It is the year 1715. The young Tokugawa Yoshimune, scion of one of the Tokugawa shogunate's cadet branches, is informed by his mentor, Ōoka Echizen, that he is to be the next shogun.
Initially, the young lord is reluctant to become shogun, lest he become a political pawn. However, when Echizen reminds him that the people of Japan need a strong and just ruler to guide them in a time of crisis, he decides to take up the post. Inspired by his mentor's advice (and much to the latter's frequent exasperation), Yoshimune also takes it upon himself to serve his people directly - as shogun incognito. Taking the guise of a minor samurai Tokuda Shinnosuke, he sneaks out of the palace every night. With the aid of a loyal band of Edo firefighters, his onibawashu bodyguards, and his like-minded courtiers who know his secret, Yoshimune goes off to right wrongs and deliver justice. Sometimes the shogun may have to face off against his evil uncle Muneharu (or his cronies), who wishes to become shogun himself.
Though enormously successful in Japan, it was exported to Hawaii during its run. It's still quite popular there, as its theme song, along with the Hawaii Five-O theme, is frequently played by the University of Hawaii for pep rallies.
The series also unofficially crossed over with another Toei property, Kamen Rider OOO, in the 2011 movie Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals — when the heroes fall through time and land in the Edo period, "Tokuda Shinnosuke" arrives to help them out.
As of 2024, the first series is available on YouTube via the Samurai vs. Ninja channel.
It remains to be seen if the rest of the series will be uploaded, if at all.
This series provides examples of:
- Artistic License – History: As expected with a show that called itself The Chronicles of Yoshimune
- Naturally the real Yoshimune didn't sneak out of his palace like Batman every night to deliver justice. Yoshimune is more famous for his financial reforms, re-emphasizing Japanese swordmaking traditions, and encouraging rangaku, or Western studies.
- The show ran for exactly thirty years barring two reunion shows; Yoshimune reigned for twenty-nine, plus the rest of his life in retirement (as per Tokugawa tradition).
- A Running Gag in the show is Yoshimune's refusal to get married. In fact, he was married two years after he became shogun and picked up several concubines along the way.
- Catchphrase: "Be manly to atone for this sin!" is Yoshimune's, which he delivers after defeating the villain of the week's mooks and forcing him to commit seppuku.
- Crapsaccharine World: Edo-era Tokyo is a place of plenty for the rich and wealthy, and a Wretched Hive under the surface, as countless corrupt bureaucrats, merchants and nobles are busy looting, bribing, robbing and brutalizing the citizens. The court games that keep trying to pull the wool over Yoshimune to keep these systems going is what forces him to go out and fight crime directly.
- Credits Running Sequence: Yoshimune is always seen riding a horse in each opening credits. From the second season onwards, it's usually with Mount Fuji in the background, while he rides the horse alongside a lake.
- Decadent Court: The Shogunate is filled with all sorts of corrupt, power-playing magistrates, chief amongst them Tokugawa Muneharu, who plots to replace Yoshimune.
- Dirty Coward: The villains of the week may usually act all high and mighty when bullying the commoners of Edo, and even go as far as to pay disrespect to Yoshimune... until he reveals himself.
- Evil Uncle: Tokugawa Muneharu. Since he was bypassed in favor of Yoshimune to be the next shogun (despite being head of the senior Tokugawa cadet branch at the time of Yoshimune's ascension), he tries to stage a takeover of the shogunate by having Yoshimune killed.
- Friend to All Living Things / We Help the Helpless: Yoshimune's main character traits throughout the series, but he never seeks attention for his crime-busting ventures.
- King Incognito: The entire selling point of the series. Yoshimune sneaks out every night via a well to travel under his alias of Tokuda Shinnosuke to solve crimes and bring their perpetrators to justice.
- Modest Royalty: Yoshimune tries to reduce the Shogunate's various extravagancies, seeing them as wasteful expenses that don't interest him. As "Tokuda Shinnosuke", he finds common dishes to be a fascinating Mundane Luxury, much to the amusement of his friends.
- Ninja: Two of Yoshimune's agents who help him, Osono and Yabuta Sukehachi, are oniwabashu. Unlike typical depictions of ninja, they actually do their work in disguise as a musician and peddler, though they're still armed with all sorts of disguised weapons.
- Once per Episode: At the start of the episode, Yoshimune is typically informed about the crime-of-the-week, and sneaks out of his palace by its well. After spending most of the episode investigating the crime as Tokuda Shinnosuke, he confronts the villain, and inevitably sword duels said villain's army of mooks. Depending on the episode, he reveals that he is Yoshimune Tokugawa before or after defeating the mooks. Either way, the villain commits seppuku for his crimes (or is cut down if he refuses).
- Set Swords to "Stun": Yoshimune avoids going lethal where possible, striking his enemies with the blunt backside of his sword, and he's plenty skilled enough to get through whole fights like that.
- Sue Donym: When Yoshimune goes incognito for the first time to meet his friend Tatsugoro, the latter has to figure out to introduce former to his family, saying "Toku-", before Yoshimune quickly cuts in with "Tokuda Shinnosuke", the supposed third son of a hatamoto samurai.
- Stock Phrases: The villains of the week have a long list of typical "lines of rebellion" they would deliver shortly before facing Yoshimune's wrath.
- The Man Behind the Man: Tokugawa Muneharu, for some of the villains in the series.
- The Unfettered: The Unfettered Shogun, rather. Yoshimune does everything in his power to uphold the law in an unabashedly heroic manner.
- Truth in Television: Played with.
- In the show, Muneharu is openly engaged in acts of high treason (or at least attempts at doing so), with his lackeys going even as far as to try to kill Yoshimune on several occasions. The real Yoshimune and Muneharu did not have a harmonious relationship either, culminating with Muneharu writing a letter criticizing Yoshimune's frugality (Muneharu reportedly lived in comfort) and being exiled to Nagoya. As a final insult, a net was placed over Muneharu's grave as a sign of disgrace; a later shogun had it removed.
- Zigzagged with Yoshimune and his financial reforms. While he tried enacting several financial and social reforms during his reign, some supposedly involved higher taxation for farmers.
