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earth_colors) wrote2021-03-28 10:04 am
earth_colors) wrote2021-03-28 10:04 am
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Shi to no Yakusoku: SP Notes
Here are the notes for SP drama, "Shi to no Yakusoku" (Warning: Spoilers Ahead!):
The Original Novel. "Appointment with Death" was first published in 1937, as serialized stories in an American weekly magazine. It was officially released as a novel in the UK in 1938. It has been adapted into a 1988 American movie with Peter Ustinov as Poirot, and a 2008 TV special with David Suchet as the detective.
(info/pic: wikipedia)
Differences between the SP and the book:
The Setting. In the book, the characters go on a trip to Petra, Jordan, while in the SP, they stayed in a fictional hotel in a fictional village called Tengu Village near Kumano Kodo in Wakayama Prefecture.
Missing Character. In the book, there is a character named Dr. Gerard who was a French psychologist. This was the person who approached the doctor, Sarah King (Sara Kinuko in the SP) early on, and together, since both are from the medical field, they observed, gossiped, and discussed psychological states of the Boynton family members. Poirot only showed up when he was asked to investigate the murder. In the SP, Suguro took over the character of Dr. Gerard, and appeared early in the scenes. That is why, if you (like me) find it uncharacteristic for an eccentric person like Suguro to just casually approach another guest and gossip about complete strangers, then this explains it.
The Daughter-in-Law. The SP didn't explain much about Nagiko or the daughter-in-law's side. When she mentioned to Reiichiro that if he doesn't break away from his mother, it will be too late for them to be happy. Also, Nagiko was dead set on leaving her husband and only decided to stay when her mother-in-law died, which for me made her appear like she's staying because her husband is now finally rich. In the book, Nadine Boynton explained the part about being too late for happiness. She means that she doesn't want to have children if his mother is still alive since for sure, their children will experience the same harsh, unhappy life subjected under that woman's tyranny. She's afraid that by the time the mother is dead, it will be too late for her to bear him children. She also stated that she was bluffing all along about leaving him for another man since she only wanted her husband to fight for her, by finally standing on his own feet, and cut ties with his mother.
The Culprit. In the SP, the culprit and Parliament member, Uesugi Honami was a former jewelry thief, and an old acquaintance of Suguro who knew about her past. She dressed up as a Tengu when she killed Mrs. Hondo. She claimed that the Tengu has red bonten hanging from his neck. She jumped off a cliff in the end. In the book, it wasn't mentioned what crime Parliament member Lady Westholme committed that landed her in jail. Poirot doesn't know her and he was only making a guess that she served time in prison (that is why he had to get her fingerprints to help prove that this was true). She dressed up as an Arab man when she killed Mrs. Boynton. She claimed the Arab man had torn breeches which was impossible to see from a long distance. In the end, she shot herself in her room after her crime was uncovered.
The Ending. In the SP, it wasn't shown what happened to the Hondo siblings but we can assume they were better off now that their matriarch is dead. In the book, the eldest son and his wife stayed married and were able to have two children. The second son and the doctor got married. The eldest daughter got married to the man his brother's wife was rumored to have an affair with (haha, I know right). The youngest who was exhibiting strange behavior, wasgroomed taken under the care of Dr. Gerard who guided and helped her become a successful stage actress, and married her.
Kumano Kodo. It is "a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii HantÅ, the largest peninsula of Japan." Along with the Kumano Sanzan (Three Major Kumano Shrines), it is registered as World Heritage sites.
(for more info: wikipedia)
The Walking Tour of Kumano Kodo. If you're interested in knowing what it's like to walk this mountain path, you can read it HERE. In that blog article, it was mentioned that the walk from Hosshinmon-Oji to Hongu Taisha (same one that the characters in the SP was supposed to have taken) was a 7 kilometer walk, and was a "half-day" trek. It was an easy hike with lots of downslopes and minor climbs.
Yamabushi. The term for a mountain ascetic hermit means "bowing down to the mountain". To learn more, you can watch this youtube video HERE.
Suguro as a Policeman. There's not much known about Poirot's early life but Christie had hinted that he was once head of the police when he was in Belgium.
Suguro's Lovelife. Suguro said he was fascinated with a woman who was sentenced to death for killing her five husbands in a row. I tried to research if this was based on one of Poirot stories but there was none. But Poirot had indeed fallen in love with a Russian Countess who also happened to be a jewelry thief in one of the short stories called "The Double Clue" in "Poirot's Early Cases".
Yatagarasu. The three legged sacred crow is said to be a messenger of gods, and is also seen as good luck sign for safe and successful travels and navigation. The myth of tripedal crows can also be found in China and Korea. It can also be seen in the logo of the Japan Football Association (above pic).
(info: wikipedia)
Filming Locations:
The Hotel. The exterior shots of fictional Kuromon Hotel was that of the Gamagori Classic Hotel, located in Gamagori, Aichi. Its interiors were shot at Fuji TV studios.
Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine. The cast did film at the actual site: a Shinto shrine located in Tanabe, Wakayama. It is included as part of the Kumano Sanzan in the World Heritage site.
Pre-War Ginza. The site where Suguro caught the jewelry thief Sako was filmed at Warp Edo Station in Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki. Many historical dramas were shot here including NHK's 2019 Taiga drama, "Idaten".
The Walking Tour. The site where the characters were walking towards Hongu Taisha and where Mrs. Hondo was killed, was filmed in the area surrounding Hokoji Temple in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.
Link to SP Drama Subs: (HERE)
The Original Novel. "Appointment with Death" was first published in 1937, as serialized stories in an American weekly magazine. It was officially released as a novel in the UK in 1938. It has been adapted into a 1988 American movie with Peter Ustinov as Poirot, and a 2008 TV special with David Suchet as the detective.
(info/pic: wikipedia)
Differences between the SP and the book:
The Setting. In the book, the characters go on a trip to Petra, Jordan, while in the SP, they stayed in a fictional hotel in a fictional village called Tengu Village near Kumano Kodo in Wakayama Prefecture.
Missing Character. In the book, there is a character named Dr. Gerard who was a French psychologist. This was the person who approached the doctor, Sarah King (Sara Kinuko in the SP) early on, and together, since both are from the medical field, they observed, gossiped, and discussed psychological states of the Boynton family members. Poirot only showed up when he was asked to investigate the murder. In the SP, Suguro took over the character of Dr. Gerard, and appeared early in the scenes. That is why, if you (like me) find it uncharacteristic for an eccentric person like Suguro to just casually approach another guest and gossip about complete strangers, then this explains it.
The Daughter-in-Law. The SP didn't explain much about Nagiko or the daughter-in-law's side. When she mentioned to Reiichiro that if he doesn't break away from his mother, it will be too late for them to be happy. Also, Nagiko was dead set on leaving her husband and only decided to stay when her mother-in-law died, which for me made her appear like she's staying because her husband is now finally rich. In the book, Nadine Boynton explained the part about being too late for happiness. She means that she doesn't want to have children if his mother is still alive since for sure, their children will experience the same harsh, unhappy life subjected under that woman's tyranny. She's afraid that by the time the mother is dead, it will be too late for her to bear him children. She also stated that she was bluffing all along about leaving him for another man since she only wanted her husband to fight for her, by finally standing on his own feet, and cut ties with his mother.
The Culprit. In the SP, the culprit and Parliament member, Uesugi Honami was a former jewelry thief, and an old acquaintance of Suguro who knew about her past. She dressed up as a Tengu when she killed Mrs. Hondo. She claimed that the Tengu has red bonten hanging from his neck. She jumped off a cliff in the end. In the book, it wasn't mentioned what crime Parliament member Lady Westholme committed that landed her in jail. Poirot doesn't know her and he was only making a guess that she served time in prison (that is why he had to get her fingerprints to help prove that this was true). She dressed up as an Arab man when she killed Mrs. Boynton. She claimed the Arab man had torn breeches which was impossible to see from a long distance. In the end, she shot herself in her room after her crime was uncovered.
The Ending. In the SP, it wasn't shown what happened to the Hondo siblings but we can assume they were better off now that their matriarch is dead. In the book, the eldest son and his wife stayed married and were able to have two children. The second son and the doctor got married. The eldest daughter got married to the man his brother's wife was rumored to have an affair with (haha, I know right). The youngest who was exhibiting strange behavior, was
Kumano Kodo. It is "a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii HantÅ, the largest peninsula of Japan." Along with the Kumano Sanzan (Three Major Kumano Shrines), it is registered as World Heritage sites.
(for more info: wikipedia)
The Walking Tour of Kumano Kodo. If you're interested in knowing what it's like to walk this mountain path, you can read it HERE. In that blog article, it was mentioned that the walk from Hosshinmon-Oji to Hongu Taisha (same one that the characters in the SP was supposed to have taken) was a 7 kilometer walk, and was a "half-day" trek. It was an easy hike with lots of downslopes and minor climbs.
Yamabushi. The term for a mountain ascetic hermit means "bowing down to the mountain". To learn more, you can watch this youtube video HERE.
Suguro as a Policeman. There's not much known about Poirot's early life but Christie had hinted that he was once head of the police when he was in Belgium.
Suguro's Lovelife. Suguro said he was fascinated with a woman who was sentenced to death for killing her five husbands in a row. I tried to research if this was based on one of Poirot stories but there was none. But Poirot had indeed fallen in love with a Russian Countess who also happened to be a jewelry thief in one of the short stories called "The Double Clue" in "Poirot's Early Cases".
Yatagarasu. The three legged sacred crow is said to be a messenger of gods, and is also seen as good luck sign for safe and successful travels and navigation. The myth of tripedal crows can also be found in China and Korea. It can also be seen in the logo of the Japan Football Association (above pic).
(info: wikipedia)
Filming Locations:
The Hotel. The exterior shots of fictional Kuromon Hotel was that of the Gamagori Classic Hotel, located in Gamagori, Aichi. Its interiors were shot at Fuji TV studios.
Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine. The cast did film at the actual site: a Shinto shrine located in Tanabe, Wakayama. It is included as part of the Kumano Sanzan in the World Heritage site.
Pre-War Ginza. The site where Suguro caught the jewelry thief Sako was filmed at Warp Edo Station in Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki. Many historical dramas were shot here including NHK's 2019 Taiga drama, "Idaten".
The Walking Tour. The site where the characters were walking towards Hongu Taisha and where Mrs. Hondo was killed, was filmed in the area surrounding Hokoji Temple in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.
Link to SP Drama Subs: (HERE)