Sleepy Eyes of Death
Encyclopedia
is a series of jidaigeki
novel
s written by Renzaburo Shibata. The stories were originally serialized on May 1956 in the Shūkan Shinchō.
The stories take place during Edo period
under the Tokugawa shogunate
and the rule of Tokugawa Ienari
and center around the title character, a sleepy-eyed, outlaw swordsman who is the son of a Japanese
mother and a foreign
father, who was conceived during a Black Mass
.
in three films released by Toho Studios
:
released the first six films of the Daiei series on VHS and the first five on laserdisc under the title of the Sleepy Eyes of Death. Animeigo
recently announced that it had renewed their licensing rights to the series and released a boxed set of the first four films on DVD in 2009. A second boxed set containing the next four films was released in Summer 2010 (which marks the first official release on DVD in the United States of The Mask of the Proncess and '"Sword of Villainy).
Sleepy Eyes of Death 2: Sword of Adventure (1964)
(Adventure of Kyoshiro Nemuri)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 3: Full Circle Killing (1964)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 4: Sword of Seduction (1964)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 5: Sword of Fire (1965)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 6: Sword of Satan (1965)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 7: The Mask of the Princess (1966)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 8: Sword of Villainy (1966)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 9: A Trail of Traps (1967)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 10: Hell Is a Woman (1968)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 11: In the Spider's Lair (1968)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 12: Castle Menagerie (1969)
from the magazine's premier issue in 2001 to issue 43 of 2003. It was collected in ten tankōbon
editions under the Bunch Comics imprint. Portions of the series were translated in the short lived English anthology Raijin Comics
.
would lend his image to a new Nemuri Kyoshiro multimedia project, starring as the eponymous protagnist, beginning with live stage production
in May 2010, penned by Koyama Kundo. The project is currently planned to span a variety of media, including film
, television
, anime
, manga
, and video games.
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s written by Renzaburo Shibata. The stories were originally serialized on May 1956 in the Shūkan Shinchō.
The stories take place during Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
under the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
and the rule of Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari; 徳川 家斉 was the eleventh and longest serving shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.-First wife:...
and center around the title character, a sleepy-eyed, outlaw swordsman who is the son of a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
mother and a foreign
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
father, who was conceived during a Black Mass
Black Mass
A Black Mass is a ceremony supposedly celebrated during the Witches' Sabbath, which was a sacrilegious parody of the Catholic Mass. Its main objective was the profanation of the host, although there is no agreement among authors on how hosts were obtained or profaned; the most common idea is that...
.
Novels
Seven full-length novels and eight short stories in the Nemuri Kyoshirō series were published in Japan.Full-length novels
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: Record of an Outlaw, The Complete Six-Volume Series
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: Walking Alone, Parts One and Two
- }
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: Calligraphy Copybook for a Killer, Parts One and Two
- }
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: The 53 Stations of the Orphaned Blade, Parts One and Two
- }
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: The Empty Journal, Parts One and Two
- }
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: Record of an Outlaw, Parts One and Two
- }
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: Heretical Writings
- }
Short stories
- The False Avenger: Nemuri Kyoshiro Urban Legend
- Kind and Courteous Chronicles: Nemuri Kyoshiro Urban Legend
- Nemuri Kyoshiro: Kyoto Duel Book
- The Dangerous Vanishing Weapon
- The Bride's Neck
- Wicked Woman's Revenge
- The Fox, the Monk, and the Ronin
- Spy Gizmo
- New Compilation, Nemuri Kyoshiro: Kyoto Duel Book (collects short stories and essays)
Kōji Tsuruta series (1956-1958)
"Nemuri Kyoshiro" was first played by Koji TsurutaKoji Tsuruta
was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 260 feature films.-Career:Born in Shizuoka Prefecture as Eiichi Ono, Tsuruta was studying at Kansai University when he was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Navy. After the war he joined Kōkichi Takada's theater troupe and made his film debut at Shochiku...
in three films released by Toho Studios
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
:
- Nemuri Kyōshirō Burai Hikae (1956)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō Burai Hikae Dainibu (1957)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō Burai Hikae: Maken Jigoku (1958)
Ichikawa Raizo series (1963-1969)
From 1963 to 1969, Ichikawa Raizo played "Nemuri Kyoshiro" in the Daiei Studios series. AnimeigoAnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams, III. It is now based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run by Natsumi Ueki, Robert's wife...
released the first six films of the Daiei series on VHS and the first five on laserdisc under the title of the Sleepy Eyes of Death. Animeigo
AnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams, III. It is now based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run by Natsumi Ueki, Robert's wife...
recently announced that it had renewed their licensing rights to the series and released a boxed set of the first four films on DVD in 2009. A second boxed set containing the next four films was released in Summer 2010 (which marks the first official release on DVD in the United States of The Mask of the Proncess and '"Sword of Villainy).
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 1: The Chinese Jade (1963)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 2: Shōbu
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 3: Engetsugiri (Exploits of Kyoshiro Nemuri)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 4: Joyoken (Kyoshiro Nemuri at Bay)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 5: Enjo-ken (The Swordman and the Pirate)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 6: Masho-ken (The Mysterious Sword of Kyoshiro)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 7: Tajo-ken (The Mask of the Princess)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 8: Burai-ken (The Sword That Saved Edo)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 9: Burai-Hikae masho no hada (The Trail of Traps)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 10: Onna jigoku (The Ronin Called Nemuri)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 11: Hito hada kumo (The Human Tarantula)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 12: Akujo-gari (Castle Menagerie)
Matsukata Hiroki series (1969)
The role of "Nemuri Kyoshiro" was then played by Matsukata Hiroki in two more Daiei films after Ichikawa's death:- Nemuri Kyōshirō: Engetsu Sappo (1969) (The Full Moon Swordsman)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō: Manji Giri (1969) (Fylfot Swordplay)
Tamura Masakazu series (1989-1998)
The role of "Nemuri Kyoshiro" was then played by Tamura Masakazu in four made-for-TV movie specials:- Nemuri Kyōshirō (1989)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 2: Conspiracy in Edo Castle (1993)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 3: The Man of No Tomorrow (1996)
- Nemuri Kyōshirō 4: The Woman Who Loved Kyoshiro (1998)
Manga
A manga version of Nemuri Kyoshiro by Yoshihiro Yanagawa was serialized in the Weekly Comic BunchWeekly Comic Bunch
is a defunct Japanese manga anthology marketed to young adults that was edited by Coamix and published weekly by Shinchosha from 2001 throughout 2010...
from the magazine's premier issue in 2001 to issue 43 of 2003. It was collected in ten tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
editions under the Bunch Comics imprint. Portions of the series were translated in the short lived English anthology Raijin Comics
Raijin Comics
Raijin Comics was a manga anthology published in North America by the now-defunct Gutsoon! Entertainment and largely backed by the Sega Corporation at its inception. The collected volumes of Raijin Comics titles were published under the Raijin Graphic Novels imprint.The comics were aimed at an...
.
Nemuri X Gackt Project
In 2009 it was announced that GacktGackt
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....
would lend his image to a new Nemuri Kyoshiro multimedia project, starring as the eponymous protagnist, beginning with live stage production
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in May 2010, penned by Koyama Kundo. The project is currently planned to span a variety of media, including film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, and video games.