Takeshi Shibata

Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.

News of "revived people" who should have died humans come back to life was reported all over the world. Meanwhile, Tetsuo Tsuchiya wakes up in the conference room where he works, but his colleague reports that he died of suicide three years ago. However, Tsuchiya, who had a wife and a son and lived a happy life, could not commit suicide, and thought that he was actually killed, lives while pursuing the reason for his death. It depicts how you know the meaning of things, dying, and happiness. 日本語 English

Makoto Kanzaki is a PR man at a university. He is swept up in a series of scandals and is driven into a corner as he tries to make temporary solutions. A satirical comedy about modern society depicting the contradictions of modern society and the sorrows of its people with black humor.

Nakane Kyoko (Ono Machiko) grew up in a wealthy family and was raised by her strict father Shigekazu (Tachi Hiroshi) who did not see learning as a necessity. At 19, Kyoko was introduced to Natsume Soseki (Hasegawa Hiroki) as a prospective marriage partner. The two of them were drawn to each other and got married. Soseki took up a post in Kumamoto as a high school teacher and this was the beginning of their new married life. Although Soseki was an extraordinary intellectual, he did not know the warmth of family because he was given up for adoption as a child. In an attempt to understand her husband, Kyoko tried to read what he read, interacted with his friends and joined difficult conversations. But she was not exactly successful. Then she miscarried their first child and her attempted suicide because of loneliness caused a commotion. How would husband and wife overcome this crisis?

In 1802, 8-year-old Mio lost her parents in a river flood in Osaka and feels all alone after she is also separated from her childhood friend Noe. She is saved by Yoshi, the proprietress of "Tenman Icchōan", one of Osaka's famous restaurants, whom she happened to meet.

Rinko and Aya, employed in the Philippines in 1944, escape one of the most gruesome battles of the Pacific War. Based on the accounts of actual women survivors, this special depicts the friendship - the joy and sadness - shared by these two women, whose lives remain intertwined in wartime and long beyond.

Henmi Ayumi is a nurse working on the front lines in the convalescent ward of a hospital, where she tends to patients who have either a few months left to live or have difficulties in daily life due to certain medical conditions or dementia. As she witnesses the life and death of a variety of patients, she strives to make their days in hospital the best they can possibly be despite the circumstances. Hirono Seiji is a doctor who transfers from the general ward to the convalescent ward on a part-time basis, and along with Henmi he becomes involved in the affairs of the patients and their families.

Ruuko has just been assigned to an elite position within the first-class trading company she works for, but quickly tires of the monotonous work her boss gives her. Then, she suddenly encounters Hanako-san, who becomes the guardian of the female employees and is called "The Super Helpful Ghost." Hanako-san is a ghost who lives inside a locker, and can only be seen by the OLs she haunts. This is a comedic drama about a strange ghost who helps out the women when they're having trouble at work!

Matsunaga Yasuzaemon was a man called “Electricity Monster”. The post-war recovery and high economic growth serve as the basis for him to achieve the breakup and privatisation of the electricity business. As a follower of Fukuzawa Yukichi, he inherited the spirit of independence, self-respect and the people. He rose up alone from the ruins of the war. It was the fight of an unconventional, stubborn old man over 70 with an indomitable will. Minister of Trade and Industry Ikeda Hayato admired Matsunaga like a father while Prime Ministers Yoshida Shigeru and Konoe Fumimaro, Shirasu Jiro (Takagawa Yuya) and others were in awe of his unfathomable passion.

This is the story of a strange encounter brought about by the atomic bomb, based on the true story of Akihiko Ito, a journalist who lived in Nagasaki and traveled throughout Japan to collect the stories of atomic bomb survivors.