota. I tried to interpret the artwork as to portray a lively Nobunaga, just how I imagine he was in his daily life.

Those who betray and those who don't--

Kento Iwasaki shared this picture on his Twitter to promote an exhibition dedicated to the relationship between Nobunaga and Ieyasu, fueled by the current taiga drama Dousuru Ieyasu and probably the upcoming Kubi--
"What the heck is this?! Interesting!!"

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓷ Kyoto 前編

Still celebrating Nobunaga's Birthday and training with traditional artworks!

I apologize if this picture is not so different from the previous one, but I wanted to focus on Nobunaga's expression and mood, this time.
On November 1968, Nobunaga marched on Kyoto to instaurate the shogunate of Yoshiaki Ashigaka after the betrayal of the Miyoshi & Co. When people compare Nobunaga to Cao Cao, probably this event is what came to their mind first: the military authority settled "a puppet" and governed in their stead. I'm not sure this was the intention of Nobunaga, but I believe he was quite aware of what this act meant. Nobunaga was in 34 in this period. I was quite aware of my place in the world when I was 34 too, I realized that I had no way to make my wishes come true, unless I started to fight for them. "Fighting" meant "work hard, work harder" and on the opposite of Nobunaga, I could give it up and survive in some other way. Nobunaga didn't have this choice. He wished for a peaceful land to live a better life, to allow his subordinates to live a better life.

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓶ Okehazama

Going on with my tribute to Nobunaga Birthday event! Every week, from May 12 to June 23, I'll produce an original artwork dedicated to our favourite demon lord!

For this second picture of this serie, I decided to go with Okehazama, an event that in my opinion marked the "Lost of Innocence" of nobunaga, that for the first time had to face a huge external threat. It's a legendary battle that evokes all kind of feelins and imageries, event contraddictions and contrasts of interpretations... A carefully planned attack? A matter of good luck? Was it all about the skills of the lord, the ability of his armies, the mastery of the locals--?
It's a battle that it's still surrounded by mystery and doubts, and it's still a source of clatter in the community.

Personally, I decided to draw Okehazama mostly because of the current rainy weather... Apparently it was raining in the eve of the battle, too. "Battaglia bagnata, battaglia fortunata", maybe--?

Another movie featuring Nobunaga-- "Kubi" by Takeshi Kitano!

--I got to know about Nobunaga movies always by accident! This time it's about Kubi (首,"Neck"), based on a novel by Beat Takeshi. Feels like a controversial movie that could be just presented as a premiere at Cannes rather than partecipating the festival... The story circles around the betrayal of Araki Murashige, and follows Shinzaemon and the farmer Shigesuke in a spiral of events that would lead to the Honniji Incident.

NOBUNAGA BIRTHDAY PROJECT ⓵ Younger Days

Today it's May 12, a day that marks "one" of Nobunaga's birthdays.
Past year, I took my time to celebrate it through some articles dedicated to the character, this year I want to try the "artistic route". I'm getting quite rusty with my traditional art skillz, so I'm trying to sketch something with watercolours and coloured pencils to keep myself "trained" :) I decided to paint some Nobunaga's portraits, then, trying to capture the character during the years or in certain media depictions-- This year challenge is drawing a new Nobu every week, then!

Let's start with a Nobu from his younger days! A popular period of his life when it comes to fans preferences and the funniest to draw for sure! Nobunaga eating persimmons (yummy!) is one of my favourite themes, this is probably my second portrait of him doing so-- This time I tried a more "realistic" approach, though... Sorry if this is quite rough, but I really felt like experimenting a bit with the medium here--

Looking at him, he looks more like a monkey Hideyoshi rather than a Nobu 😅

One, No One-- Definitely more than Three?! A peek to the "Three Nobunagas" pamphlet!

--I realize how foolish it is to talk about movies that I didn't watch, but by now you are aware that I like to collect such items, as these various depictions of Nobunaga amuse me despite my actual experience about them, which is, in most cases, for obvious reasons, impossible!
Today's piece is quite significative in this sense, as I want to browse with you one of my last acquisitions, the pamphlet of the Three Nobunagas (3人の信長, Sannin no Nobunaga) movie, released in 2019. This looks like a fun comedy that plays on the exact issue of historiography: that nobody really knows "who" a historical figure "really" is, despite their importance or significance in history.

"THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY" Costumes Exhibitions!

Being late to the party, I'm now trying to catch up with the interesting bits of THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY. ^{Credits: 岡山城天守閣 @Twitter}
As you could imagine, one of these involves costumes, or, more specifically, the costume exhibitions that happened around Japan to promote the movie.

Oooh... Nobunaga Signature Tempura from Gifu...

--I wanted to make some smartass post about the THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY historical bits but I got easily distracted by one of my greatest passions-- FOOD! Looks like Yaganase Tempura Club is offering a special "Nobunaga Legend Don" during the period of the movie screening in the close-by CINEX theatre.

--Guess who's on the cover of the March Issue of "Rekishijin" 😅

Speaking of how medias are used to bend historical events to fanciful tropes to attract customers, the last released issue of Rekishijin (歴史人) features Kimura Nobunaga on its cover: The main article of the issue revolves around "Sengoku Legends", or those historical characters considered "heroes" for a reason or another. It offers a ranking, too.
Also, it looks like this is the first time that a celebrity hits the cover of the magazine.

Ah, the world of historical divulgation is so dirty∼

NHK+ × Shibuya "Dousuru Ieyasu" Exhibition Virtual Tour! A few considerations on Nobunaga costumes∼

Ok, I wanted to stop babbling about Dousuru Ieyasu for a bit, but a friend sent me some pics from the exhibition in Shibuya she was attending and that reminded me of the virtual tour available on the official site of NHK+! So, here are a few considerations about the exhibition with a focus on-- Nobunaga costumes, both in the exhbition and during the series!

"THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY" debuts on the big screen! A few pictures and the first reviews!

So, it looks like some blissful soul is subbing Dousuru Ieyasu-- As I wait for the episodes for my final review later this year (I guess Nobunaga won't be around for too much... My optimistic prevision is for a maximum of 20 episodes), let's talk about "Kimura Nobunaga"! The movie THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY (レジェンド＆バタフライ), in fact, debuted in theatres yesterday!

Setting my eyes on some vintage Nobunaga manga...

I have to limit my Nobu collection, but I have a soft spot for vintage mangas (expecially when it comes to children literature), and sometimes I find myself lurking on certain titles.
Here are the ones that intrigue me the most at the moment∼

Nobunaga's spot looks like some demonic nest-- As "Dousuru Ieyasu" offers us some delicacies again.

Episode 2 of Dousuru Ieyasu was out past Sunday, and here we got more extensive flashbacks from Iey-Moyoyasu's traumatic childhood! --With a twist!

"Oda... Nobunaga?!" It's a nightmarish first appearance for Nobunaga in "Dousuru Ieyasu"!

I managed to check the first episode of Dousuru Ieyasu (still RAW, though!) and I found it-- well, interesting. I had some mixed feelings but I got that impression with Kamakura-dono no 13nin too. To be honest I like the audacity to play around with history this way, at least when it comes to fiction.
--I guess I'm getting old!

Anyway, the episode starts with the Battle Of Okehazama and the life of young Ieyasu Motoyasu. As our boy struggles to get hold of the new lifestyle in Mikawa and the battlefield, he's struck with the death of Imagawa, here portrayed as his "benefactor", for a change.

We're suddendly thrown into a nightmarish vision where Nobunaga shows off the scalp (?!) of his enemy while throttling triumpanthly:

New stage-play by Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai scheduled for late March 2023∼

Looks like a new stage play is in the making for the Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai. It's going to be an updated edition of Believe, a popular play of the 90s by PLANET PISTACCIO (惑星ピスタチオ) , and original author Nishida Shatner (西田シャトナー) is going to take care of direction and script!
BELIEVE2023 - The Six Overlords (Believe2023六人の覇王) is scheduled for performance at Nagoya City Performing Arts Center on the last weekend of March.

The plot revolves around Nobunaga getting hold of an history book left behind in the Sengoku Era by a time-traveller --This gives him the chance to change history!!
I found this one-man version of the show featuring Yasumura Yamato (Japanese), if you're interested in more precise contents.

--I hope this time some pamphlet would be available :(

"Kirin ga kuru" NHK Taiga Drama Guide's Overview!

So, as I mentioned you before, this past year I managed to collect the three guide books of Kirin ga kuru. To be honest I was disappointed by its conclusion just like you guys, but at the same time I really enjoyed following this drama during those troubled years back then, and I really enjoyed its original portrait of Nobunaga-- So I decided to get them for my collection. In this short, filled-with-pictures post I'd like to browse through its contents, sharing some infos and considerations about its controversial portrait of Nobunaga.

Take this first post of the year as a belated San Silvestro ritual where we pay our last homage to Sometani Nobunaga by throwing him out of the window to get ready to welcome the upcoming Nobunagas of 2023!