Zenigata Heiji

Zenigata Heiji (銭形 平次, Zenigata Heiji^?) is a Japanese fictional character, the hero of a series of Japanese novels, films and TV programmes set in the Edo period (1603-1868) of Japanese history. He is a policeman (岡っ引き, okappiki) who catches criminals by throwing coins, the of the title, thus Zenigata Heiji. The hero was created by novelist Kodō Nomura (野村胡堂, Nomura Kodō) in 1937. Heiji's beat is Myōjin-shita, "beneath the (Kanda) Myōjin shrine."

The hero, Heiji, lives with his wife Oshizu. His sidekick is Hachigorō (八五郎), also known as Karappachi or just Hachi. He uses deduction, a jutte, and old-fashioned coins with a hole, called kan'eitsūhō (寛永通宝), as weapons to catch criminals.

The original series of stories ran from 1937 to 1959. The first story was published in the Japanese magazine Bungei Shunjū Ōru Yomimono-han (all story edition). In all, 383 stories were produced. Many are still in print in Japan today.

Zenigata Heiji is a fictional story, and is not based on any real individual. It is not made clear in which part of the Edo period the stories are set.

The description of the okappiki in Zenigata Heiji differs from reality on several points. Okappiki were unpaid, or received a very small amount of money. Zenigata Heiji is depicted as a full-time policeman with no other job. In reality, this would have been impossible. Further, the "jutte" that Heiji usually carries was only issued to okappiki when the severity of an incident called for it.

In the TV series, Heiji carries his jutte in his belt; however, the jutte was actually carried in a pocket. The style of the jutte is also unrealistic.

Films about Zenigata Heiji include:

The lyrics of the ending theme of the TV show changed every week depending on the plot line. In the TV series, the closing credits show a coin, based on the kan'eitsūhō coin thrown by Heiji, with Zenigata Heiji written on it.

TV series about Zenigata Heiji include:

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