Split: : Jidai Geki

The term "Jidaigeki" refers to a genre of Japanese Life Action TV drama that is equivalent to period drama in the West, mostly taking the period between Sengoku to Meiji Restoration as background.

However, the way the article is currently arranged is a mixture of the genre and that part of history itself. Hence, I propose spilting this article into two, i.e.

• Feudal Japan: The historical era; and
• Jidaigeki: The genre.

Crowner: [1]

edited 4th Feb '11 2:06:53 PM by SamCurt

I might be able to get behind a split, but I wonder what the purpose of having a Feudal Japan trope would be. I feel like it would work better as a Useful Notes page than anything else, but that may just be me.

From what I can tell, the Jidaigeki trope that is currently being used does not refer to the genre as solely being about live-action series. However, if it is a pre-existing term that only refers to live-action series then I think it makes sense to limit examples to just being those that originate in such drama series.

Now, I have some bias because I have only really seen this in anime, but from what I can tell there is a generic "takes place in feudal Japanland" setting that is used in many works that I think is tropeable. I am not sure if the name Feudal Japan necessarily describes that setting though because I think it is more akin to The Western in terms of actual historical accuracy.

edited 4th Feb '11 4:07:22 PM by LouieW

Well, literally Jidaigeki is a Live-Action TV genre, but by extension it can safely be applied on movies, theater, and anime. My issue is that page is used for both a genre and a Useful Note.

I was gonna edit the page, but I could use the help of someone who knows more about Japanese history/some of the works than I do. Basilisk is currently listed under the Edo era, but it seems like it's pretty clearly in the Sengoku- and I'd guess that any other "Ninja Scroll" adaptation is probably from that period also.

Don't think Samurai Seven should be listed, since it's set in the far future, if on Earth at all.

Not sure whether or not Vagabond is accurately placed under the Sengoku.

Miyamoto Musashi is at the Sengoku-Edo cusp; he was born at the last 20 years of Sengoku and the real end of Sengoku— the Siege of Osaka—happened when he was 30. So it might be both.

That makes sense. I was thinking of the old codger that might be him in Samurai Champloo, whereas Vagabond is about him as a young man, right?

From what I've been able to tell, being non-Japanese and all, is that Jidai Geki is a specific drama and not a term for all works pertaining to that era in time. Inuyasha might not count, for instance, because it's a standard shonen anime that just has feudal Japan as its setting. While most Jidai Geki shows have taken place in Edo period, others have been set as late as the Meiji Restoration: it's the common plot conventions that bind them, not the setting, similar to how most science fiction shows are set in the far future but Star Wars is a science fiction series despite being set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Feudal Japan should be its own Useful Notes page with examples of works taking place in that time period while Jidaigeki should list only Jidaigeki shows.

edited 13th Mar '11 6:35:20 AM by MC42