Zenigata Heiji is an enduring fictional character in Japanese popular culture. Many of Japan's top leading men have portrayed him in dozens of movies and TV series.
On Monday, it's Hiroaki Murakami's turn, as he stars in the fifth TV series to focus on the hero (TV Asahi, 7 p.m.). Zenigata is slightly different from the usual jidai-geki (historical drama) hero in that he is not a samurai and is not from a noble family. He is an okappiki, which is a kind of freelance policeman authorized by the Edo authorities to catch criminals. Okappiki were recruited from the ranks of ex-criminals. As his name implies -- zeni means "money" -- Zenigata's weapons of choice are coins, which he flings at his enemies with deadly accuracy.
In the opening adventure of the new series, a retired official is murdered and a rival okappiki captures the main suspect. The suspect admits to killing the official and says that he did so because the official molested his girlfriend. But then the girlfriend comes forward to say that it was she who committed the murder. Zenigata has his suspicions.