' was a Japanese television special about an elderly man who runs an old
haberdashery in
Kure. The drama, produced by
NHK Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
in 2008 for their 80th anniversary, won the valuable TV drama award at the 63rd Japan
Agency for Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture.
The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion.
Overview
The ag ...
Art Festival.
Plot
In the port city of
Kure, there is an old hat shop. Shunpei, the elderly shop owner, is proud of his career as a skillful
hatter
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
, with famous clients such as
fleet admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. However, as time goes on, the number of orders decreases and his memory begins to fail him. Shunpei occasionally has to ask his security guard, Goro, to help him find his scissors.
One day, Shunpei discovers his childhood friend, Setsu, is Goro's mother. She left Goro due to an issue with her husband, and now she is in the end stages of cancer. Setsu had been physically weak since childhood, due to radiation exposure from the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Shunpei had thought of Setsu as a sister, but he couldn't ask her to live with him in Kure, so she left to earn a living in
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
. He missed her ever since.
Shunpei decides to reunite Goro with his mother. Shunpei knows that Setsu has been living in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, suffering
discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
as a radiation exposure victim. But when Shunpei finds Setsu, she seems to be living quite happily. Setsu still has a small sailor hat which Shunpei made for her years ago, and which always cheers her up in the face of hardship. Setsu showed the hat to Shunpei, to encourage him and renew his pride. Upon seeing the hat, Shunpei's mind is restored and his forgetfulness disappears.
Cast
*
Ken Ogata as "Shunpei Takayama", an older gentleman living alone in port city Kure as a hatter.
*
Yukihide Kasahara as 28-year-old "Shunpei", working hard, helping Setsu, and loves her.
*
Hayami Takahashi as 6-year-old "Shunpei", likes his father.
*
Yūko Tanaka as "Setsu Takemoto", an older lady living in Tokyo with her family, Shunpei's childhood friend, Goro's real mother.
*
Aki Asakura
Aki or AKI may refer to:
Places in Japan
*Aki District, Hiroshima, a district in Hiroshima Prefecture
*Aki, Kōchi, a city in Kochi Prefecture
*Aki District, Kōchi, a district in Kochi Prefecture
*Aki, Ōita, a town in Ōita Prefecture
*Aki Provi ...
as 19-year-old "Setsu", in delicate health, loves Shunpei.
*
Tetsuji Tamayama as "Goro Kawahara", Shunpei's security agent and Setsu's son.
*
Ittoku Kishibe as "Masayuki Kawahara", Goro's father and Setsu's ex-husband, a doctor and runs his hospital in Hiroshima.
*
Maho Tomita as "Yu Takayama", Shunpei's granddaughter living in Tokyo.
*
Hiromi Yuki as "Mikazu Kawahara", Goro's stepmother and Masayuki's wife.
*
Erika Kobayashi as "Aki Kawahara", Goro's stepsister.
*
Toshiyuki Kitami
Toshiyuki is a masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
Toshiyuki can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples:
*敏幸, "agile, happiness"
*敏行, "agile, go"
*敏之, "agile, of"
*敏志, "ag ...
as "Katsuto Takemoto", Setsu's husband, runs his laundry with her.
*
Asae Onishi as "Haruko Takemoto", Setsu's daughter.
*
Gan Iwata as a chief "Todoroki", Goro's boss.
*
Teizo Muta as "Fukuzo", Shunpei's friend.
*
Takayuki Moriwaki as Fukuzo's grandchild.
*
Shin'ya Yamamoto (actor) as "Futoyama", principal of Kure Sanjyo junior high school, will order student caps to Shunpei.
*
Ryuji Yamamoto
Ryuji Yamamoto (born 17 October 1988) is a Japanese racing driver who last competed in the Japanese Formula 3. He was runner-up for the Formula Challenge Japan in its debut year, 2006, before moving to Europe to compete in the Formula Renault ...
as "Ichimura", a chairman of the PTA of Sanjyo junior high school.
*
Mitsuomi Aono as
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
"
Isoroku Yamamoto",
*
Katsuaki Takahashi as "Reikichi Takayama", Shunpei's father made the cap for Isoroku Yamamoto.
Theme song
The theme song is titled ''Inochi no Uta / (Songs can change the world)'' and was written for NHK's 80th anniversary. The lyrics invite the public to join the song to collect their messages of life and peace.
* ''
Sora ni Saku Hana / (Flowers bloom in the sky)''
** Sung by
Chitose Hajime
** Written by
Yoko Maruyama (selected from 1,904 submissions)
** Supported by
HUSSY R
''Hussy'' is a 1980 British film starring Helen Mirren, John Shea, and Paul Angelis, and directed by Matthew Chapman.
Plot
Beaty (Mirren) is a prostitute working at a London cabaret where Emory (John Shea) is a sound/lighting technician. Th ...
** Composed by
Yuichi Tajika and
Yoshinobu Morikawa
** Arranged by
Takumi Mamiya
The ''Inochi no Uta Project'' continued in 2009.
Inochi no Uta 2009 (Songs can change the world 2009) - NHK Hiroshima
See also
*Japanese television programs
Television in Japan was introduced in 1939. However, experiments date back to the 1920s, with Kenjiro Takayanagi's pioneering experiments in electronic television. Television broadcasting was halted by World War II, after which regular television ...
* Kure was the home port of the battleship Yamato, and there was the largest naval port in Asia.
References
External links
Bōshi - NHK Hiroshima official
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090731181119/http://www.nhk.or.jp/hiroshima/eighty/boushi/gallery/index.html Bōshi - Album - NHK Hiroshima official
Bōshi - Album - Hiroshima Film Commission
''Sora ni Saku Hana'' on ''Inochi no Uta Concert''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boshi (Tv Drama)
2008 television films
2008 films
Japanese television films
Japanese drama television series
Japanese television specials
Television shows about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Films set in Kure
Films shot in Kure
Films set in Hiroshima
Films shot in Hiroshima
Films set in Tokyo
Films shot in Tokyo