NHK's taiga drama this year is "Gunshi Kanbee." It follows Sengoku warlord Kuroda Kanbee (later tonsured as Kuroda Josui＝photo lower＝) with V6's Junichi Okada in the lead. Mainichi (Video Research) says the Jan 5 premiere rated 18.9 in Kanto
%—a tough taiga debut. Beats "Heian Kiyomori" (17.3%) but trails "Yae no Sakura" (21.4%)—among the harshest starts this decade. Nagoya 20.1%, Kansai 23.0%, northern Kyushu 24.8%—regions tied to Hideyoshi's rise, Himeji, Nakatsu and Fukuoka fared well.
Fukuoka City promotes Kuroda sites citywide—museum, literature museum, etc. On the official web page,
◆Museum: Fukuoka City Museum 3D-scanned Kuroda materials and outputs 1/16-scale figures of Kanbee's armor＝photo right＝ for sale. Also displays famed spear "Nihon-go" from folk song "Kuroda-bushi."
◆Pamphlet: Kuroda-related spots in the city.
◆Events: Literature Museum exhibition "Homeland Fukuoka—Writers' Kanbee" (free).
◆Topics: "Kuroda Summit Five Cities" tie-ups with private sector—tourism points and history of five cities linked to Kanbee.
◆Video: Museum treasures on video.
◆Kuroda-bushi Robot: Hakata craft meets robotics.
Under the subtitle "Let's all cheer on Fukuoka," the city pushes Kanbee tourism. Nishitetsu runs "Josui-ko Bus Tour" to Soroku Temple, museum, castle ruins, Yosen-tei Park, etc.
The literature exhibition at Red Brick Culture Hall (Tenjin 1-15-30, Fukuoka) sits next to Mainichi Building's Fukuoka Hall (western branch)—Palaceside's operator.
Kuroda-bushi Robot looks fun＝main photo. At Robot Square (Momochi, Fukuoka), "Kuroda-bushi Robot" dances to the folk song. Model: Morita Tahee of the "Kuroda Twenty-Four"—"Drink, drink—if you drink, drink enough to swallow Japan's No.1 spear..."—spear and cup motif in Hakata dolls.
As V6's name suggests, will "Gunshi Kanbee" ratings V-back?