''Kokoro'' (こころ) is a

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thriller ...

series and the 68th

Asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Take ...

series, following

Manten is a Japanese television drama series, the 67th Asadora series broadcast on NHK. It was aired on September 30, 2002 and ended on March 29, 2003. The drama tells about a young woman who studies to become a meteorologist. Plot Cast Main cha ...

. It premiered on March 31, 2003 and concluded on September 27, 2003.

Plot

Cast

Suenaga and Asakura family

Noriko Nakagoshi is a Japanese actress. Biography Nakagoshi debuted as a model for '' ViVi'' magazine in 1999. She began acting the same year, making her acting debut as Midori Sato in the show ''Tengoku no Kiss''. Her acting attracted her great attention and fro ...

as Kokoro Asakura (her maiden name was Suenaga) * Ran Itō as Misako Suenaga, Kokoro's mother *

Keiko Kishi is a Japanese actress, writer, and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Life and career She made her acting debut in 1951. In the 1950s, David Lean had proposed her for the main role in ''The Wind Cannot Read'', which is about a Japanese language instruc ...

as Izumi Kiyono, Kokoro's grandmother (also as narrator) *

Akira Terao is a Japanese musician, singer and movie actor. As of 2012, he is the only male actor to have received both the Japan Record Award and the Japan Academy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Early life Terao was born ...

as Takuro Suenaga, Kokoro's father * Tōru Nakamura as Yusaku Asakura, Kokoro's husband *

Tomoka Kurokawa , is a Japanese actress. She graduated from Horikoshi High School on February 18, 2008. She began attending Asia University in April 2008. Filmography Drama *''Don't Forget Me , Dai Renai: Boku o Wasureru Kimi to'' (TBS / 2018) - Yuzuka Sawada ...

as Sachi Asakura, Yusaku and Kanna's daughter * Ryohei Hirota as Yūta Asakura, Yusaku and Kanna's son *

Kōjirō Kusanagi was a Japanese actor. Biography He began acting at the Yoshi Hijikatas theatre Company after dropping out of Nihon University. Kusanagi made his film debut in 1953 in ''Yoake Mae'' directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura. In 1956, he starred in ''Dar ...

as Yuri Asakura, Yusaku's father * Akemi Omori as Haruko Asakura, Yusaku's mother *

Naomi Zaizen is a Japanese actress. Filmography Films * (1989) * (1989) * '' Heaven and Earth'' (1990) * '' Best Guy'' (1990) * * (1991) * (1993) * (1994) * (1995) * (1997) * (1998) * ''Avalon'' (2001) * ''Ouran High School Host Club'' (2012) * ...

as Kanna Fujii, Yusaku's ex-wife

Hotta family

Hiroshi Tamaki is a Japanese actor, singer, and model from Nagoya, Japan. When he was still in high school, he was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends. He made his debut in the drama ''Am I Weird?'' (私ってへん？ ''Watashitte Hen ...

as Takumi Hotta, a fireworks craftsman * Takeshi Onishi as Tadashi Hotta, Takumi's brother *

Taisaku Akino is a Japanese actor. In 1970, he married actress Kiwako Taichi. They later divorced. Selected filmography Films *''It's Tough Being a Man'' (1969) as Kawamata Noboru *''Tora-san's Cherished Mother'' (1969) as Kawamata Noboru *''Tora-san's Gr ...

as Denzo Hotta, Takumi and Tadashi's father *

Yuka Itaya is a Japanese actress and caster. She is represented with Amuse, Inc. Biography *Itaya graduated from Kyushu International University Comes High School and Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Junior College. *She worked as an exclusive model for ''PeeWee'' in 19 ...

as Mariko Hotta, Tadashi's wife

Employees at ''Kiyokawa''

* Hatsuo Yamaya as Tetsuo Tange, an eel chef at Kiyokawa * Yukiko Shimizu as Yoshie Chino, a Kiyokawa waitress * Kunikazu Katsumata as Yasuo Seino, a chef at Kiyokawa * Moro Morooka as Jō Goi, a board chief * Yoshitora Okamoto as Carlos Tanaka, a

Japanese Brazilian , , lead=yes are Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry. The first group of Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908. Brazil is ...

employee at Kiyokawa

People in Asakusa

* Kenichi Nagira as Mantaro Yamamoto, the owner of Yamamoto-ya *

Eiko Koike is a Japanese actress. Biography Koike starred in Kunitoshi Manda's film '' The Kiss''. She appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama ''Penance,'' and co-starred in Junji Sakamoto's ''A Chorus of Angels'' with Sayuri Yoshinaga. She ...

as Towako Yamamoto, Mantaro's daughter and Kokoro's best friend * Ryo Kato as Jiro Yamamoto, Mantaro's son and Towako's brother * Moto Fuyuki as Tetsuo Ōba, the owner of Ōba-yu * Mika Hada as Kasumi Ōba, Tetsuo's daughter and a heiress of Ōba-yu * Takahiro Azuma as Katsuo Ōba, Kasumi's husband * Rumiko Sogawa as Sumiko Ōba, Tetsuo's wife and Kasumi's mother *

Raita Ryu Raita is a side dish in Indian cuisine made of dahi (yogurt, often referred to as curd) together with raw or cooked vegetables, more seldom fruit, or in the case of boondi raita, with fried droplets of batter made from besan (chickpea flour, g ...

as Ikkoku Nakajima, the owner of Nakajima Fireworks *

Sadao Abe is a Japanese actor, stage actor and musician from Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. He started his acting career after joining a theater company/talent agency, Otona Keikaku, in around 1992 and gained his popularity after the drama series '' Team Med ...

as Gin Nakajima, Ikkoku's son *

Hiroshi Inuzuka (born 23 March 1929, Tokyo) is a Japanese actor, comedian and bassist. Inuzuka is one of the members of the Crazy Cats. His first starring role in the film was in ''Suteki na Konban wa'' directed by Yoshitarō Nomura and played the leading rol ...

as Sadao Yoshikawa, a man who runs the tailor shop *

Papaya Suzuki , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese celebrity most famous for his dancing and for his afro hairstyle. He originally intended to be a singer, but gave up due to a drastic gain in weight. According to his official web site, he is 178 ...

as Kaoru Ochiai, a doctor and Yusaku's friend * Yasukiyo Umeno as Isao Fujioka * Masuyuki Shida as Tsutomu Fujioka, Isao's son * Miki Matsumoto as Mayumi Sugii, a nurse

People in Yamakoshi village

* Kazuko Kato as Saori Uesugi, daughter of a fireworks factory manager *

Shinjirō Ehara was a Japanese actor. Ehara joined Toei Company and began his acting career with"Nagurikomi Nijyuohachinin shu". In 1957, he won Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. He died on 27 September 2022, aged 85. Selected filmography Film *''Jun'a ...

as Eizō Uesugi, a fireworks factory owner * Sachiko Sakurai as Yumeko Murakami, Tatsuzo's daughter *

Susumu Kurobe (born ; 22 October 1939) is a television, film and stage actor from Kurobe, Toyama, Japan, widely known for his portrayal of Shin Hayata, the first Ultraman in the '' titular character series'', a role he has played since the original series in ...

as Tatsuzo Murakami, a carp producer and Yumeko's father * Sarutoki Minagawa as Mamoru Hoshikawa, Tatsuzo's sub-ordinate

Others

Mayuko Takata Mayuko Takata (高田万由子 ''Takata Mayuko'', born January 5, 1971) is a Japanese actress, best known in the western world for her appearances on the Japanese TV show Iron Chef. Personal life She was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her husband is Jap ...

as Ryōko Tachibana, a single mother and Kokoro's senior * Nami Ichinohe as Rikako Tamakoshi, Kokoro's colleague * Kaito Shiono as Kazuhiro Tachibana, Ryōko's son *

Tsutomu Isobe is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo, Japan. He is the best known dubbing roles for Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Chow Yun-fat, Peter Weller, Tim Allen, Sean Bean, Choi Min-sik, Stringfellow Hawke (Airwolf) and many more. His daughter is ...

as Kazunari Tamakoshi, Rikako's father * Rumiko Koyanagi as Koemi Chino, Yoshie's sister

References

External links

Official website
* Asadora 2003 Japanese television series debuts 2003 Japanese television series endings {{Japan-tv-prog-stub