Ōoka Tadasuke (Japanese: 大岡 忠相, 1677 – 3 February 1752) was a Japanese samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, as a magistrate (machi-bugyō) of Edo, his roles included chief of police, judge and jury, and Yamada Magistrate (Yamada bugyō) prior to his tenure as South Magistrate (Minami Machi-bugyō) of Edo. With the title Echizen no Kami (Governor of Echizen or Lord of the Echizen), he is often known as Ōoka Echizen (大岡越前). He was highly respected as an incorruptible judge. In addition, he established the first fire brigade made up of commoners, and the Koishikawa Yojosho (a city hospital). Later, he advanced to the position of jisha bugyō, and subsequently became daimyō of the Nishi-Ōhira Domain… Stories of Ōoka began showing up in English in 1908, in “The Case of Ten-Ichi-Bo, a Cause Celebre in Japan” by W. J. S. Shand, published by the Tokyo Methodist Publishing House. A newspaper serial by Fubō Hayashi, which ran from October 1927 to May 1928 in the Mainichi Shimbun, mainly concerned the exploits of Ōoka Echizen, but the strikingly dramatic illustrations of Tange made by Tomiya Oda, with a scar across his right eye and an empty right sleeve, so caught the imagination of the public that within a few months three silent films about Tange were produced by different companies.
First Appearance Historical figure (b. 1677 – d. 1752)
First Publisher Mainichi Shimbun
Appearance List Shinpan Ōoka Seidan: Suzukawa Genjūrō no maki (1927–1928) by Fubō Hayashi (serialized in Mainichi Shimbun group papers) — introduced Tange Sazen. Film: Shinban Ōoka seidan (新版大岡政談, silent, 3 parts, considered lost, reconstructed via still, 1928), Other studios released Shinban Ōoka seidan in 1928, Zoku Ōoka seidan: Mazō-hen Dai-ichi (続大岡政談 魔像篇 第一, Sequel Ōoka Seidan: Demon Statue Arc, Part 1, 1930) and Zoku Ōoka seidan: Mazō Kaiketsu-hen (続大岡政談 魔像解決篇, Sequel Ōoka Seidan: Demon Statue Resolution Arc, 1931).
Sample Read Tange Sazen And The Pot Worth A Million Ryo (1935) [Internet Archive]
Description Ōoka Tadasuke (Japanese: 大岡 忠相, 1677 – 3 February 1752) was a Japanese samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, as a magistrate (machi-bugyō) of Edo, his roles included chief of police, judge and jury, and Yamada Magistrate (Yamada bugyō) prior to his tenure as South Magistrate (Minami Machi-bugyō) of Edo. With the title Echizen no Kami (Governor of Echizen or Lord of the Echizen), he is often known as Ōoka Echizen (大岡越前). He was highly respected as an incorruptible judge. In addition, he established the first fire brigade made up of commoners, and the Koishikawa Yojosho (a city hospital). Later, he advanced to the position of jisha bugyō, and subsequently became daimyō of the Nishi-Ōhira Domain… Stories of Ōoka began showing up in English in 1908, in “The Case of Ten-Ichi-Bo, a Cause Celebre in Japan” by W. J. S. Shand, published by the Tokyo Methodist Publishing House. A newspaper serial by Fubō Hayashi, which ran from October 1927 to May 1928 in the Mainichi Shimbun, mainly concerned the exploits of Ōoka Echizen, but the strikingly dramatic illustrations of Tange made by Tomiya Oda, with a scar across his right eye and an empty right sleeve, so caught the imagination of the public that within a few months three silent films about Tange were produced by different companies.
