Kunitori Monogatari

{{Nihongo|Kunitori Monogatari|国盗り物語|{{lit|Tale of acquiring countries}}}} is a historical novel by Japanese novelist Ryōtarō Shiba.

It was serialised in Sunday Mainichi (Mainichi Shimbun Publishing Inc.) from August 1963 to June 1966.{{cite web| url = https://www.kk-bestsellers.com/articles/-/6670/|title =戦後浸透した、風雲児信長のイメージ| last = Kurayama| first = Mitsuru| author-link =| date = 2 September 2017| orig-date = | editor-last = | editor-first = | website = BEST TiMES | publisher = Bestsellers| language = ja| trans-title = The image of the adventurer Nobunaga that permeated the post-war period.| access-date = 24 July 2023}}

It consists of a first part starring Saito Dōsan and a second part starring Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide. Initially, Shiba planned to write only the story of Dōsan, but the series was too popular to be finished and Shiba was forced to write the second part, the story of Nobunaga and Mitsuhide.

Shiba skilfully incorporated the results of post-war historical studies into his novels, positioning Nobunaga as a revolutionary with a clear will, a rarity in Japanese history, and establishing an image of Nobunaga in which light and shadow coexist by not only evaluating his innovativeness but also criticising his brutality. Thanks in part to Shiba's contributions, Nobunaga, who had not always been popular before, became one of the most popular historical figures in Japan.{{cite web|url=https://bizgate.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOLM02AVG002082022000000|title =暴君・パッシング・革命児信長再評価の450年| last = Goza| first = Yuichi | author-link =| date = 5 August 2022 | orig-date = | editor-last = | editor-first = | website = Nikkei BizGate | publisher = Nikkei, Inc.| language = ja| trans-title = Tyrant, Passerby, and Revolutionary: 450 Years of Reevaluating Nobunaga| access-date = 24 July 2023}}

Two TV drama adaptations have been produced by NHK and TV Tokyo.

Taiga drama

{{Infobox television

| image =

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| genre = Taiga drama

| creator =

| developer =

| writer = Yasuko Ohno

| director =

| creative_director =

| presenter =

| starring = Mikijirō Hira
Junko Ikeuchi
Keiko Matsuzaka
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Ryūtarō Ōtomo
Juzo Itami
Shôhei Hino
Joe Shishido
Yoko Yamamoto
Minoru Chiaki
Muga Takewaki
Ryōtarō Sugi
Chieko Matsubara
Tōru Emori
Kō Nishimura
Goro Ibuki
Tappie Shimokawa
Ryūzō Hayashi
Masaomi Kondō
Hideki Takahashi

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme = NHK Symphony Orchestra

| endtheme =

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| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

| num_seasons =

| num_episodes = 51

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

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| location =

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| runtime = 45 minutes

| company =

| channel = NHK

| first_aired = {{start date|1973|1|7}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1973|12|23}}

| related =

}}

Japanese television series broadcast in 1973.{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%9B%BD%E7%9B%97%E3%82%8A%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E-706055|website=kotobank|title=Kunitori Monogatari towa?|accessdate=3 June 2017}} It is the eleventh NHK taiga drama.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/archives/search/special/detail/?d=taiga019|website=NHK|title=Kunitori Monogatari|accessdate=3 June 2017}} It had an average viewing rating of 22.4, peaking at 29.9%. All footage of the regular broadcast is lost. In 2015, videotape recordings of episodes 37 and 38 were recovered.

=Plot=

The series is set in the Sengoku period. Based on Ryōtarō Shiba's novel of the same name.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/archives/search/special/detail/?d=taiga019|publisher=NHK|title=Kunitori Monogatari|accessdate=3 June 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.jidaigeki.com/forum/peri/kagyo/20111230_1972.html|publisher=Jidaigeki.com|title=Kunitori Monogatari|accessdate=3 June 2017}}

The story chronicles the lives of Dosan Saito and Nobunaga Oda.