Mito Kōmon

Five actors have portrayed the lead character in the series. Eijirō Tōno created the part and appeared in 13 seasons. His successor was Kō Nishimura. Asao Sano followed and then Kōji Ishizaka took the role in two seasons, quitting for cancer treatments. Kōtarō Satomi played Mitsuemon from 2002 until the end of the series in 2011.

The character normally sports a pointed white beard. He wears the lavish garb of a wealthy retiree and carries a walking stick (a staff), which also serves as his defensive weapon in combat.

Singer-actor Ryōtarō Sugi was the series' first Suke-san, followed by Kōtarō Satomi, who many years later took over the lead role. Teruhiko Aoi was next, then Yūji Kishimoto, and Ryūji Harada. Opposite them, Tadashi Yokouchi, Shin'ya Ōwada, Goro Ibuki, Jundai Yamada, and Masashi Gōda have played Kaku-san. Ichiro Nakatani played Kazaguruma no Yashichi, a ninja who helped Mitsuemon. Evil characters who tried to kill Mitsuemon were played by such actors as Shigeru Tsuyuguchi (1st season) and Mikio Narita (3rd season).

In each of the show's 42 seasons, various other regular characters joined the retinue. For many years, they included the food-loving commoner Hachibei, the reformed thieves Kazaguruma no Yashichi (a former ninja whose main weapon is a shuriken with pinwheel, with a dagger as his sidearm) and his wife Kasumi no Oshin, the ninja Tsuge no Tobizaru portrayed by Masaki Nomura, and kunoichi Kagerō Ogin. Portrayed by Kaoru Yumi, Ogin was the lead character in a light-hearted spinoff, Mito Kōmon Gaiden Kagerō Ninpō-chō. The same actress took on a new role, Hayate no Oen.

Many former regular actors appeared in the show's gala 1000th special episode, which aired on December 15, 2003. A 1978 film distributed by Toei Company shared the cast, production crew, and title.

Since its inception, the program has been a mainstay of the Panasonic Drama Theater (formerly known as the National Theater), sponsored by Panasonic. The TBS network aired the show throughout Japan, and showed reruns on both its analogue stations and its CS satellite channel. For nearly three decades, Mito Kōmon shared the time slot with Ōoka Echizen, and various actors and actresses appeared in both series.

An unusual feature of the series is that the credits list the maker of the inrō.

The last episode aired on December 19, 2011.

There was also an animated adaptation called Manga Mito Kōmon (まんが水戸黄門) that aired during 1981-1982, animated by Knack Productions.

In the light novel Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku, the main protagonist quotes Mito Komon frequently. He also made a firm by the name Echigoya.

Season1

• Eijirō Tōno as Mito Kōmon
• Ryōtarō Sugi as Sasaki Sukesaburō (Sukesan)
• Tadashi Yokouchi as Atsumi Kakunoshin (Kakusan)
• Ichirō Nakatani as Kazaguruma no Yahichi
• Keiko Yumi as Ochō
• Yumi Iwai
• Shigeru Tsuyuguchi as Furukawa Hyōgo

• Eijirō Tōno as Mito Kōmon
• Kōtarō Satomi as Sukesaburō (Sukesan)
• Shinya Owada as Atsumi Kakunoshin (Kakusan)
• Gentaro Takahashi as Hachibei
• Ichirō Nakatani as Kazaguruma no Yahichi
• Kōji Wada as Genpachiro Tsurugi
• Komaki Kurihara as Yumi Okumura
• Toshiro Mifune as Sakuzaemon Okumura
• Hajime Hana as Rokubei
• Hitoshi Ueki as Sukehachi
• Yoshio Inaba as Sasaya
• Tatsuo Endō as Yadayu Kurobe
• Nobuo Kawai as Hankuro Kosaka
• Toru Abe as Mondo Murai

• Schilling, Mark (1997). "Mito Komon". The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. New York: Weatherhill. pp. 135–138. ISBN 0-8348-0380-1.

• Mito Kōmon at TBS (in Japanese)
• Mito Kōmon at C.A.L (in Japanese)
• Mito Kōmon at IMDb