Zenigata Heiji is a Japanese fictional character, the hero of a series of Japanese novels, films and TV programmes set in the Edo period of Japanese history. He is a policeman who catches criminals by throwing coins, the of the title, thus Zenigata Heiji. The hero was created by novelist Kodō Nomura in 1931. Heiji's beat is Myōjin-shita, "beneath the Myōjin shrine".
Situation
The hero, Heiji, lives with his wife Oshizu. His sidekick is Hachigorō, also known as Karappachi or just Hachi. He uses deduction, a jutte, and old-fashioned coins with a hole, called kan'eitsūhō, as weapons to catch criminals.
Novels
The original series of storiesran from 1937 to 1959. The first story was published in the Japanese magazineBungei Shunjū Ōru Yomimono-han. In all, 383 stories were produced. Many are still in print in Japan today.
Historical accuracy
Zenigata Heiji is a fictional story, and is not based on any real individual. It is not made clear in which part of the Edo period the stories are set. The description of the okappiki in Zenigata Heiji differs from reality on several points. Okappiki were unpaid, or received a very small amount of money. Zenigata Heiji is depicted as a full-time policeman with no other job. In reality, this would have been impossible. Further, the "jutte" that Heiji usually carries was only issued to okappiki when the severity of an incident called for it. In the TV series, Heiji carries his jutte in his belt; however, the jutte was actually carried in a pocket. The style of the jutte is also unrealistic.
The lyrics of the ending theme of the TV show changed every week depending on the plot line. In the TV series, the closing credits show a coin, based on the kan'eitsūhō coin thrown by Heiji, with Zenigata Heiji written on it. TV series about Zenigata Heiji include:
銭形平次 Zenigata Heiji - 888 episodes. The longest-running Zenigata Heiji, Hashizo Okawa made a total of 888 programmes, with several different co-stars, from 1966 until his death in 1984. Hashizō Ōgawa is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running actor in a one-hour long television series for his performance as Heiji. Sanae Tsuchida was in the cast from 1970 to 1973.
