Acting
Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.
A brilliant collection of beautifully animated episodes based on selected masterpieces of Japanese modern literature. The aim of this series is to appeal to the viewer at large and to give him or her some idea of the variety and individuality which Japanese literature has developed over the last hundred years. The authors range from Higuchi Ichiyou (Takekurabe), Mori Ougai (The Dancing Girl) and Natsume Souseki (Botchan) to Kawabata Yasunari (The Izu Dancer), Nobel laureate of 1968, and Mishima Yukio (The Sound of Waves).
Young writer Tamako, who is wrongfully accused of killing the head yakuza, must find a way out of trouble.
The 33rd NHK Asadora. Starring Eisaku Shindou as a man who loves manzai (a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture). Average rating of 40.2% Based on the life of a famous two-man comedy act writer, Akita Minoru, who loved comedy more than anything. His life itself was full of wit and humor, love and friendship.
A new salesman named Kosuke Okuda happens to meet Mao Watarai, a friend from his middle school days. Back then, Mao was called stupid and bullied, but now she is an attractive woman. Kosuke and Mao fall in love and decide to marry, but Mao has a secret.
The story of middle-aged Japanese woman Keiko, who has been living in a shell for decades due to a family tragedy in Kobe. The modest act of eating and the sensations it gives us provided Keiko a lifeline to survive. Unwillingly, she joins a group of Japanese women traveling to Northern Europe to participate in a kimono show in the fairytale-like art nouveau world of Riga. During her performance, Keiko suddenly comes face to face with her husband, who disappeared twenty years ago and now wants to read-dress their relationship and who Keiko has become.
This drama is an adaptation of the manga by Junko Karube about a deaf woman and her struggles with love, family and everyday life.
The 19th NHK Asadora. A dramatization of the life of the singer Chiyako Sato. Michiko Godai replaced Haruna Takase in the lead two months into the series when Takase became ill. Adapted from the novel "Aa Tokyo Koshinkyoku" by Yuki Ryoichi.
This light-hearted comedy tells the story of a young man who chooses to become a teacher and struggles to live and grow in the field of education.
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
The lead, Dr. Sadami Shiratori worked in the operating room at a famous Tokyo hospital was around death on a daily basis. His own father, Teizo Shiratori is also a doctor, called Grandfather as he raised the estranged children of his wayward son, he practiced medicine in a small town on Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island. His practice was limited only to terminal patients…in their own homes. He cared for them and helped both them and their families prepare for the ‘final journey’.
When easy-going Aoyagi meets an old friend for a fishing trip, he ends up drugged, framed for the Prime Minister's assassination, and on the run from corrupt cops. It's only the beginning of what quickly becomes the worst, weirdest day of his life. But he'll get by with a little help from his friends, who include a famous pop diva, a rockabilly deliveryman, a crippled old gangster, and the world's most cheerful serial killer.
Rock 'n' roll superstar Eikichi Yazawa plays a substitute high school biology teacher whose clumsy social skills steadily mature as he helps his students struggle to balance work, school and extracurricular activities. The result is a heartwarming drama of the mentoring role of teachers during the difficult transition to adulthood.
A successful Japanese movie director in his sixties becomes increasingly ill while working on his latest film. Though his family, friends, and doctor try to keep the secret of his terminal cancer from him, Buhei gradually comes to realize the truth of his condition, leading him on a journey of despair, anger, and – ultimately – acceptance.
Ryo finds employment cleaning windows of high-rises. Kagari lives inside one of the buildings. Ryo and Kagari lock gazes for a moment. It is a moment when one can help the other, but also when two persons who usually cannot communicate do.
During the Sengoku period, villagers brutally killed eight samurai, and in the Taisho era, the head of an old family murdered 32 villagers in the Eight-Tomb Village. Terada Tatsuya, who had long been estranged from the Terada family, returns as its successor. However, this return is the beginning of a tragedy. Grandfather, half-brother, monks, nuns... one after another, people related to the family are murdered. Yet, the truth remains elusive. In the midst of this, Tatsuya stumbles into a massive cave system. What he sees there is a wax figure of the head of the Terada family wearing the samurai armor. Meanwhile, Kindaichi, who has uncovered the secret of Tatsuya's birth, finds himself at the same cave. At that very moment, Tatsuya is cornered deep within the cave by villagers who fear the curse.
Depicts various relationships between four beautiful sisters, their husbands, and their second daughter's husband's mistress.
While searching for his fiancee Ritsuko, Sakutarou rediscovers through flashbacks the void deep within him caused by the events from his high school days.
Pale skin writhes in the back seat! A new kind of erotic business where a single wet moment envelops the car!
Junkichi is the son of a rich landlord, while Koyuki is the daughter of a poor lumber worker. The mismatched pair soon finds love, and against his father's wishes, Junkichi decides to run away with Koyuki to start a new life. But when Junkichi is called off to war, they make a pledge to sing the song of engagement everyday until they are able to reunite
