Storyline

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.

First Aired

1994-04-13
Last Aired

2006-01-05
Creator

Koki Mitani
Genre

Drama, Crime
Seasons

4
Episodes

36
Status

Ended
Language

日本語
Network

Fuji TV

Keywords:

curious comforting inverted mystery

Stream and watch Furuhata Ninzaburo

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

1. Message from the Dead

On a dark and stormy night, Chinami kills her business partner in her remote manor house in the hills....More

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.Less

60mins 1994-04-13

2. The Moving Corpse

After killing a woman in a hit and run, a famous Kabuki actor decides to kill the only witness, a thea...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-04-20

3. The Laughing Corpse

Furuhata is called to a scene where a woman has just killed a burglar but a chicken in the oven and a ...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-04-27

4. The Killing Fax

An action-packed night is in store for the police department after a famous writer's wife is kidnapped...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-05-04

5. The Dirty King

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

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

60mins 1994-05-11

6. The Piano Lesson

Furuhata Ninzaburô gets involved in the drama surrounding an elite musical academy when he begins susp...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-05-18

7. Rehearsal for Murder

During a rehearsal, a beloved samurai movie star kills the despised studio executive. Was it an accide...More

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

60mins 1994-05-25

8. Murder Express

A trip should be enjoyable but Dr Nakagawa's trip was ruined when he realized he was being tailed by h...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-06-01

9. Broadcast Murder

During a live broadcast, a TV psychic desperately in need of validation pretends to find a corpse of a...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-06-08

10. The Contradictory Corpse

A politician's secretary murders his boss and the boss' mistress staging the scene to look like a murd...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-06-15

11. Sayonara DJ

Furuhata and Shintaro are assigned to bodyguard a radio DJ who's been receiving threatening messages. ...More

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.Less

60mins 1994-06-22

12. The Final Greeting

What happens when the killer you are hunting is your superior? Furuhata is about to find out after he ...More

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.Less