The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

For a local city, being picked up as the stage of Taiga drama (year-long big-budget historical soap operas broadcasted on Sunday evenings by NHK) might be a once-and-for-all opportunity to boost its status and economy.

This year’s NHK taiga drama, entitled “Gunshi Kanbei (Kanbei, the War Strategist),” was a story about  Kanbei Kuroda, a 16^th-century warlord given Fukuoka as his land to govern after his successful career as a war strategist.

When the plan for the production of the drama was announced in 2012, being a former domain of Kuroda clan, Fukuoka city and local businesses got excited: Let’s get on the Kanbei bandwagon and exploit from Kanbei-related business.

As a result, there is Kanbei piggybacking everywhere. And since 2012 we all have been exposed to pushy  enthusiastic campaign to boost every possible business.

NHK Fukuoka of course mentions something about Kanbei at least once a day, as if they would be killed should they not do so.

So often have they mentioned about him,

Local confectioners started selling Kanbei-inspired sweets.

And a local hat shop displays (and probably sells) hats imitating the warlord’s helmet (along with Olympic-themed nationalistic caps).

If you prefer something more academic, Fukuoka City Museum offers Kanbei-related goods on sale

 Needless to say, Kanbei banners and posters are omnipresence.

If I were a visitor to Fukuoka, I might think the whole city is bitten by a kind of cult.

For more information about Kanbei craze promotion campaign (Fukuoka City Hall-led), see here:

http://www.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/charm/kanbei/