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COLLECTION · Series · 1994

Furuhata Ninzaburo

古畑任三郎

Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.

Source: TMDB
* 8.8 (25)CrimeDramaJapan
Creators
Koki Mitani
Countries
Japan
Studios
Fuji TV · Fuji Television Network
Runtime
60 min/ep
Release
13/04/1994
Score
8.8 / 10 (25)
Where to watch
Loading providers…
Seasons and episodes
Specials
Specials
10 episodes · 1995
The Laughing Kangaroo
Episode 1. The Laughing Kangaroo
1995-04-12 · 60 min

A love triangle turns deadly during an awards ceremony in Australia. Unfortunately for the killers, however, Furuhata and Shintaro are on a well-deserved holiday in the same hotel.

A Brief Parting
Episode 2. A Brief Parting
1996-03-27 · 60 min

The head of a flower arrangement clan murders her overbearing teacher and rival during a flamenco recital. The one thing Furuhata, who was in the audience, can't quite figure out is how the killer found her victim in the dark auditorium.

The Disappearance of Furuhata Ninzaburo
Episode 3. The Disappearance of Furuhata Ninzaburo
1996-04-09 · 60 min

Famous detective Furuhata Ninzaburo has disappeared, so a TV crew decide to make a documentary about his career interviewing his associates and the killers he caught.

Furuhata Ninzaburo vs SMAP
Episode 4. Furuhata Ninzaburo vs SMAP
1999-01-03 · 60 min

Furuhata is called in to investigate a murder committed by the well-known Japanese boy band SMAP.

Dr. Kuroiwa's Fear
Episode 5. Dr. Kuroiwa's Fear
1999-04-06 · 108 min

Furuhata comes out of retirement to investigate a series of bizarre serial killings which would look like deaths by natural causes except for the notes found inside the victims' anuses.

All By His Excellency's Hand
Episode 6. All By His Excellency's Hand
2004-01-03 · 60 min

An employee at a Japanese embassy in a South American country is kidnapped but Furuhata, who is there on holiday, begins suspecting that the man was killed by none other than the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary himself.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: And Now, Death is Resurrected
Episode 7. Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: And Now, Death is Resurrected

Furuhata investigates a series of bizarre, seemingly random accidental deaths. He zeroes in on the suspected murderer, but loses faith in his instincts when the suspect is himself killed. However, in the end, he ends up solving three…

Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: A Fair Murderer
Episode 8. Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: A Fair Murderer

Ichiro Suzuki, a baseball player obsessed with fair play, murders a man who was blackmailing his brother who is none other than Furuhata's faithful friend Mukojima.

Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: Last Dance
Episode 9. Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: Last Dance

Kyoko Kagami is a pen name for a pair of twin writers. After one sister kills the other, their technical advisor Furuhata investigates. His investigation is complicated by his feelings for the surviving sister.

Young Furuhata Special
Episode 10. Young Furuhata Special

Young Furuhata, a 3rd-year junior high student from Tokyo, transferred to a school in the countryside due to family circumstances. He doesn't fit in at first, but he eventually gains a reputation as a detective and opens his own detective…

Season 1
Season 1
12 episodes · 1994
Message from the Dead
Episode 1. Message from the Dead
1994-04-13 · 47 min

On a dark and stormy night, Chinami kills her business partner in her remote manor house in the hills. Then the doorbell rings. As luck would have it, it's none other than Inspector Furuhata seeking refuge from the rain.

The Moving Corpse
Episode 2. The Moving Corpse
1994-04-20 · 47 min

After killing a woman in a hit and run, a famous Kabuki actor decides to kill the only witness, a theatre security guard, and stage it to look like an accidental fall. Only Furuhata Ninazburo is not convinced.

The Laughing Corpse
Episode 3. The Laughing Corpse
1994-04-27 · 60 min

Furuhata is called to a scene where a woman has just killed a burglar but a chicken in the oven and a cigarette in the bin make the wily inspector suspicious.

The Killing Fax
Episode 4. The Killing Fax
1994-05-04 · 60 min

An action-packed night is in store for the police department after a famous writer's wife is kidnapped and he is tasked with delivering the money by the fax-using kidnapper. However, a grammatical question niggles at Furuhata.

The Dirty King
Episode 5. The Dirty King
1994-05-11 · 60 min

Shogi 8-dan Yonezawa is no match for Furuhata Ninzaburo after murdering the overseer at the Ryujin Tournament.

The Piano Lesson
Episode 6. The Piano Lesson
1994-05-18 · 60 min

Furuhata Ninzaburô gets involved in the drama surrounding an elite musical academy when he begins suspecting a fierce piano teacher of murdering the school's headmaster.

Rehearsal for Murder
Episode 7. Rehearsal for Murder
1994-05-25 · 60 min

During a rehearsal, a beloved samurai movie star kills the despised studio executive. Was it an accident or murder? Furuhata Ninzaburo investigates.

Murder Express
Episode 8. Murder Express
1994-06-01 · 60 min

A trip should be enjoyable but Dr Nakagawa's trip was ruined when he realized he was being tailed by his wife's private eye. He decides to kill the nosy gumshoe on the train home but unfortunately for him, Furuhata Ninzaburo is on board.

Broadcast Murder
Episode 9. Broadcast Murder
1994-06-08 · 60 min

During a live broadcast, a TV psychic desperately in need of validation pretends to find a corpse of a man he himself had killed earlier. The only person in the audience not convinced is Inspector Furuhata.

The Contradictory Corpse
Episode 10. The Contradictory Corpse
1994-06-15 · 60 min

A politician's secretary murders his boss and the boss' mistress staging the scene to look like a murder-suicide. However, one of his victims survives and is taken to the hospital for recovery.

Sayonara DJ
Episode 11. Sayonara DJ
1994-06-22 · 60 min

Furuhata and Shintaro are assigned to bodyguard a radio DJ who's been receiving threatening messages. However, the DJ turns out to be the killer with a devious plan and a watertight alibi.

The Final Greeting
Episode 12. The Final Greeting
1994-06-29 · 60 min

What happens when the killer you are hunting is your superior? Furuhata is about to find out after he begins suspecting the legendary Superintendent Kogure of murdering the man who killed his daughter.

Season 2
Season 2
10 episodes · 1996
The Man Who Talks Too Much
Episode 1. The Man Who Talks Too Much
1996-01-10 · 60 min

A successful lawyer kills his mistress and frames Shintaro Imaizumi for the murder. When the lawyer convinces Shintaro to plead guilty, Furuhata becomes suspicious.

The Woman Who Doesn't Smile
Episode 2. The Woman Who Doesn't Smile
1996-01-17 · 60 min

A hated, strict headmistress of an all-girls priory school murders a liberal teacher beloved by all the students. In order to catch her, Furuhata will have to play by her rules.

Master of the Game
Episode 3. Master of the Game
1996-01-24 · 60 min

A devious doctor manipulates a mystery writer into staging his own murder to look like a suicide. The doctor is surprisingly good at all kinds of games (darts, pool, chess etc.) but he is no match for Furuhata when it comes to mind games.

Red or Blue
Episode 4. Red or Blue
1996-01-31 · 60 min

Shintaro is trapped on a Ferris wheel with a bomb on board and if the amusement park doesn't pay the bomber until noon, it will go off. His only other hope is a young explosives expert whom Furuhata suspects is the bomber.

Reward for Hypocrisy
Episode 5. Reward for Hypocrisy
1996-02-07 · 60 min

Furuhata's favorite screenwriter murders her domineering sister with an unknown murder weapon. In order to find the weapon and prove her guilt, Furuhata makes Shintaro become the old woman's servant.

Furuhata Ninzaburô vs. the Quiz King
Episode 6. Furuhata Ninzaburô vs. the Quiz King
1996-02-14 · 60 min

While competing on a TV game show, Furuhata investigates the murder of a costumer found dead in a locked room. He begins suspecting that the killer is none other than the undefeated quiz show champion.

Appraisal: Murder
Episode 7. Appraisal: Murder
1996-02-21 · 60 min

A scheming antique dealer murders an old potter who was blackmailing him but his accomplice's thoughtless actions jeopardize his plan.

Magician's Choice
Episode 8. Magician's Choice
1996-02-28 · 60 min

A highly respected magician falls in love with his much younger assistant and murders her boyfriend in front of a captive audience which just so happens to include Furuhata and Shintaro.

The Wrong Man
Episode 9. The Wrong Man
1996-03-06 · 60 min

A magazine editor concocts and executes the perfect murder in the snowy hills around Tokyo only to then encounter an acquaintance. He kills him too but his streak of bad luck has only just begun.

What Happened in New York
Episode 10. What Happened in New York
1996-03-13 · 60 min

During a long bus trip to New York, a Japanese woman sitting next to Furuhata challenges him to a game. She will tell him about the perfect murder she committed and see if he is able to figure out how she got away.

Season 3
Season 3
11 episodes · 1999
The Rakugo Murder
Episode 1. The Rakugo Murder
1999-04-13 · 60 min

A rakugo comedian kills a fellow student and makes it look like a suicide by faking two alibis. Both take each other's places at different points of the day, leaving a complicated mystery for Furuhata to solve.

The Hotel Murder
Episode 2. The Hotel Murder
1999-04-20 · 60 min

A perpetually busy media director murders a politician in his hotel room while engaging in a phone call he would later use as his alibi. His meticulously planned schedule soon meets an obstacle in Furuhata Ninzaburo.

The Murder in a Small Village
Episode 3. The Murder in a Small Village
1999-04-27 · 60 min

Furuhata catches a cold and stops in a small village to recover with his colleagues, getting caught up in the entire community's attempt to cover up a murder.

The Dentist Murder
Episode 4. The Dentist Murder
1999-05-04 · 60 min

A dentist murders her ex-boyfriend and attempts to use Furuhata as his alibi, tricking him and another witness into thinking she was cleaning his teeth at the time of the crime.

The Yoko-chin Anzai Incident
Episode 5. The Yoko-chin Anzai Incident
1999-05-11 · 60 min

Furuhata receives a mysterious invitation to an old friend's house. Beginning to suspect his friend plans to murder his cheating wife, Furuhata realizes this may be his chance to prevent a murder instead of solving one.

The Conductor Murder
Episode 6. The Conductor Murder
1999-05-18 · 60 min

A conductor murders a violist he was having an affair with an seeks to frame her new boyfriend. Strangely, he also kills all of the victim's fish, which Furuhata used to deduce the killer's identity.

The Housewife Murder
Episode 7. The Housewife Murder
1999-05-25 · 60 min

A presenter of a Go-based TV program kills her manipulative husband who wanted her to remain a housewife forever. The behavior of their cat proves to be a clue to the crime.

The Scientist Murder
Episode 8. The Scientist Murder
1999-06-01 · 60 min

A wheelchair-bound scientist kills his colleague and old friend using a deadly gift and some well-timed phone calls. Saionji quickly suspects the scientist's ex-girlfriend of the crime, but Furuhata remains unconvinced.

The Airplane Murder
Episode 9. The Airplane Murder
1999-06-08 · 60 min

An archaeologist's affair partner accidentally dies during a fight in an airplane bathroom and flees, desperate to hide his secret from his wife. While covering up the crime, he's forced to masquerade as the co-pilot and avoid the child…

The Train Hijacking Murder: Part 1
Episode 10. The Train Hijacking Murder: Part 1
1999-06-15 · 60 min

A shady group kills a young man but fails to recover the bag he stole. To get it back from a subway lost and found, they hack into its control room and stage a train hijacking. Furuhata happens to be on the scene, but the plot proves too…

The Train Hijacking Murder: Part 2
Episode 11. The Train Hijacking Murder: Part 2
1999-06-22 · 60 min

Furuhata leaves the station with the suspect, intent on dropping off the ransom money. How will he prove the culprits true identity, and what is his opponent planning?

Season 4
Season 4
3 episodes · 2006
The Resurrection of Death
Episode 1. The Resurrection of Death
2006-01-03

Furuhata investigates a series of bizarre, seemingly random accidental deaths. He zeroes in on the suspected murderer, but loses faith in his instincts when the suspect is himself killed. However, in the end, he ends up solving three…

A Fair Murder
Episode 2. A Fair Murder
2006-01-04 · 91 min

Ichiro Suzuki, a baseball player obsessed with fair play, murders a man who was blackmailing his brother who is none other than Furuhata's faithful friend Mukojima.

Final Dance
Episode 3. Final Dance
2006-01-05

Kyoko Kagami is a pen name for a pair of twin writers. After one sister kills the other, their technical advisor Furuhata investigates. His investigation is complicated by his feelings for the surviving sister.

Cast by season
Masakazu Tamura
Masakazu Tamura
古畑任三郎
Masahiko Nishimura
Masahiko Nishimura
今泉慎太郎
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Keywords
detectivecuriousmysterycomfortingjapanese detective
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