Japan's longest-running historical drama series, "Mito Komon" (TBS, Mon., 8 p.m.), about an itinerant nobleman wandering the country with his followers helping people in need, lands in Ise this week. They meet a woman named Otaki who sells merchandise on the street and seems to be the ringleader of a gang of homeless urchins who carry out extra-legal activities.
They also meet Kamekichi, a boy looking for his mother, who left their Osaka home years ago for Ise and never returned. Mito's group promises to help him find her, and Otaki claims to be that mother, but Mito is at first suspicious since Otaki collects children to do her bidding. But then Mito meets the evil constable of the famous Ise Shrine, and wonders if Otaki isn't as bad as he first thought.
In national surveys that rank prefectures according to livability and tourist attractions, Gunma always comes out at the bottom. So part of the purpose of the mystery special, "Kiryu-ori Densetsu Satsujin Jiken" ("Kiryu Textile Legend Murder Case"; TV Tokyo, Wed. 9 p.m.) is to show people the charms of central Gunma as a tourist destination.
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