Ooka Echizen

Calm and collected but energetic and humanist, the film depicts the activities of a famous magistrate who protects the lives and livelihoods of the common people of Edo.

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Ooka Echizen was an Edo magistrate who supported the Kyoho Reforms advanced by the eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune. Other than administrating the the town of Edo, Ooka also had a seat on the judicial council, managed local government affairs as well as temples and shrines. He punished evil that brought suffering to the common people, making judicial decisions with humanity and fairness that came to be known as “Ooka Sabaki”.

The reign of the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune was notable for the “Ooka Sabaki” which supported the Kyoho Reforms advanced by Yoshimune. Ooka Echizen, an Edo magistrate, punished evil that brought suffering to the common people, making judicial decisions with humanity and fairness that came to be known as “Ooka Sabaki”. He would go beyond his status and position, and work very hard for the people’s happiness. He was also their pride.

The reign of the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune was notable for the “Ooka Sabaki” which supported the Kyoho Reforms advanced by Yoshimune. Ooka Echizen, an Edo magistrate, punished evil that brought suffering to the common people, making judicial decisions with humanity and fairness that came to be known as “Ooka Sabaki”. He would go beyond his status and position, and work very hard for the people’s happiness. He was also their pride.

Ooka Tadasuke was a magistrate of Ise Yamada (modern-day Ise City in Mie Prefecture). In 1712, he sentenced a thief who was causing a stir in the village. The culprit was a great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the feudal lord of the Kishu domain, who would later become Tokugawa Yoshimune. In fact, previous magistrates had turned a blind eye to Yoshimune’s bad conduct.