Sanadamaru (2016)

Sanadamaru is the 2016 taiga drama from NHK. Spanning over 50 episodes, we follow the historical fiction of the Sanada clansmen as they plotted and fought their ways to survive the changing political alliances during the Warring States Period of Japan. As the landscape of feudal Japan was being reshaped by Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, we see the impacts on the Sanada families as they vied for power and survival amongst stronger warlords that surrounded their homeland. The story centres around the main protagonist, Sanada Genjiro, and how he rose through desperate circumstances from a small samurai clan in Shinano until he became known as the most heroic figure who ever lived in the Sengoku Period. The series also highlights Sanada Masayuki (Genjiro's father) and Sanada Genzaburo (Genjiro's older brother), as well as other important historical figures whose lives intertwined with Genjiro's fate and destiny.